10 Authors Every American Should Read

Sunday I did a shallow dive into the top 3 American Authors I think everyone should read on Facebook Live. It was fun. It was brief. And it was a great way to celebrate Independence Day within a pretty literate community.

If you missed it because you were celebrating freedom with your friends and family, fret not. Here it is.

Like I promised at the end of the Facebook Live, I wanted to share more must-read American Authors, so right here, right now, this is where we're going to do just that.

My thoughts and observations have not changed on my {personal} Top 3 American Authors I Think You Should Read. But let's face it. There are SO. MANY. MORE. Below are my {personal} top 3 PLUS 7 more collected from our Pretty Literate Community. Enjoy!

1. Ray Bradbury

• regarded as one of the most important writers in the development of sci-fi as a genre
• Elton John's Rocket Man was based on Bradbury's story Rocket Man (in other words, a very influential writer)
• Steven Spielburg acknowledges he was a key inspiration for his sci-fi films

2. Harriet Beecher Stowe

• published more than 30 books, the most popular being Uncle Tom's Cabin
• believed actions make a difference
• President Lincoln is quoted as saying of Ms. Stowe, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War." (the Civil War)

3. Edith Wharton

• 1st female to win the Pulitzer Prize (1921)
• wrote 40 books in 40 years in a variety of genres
• insider knowledge of upper class NYC society in the Gilded Age

4. Louisa May Alcott

• an abolitionist whose childhood home was a stop in the Underground Railroad
• early American feminist and the first to register to vote in her Massachusettes town
• her character Jo March inspired other female writers (like Helen Keller & J.K. Rowling)

5. Louis L'Amour

• He was one of us, for he read approximately 100 books every year!
• He led an uncommon life - a lumberjack, elephant handler, professional boxer, seaman, cattleman, miner, and soldier (WW2) - all of which influenced and inspired his writing.
• He wrote 100 novels, over 250 short stories, and two full-length works of non-fiction - over 40 of which have been adapted for TV and film!

6. Stephen King

• writer of more than horror (fantasy, crime/thriller, sci-fi, westerns, & non-fiction)
• good vs. evil writing style
• writes in a way that easily lets you slip into the place of a character and wonder how you would react in a similar situation

7. Mark Twain

• deeply admired by other influential writers (like Hemmingway)
• the greatest social critic & humorist of his time
• controversial in his day, he remains so now because of his honest portrayal of life, friendship, social classes, and the like

8. Nathaniel Hawthorne

• President Franklin Pierce was a personal friend from college.
• His early novels were self-published.
• He wrote about hypocrisy and the effects of guilt and sin.

9. Ernest Hemmingway

• politically incorrect
• shared life as he saw it
• Nobel Prize Winning Author in 1954

10. Larry McMurtry

• Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist (Lonesome Dove)
• adaptations of his works have been nominated for 34 Oscars (13 of which won!)
• collector of rare books (which makes him one of us - but on maybe a larger scale)

Who would you consider a must-read American Author? Share your top contenders in the comments.