Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
Normally, I stick to the prompt that’s given, but I just wasn’t feeling this week’s prompt (characters from different books who should team up). So I asked my nephew to come up with a different prompt for me (I’m a bit tapped out on topics lately). And he challenged me to list ten authors who aren’t afraid to push the envelope. I like this topic, because it lets me talk about authors who don’t play it safe and talk about subjects that are viewed as controversial or maybe those that we don’t necessarily discuss openly. Here’s ten of my favorite authors who aren’t scared to push the envelope:
- R.F. Kuang — whether she’s talking about war, colonialism, or institutionalized racism, she pushes the envelope with every one of her books.
- Candice Carty-Williams — in Queenie, she bravely and boldly discusses issues of racism, mental health, self-worth, and unhealthy relationships in her story of a young British woman straddling her British and Jamaican cultures but not quite fitting into either comfortably.
- Laurie Frenkel — I read This is How it Always Is several years ago, and while writing a book about a family with a transgender child shouldn’t be considered pushing the envelope, it apparently is.
- Upton Sinclair — yeah, I’m taking it old school here, but this dude went undercover into the meatpacking industry, wrote The Jungle, and once it was published, kicked off massive food safety reforms. If you’ve ever read this book you’ll know what I mean by pushing the envelope—it’s a shocking read.
- Margaret Atwood — it is almost eerie the way that life in America is starting to mimic The Handmaid’s Tale, but Atwood was never scared to push the envelope when talking about bodily autonomy.
- Judy Blume — if you ask any woman who grew up in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, chances are she grew up reading Judy Blume books, all about topics that pushed the envelope, whether they were about scoliosis, periods, or loss.
- V.C. Andrews — I swear, if her gravestone isn’t engraved with “traumatized a generation of readers,” I’m going to be so disappointed. Literally every single one of her books pushed the envelope, and it was all in the same direction lol. IYKYK.
- Toni Morrison — her books are consistently on banned lists, but if you take the time to read them, they’re enlightening, moving, and always discuss the hard topics.
- Andrew Joseph White — his books explore trans rage and other painful emotions, as well as the ways that these emotions can be expressed in both healthy and unhealthy ways, and it definitely pushes the envelope.
- Anne Rice — when she was writing her books, including queer characters and sex scenes in her stories wasn’t exactly a common practice, yet Rice consistently did so. She gave a giant FU to what was expected, and wrote stories that always pushed the envelope, but earned a major cult following.
Who are your favorite authors who push the envelope and why?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
This is How It Always Is is such a powerful book. I must read Babel. I have it purchased, just need to carve out time.
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I loved Frenkel’s book, and how beautifully it was written. I hope you enjoy Babel!
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I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel by Judy Blume, but of course I have seen her books around on lists and did read about the recent film adaptation. 🙂
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OMG there’s going to be a Judy Blume film adaptation? Which one of her books? I was obsessed with her books when I was younger!
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I’ll add Illuminae files because of the format. I don’t think any other author could have pulled it off like Kristoff and Kaufman.
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I haven’t read that, and don’t plan to. Kristoff isn’t a push the envelope author for me, he’s flat out problematic in a number of ways.
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Well this series was really though
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I haven’t consciously thought about The Jungle in years! But it did alter my diet after reading it. To this day (over 30 years later), I still hesitate when eating some meat products.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/the-bs-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-b/
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SAME! It took me forever to be able to eat meat products and rice after reading that book! But oof, I’m super grateful for how it changed the food safety practices in our country!
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I love this topic and might borrow it for a future freebie post. 🙂
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
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Feel free – my nephew came up with a fantastic topic!
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The Jungle! Ugh. That book… after reading it, I went vegetarian. While I do eat meat again, now, I’m much more veggie-leaning. Many of my meals are meatless. Some parts of that book just stick with you…
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SAME! I stopped eating meat for a long time after reading it, but I do eat meat now. But I definitely do more meatless meals because that book really does stick with you.
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Great list and a great prompt!
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Thank you! I can only take credit for the list.
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Ann Rice and VC Andrews are great examples for this topic.
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Right? Those two came to mind immediately!
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Blume was definitely a trendsetter. Her books just felt so authentic and relatable when I read them as a kid. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC was traumatic for sure. It’s the only Andrews book I’ve ever read. Ha ha.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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Relatable perfectly sums up Blume’s books in one word! Flowers in the Attic was definitely the worst, but the others weren’t much better. I went through a rough patch in my teen years and read a lot of VC Andrews 😬
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Omg I read Flowers in the Attic when I was either late middle school or early high school and I was like hmm…this is different, LOL!! I think I eventually read the next book, but I lost interest and never finished the series.
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I read through the whole series and then a few other Andrews series, I’m ashamed to admit lol. At least it was when I was young, although I’m not sure that’s better
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Love this idea! I’ve only read one of these authors, R.F. Kuang, but I will definitely be checking the others out 😀
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I’m so glad to hear that I’m finally adding books to your TBR for a change! And I jumped on the idea when my nephew spitballed the topic.
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Hahaha it was a great idea! Can’t blame you for jumping on it.
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