Today I’m delighted to kick off a new series we’ve been cooking up here at MMD HQ for a long time: beginning today, my team and I are excited to discuss our “completist authors,” those for whom we’ve read their entire body of work.
In tomorrow’s podcast episode, you’ll hear me say this series has been in the works since last summer. But when I actually checked my team meeting notes, I can see I’ve been pondering this idea for much longer, and that initially today’s post was slated to run on February 12, 2025. But, thanks to my overfull schedule and a bit of bookish serendipity, I’m happy to be kicking things off today, nearly a full year later. I hope you find it to be worth the wait.
I trust I don’t need to explain the “overfull” bit about the delay, but what about that bit of bookish serendipity? I’m glad you asked.
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When it came time to choose my own completist author—from among the many authors whose works I’ve read in full—it wasn’t hard to decide. I historically struggle with superlatives, but over the years a clear favorite has emerged for me, and that is Maggie O’Farrell. I first read her in 2017, beginning with her seventh novel This Must Be the Place. It was love at first read. After finishing that book, I read it again, then began reading her backlist, then prioritized her new books as they came out.
In 2021 I decided I needed to read her entire catalog, and now in my library at home I have a shelf full of banged-up, marked-up, dog-eared copies to prove it. I’m a completist for numerous authors, but only one has earned such a shelf thus far.
Meanwhile: just days before I was set to finally publish this post in January, I received a publicist pitch in my inbox. This is nothing new, we get maybe a dozen every day for Modern Mrs Darcy and What Should I Read Next. But this one was something special, as the publicist, on behalf of Maggie and Focus Features, wanted to know if I might be interested in speaking with the author about co-writing the new screen adaptation of her 2020 novel Hamnet.
Listen to our conversation on What Should I Read Next; we finessed our editorial calendar so this post runs as its companion. I hope you’ll listen, as the two formats are meant to work in tandem: in the episode, I share more in my own voice about my history with Maggie O’Farrell’s work, our typical process for selecting guests—particularly our rarer professional guests—for What Should I Read Next?, what author conversations bring to my reading life, and why I didn’t hesitate before giving an enthusiastic and instant yes to Maggie’s people to speak with her about anything at all. In today’s post, I’m going into detail on individual titles in a way I don’t on the podcast.
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In this new completist series, our team members are taking turns sharing our completist authors, and what it is that keeps drawing us back to that particular author’s books. What do we love about their style, their stories? What have we learned in our completist journey—about the work, yes, but also about ourselves? To qualify for our series, the author must have written at least six books; each team member will highlight a half dozen or so titles of note from that body of work.
I’ve read all of Maggie O’Farrell’s adult works. (Some will consider this caveat crucial, others will think it unnecessary, but: I haven’t read her children’s stories.) Just days before her publisher reached out, I’d completed Land, her new novel coming out on June 2. (We touch on it oh-so-briefly in our conversation; I cannot wait to tell you more about it when the time is right!)
As I mentioned above, my point of entry was her 2016 novel This Must Be the Place. I wish I remembered why I first picked it up, but I do remember finishing it in the wee hours of the morning in Davidson, North Carolina in October of 2017. I named it a favorite book of 2017, and then again as a favorite re-read in multiple subsequent years. It remains the Maggie O’Farrell novel I’ve spent the most time with.
As you can imagine, when I read that work, I found its way of looking at the world incredibly compelling, and the storytelling package it was wrapped in supremely satisfying. My journey with O’Farrell’s body of work—both the books I love most and those that haven’t worked as well—has helped me articulate what it is, exactly, that so speaks to me.
I love realistic, literary or literary-leaning, emotionally resonant novels. I especially love a tone that’s wistful, reflective, and wise. My catnip is books that quietly invite the reader to look at how life is, or how life could be. They make me think, yes, this is true, this is real, this is exactly how it is. And they gently compel me to reflect on what these truths mean for my own life.
If you’ve been around here for a minute, you know I also adore a complicated family saga, and it just so happens that Maggie O’Farrell’s go-to is families in tricky situations, or, if not families, women in tricky relationships and complicated family situations.)
This Must Be the Place was my way in, and then I read it again. Next I read Instructions for a Heatwave, then her by-then-new memoir I Am, I Am, I Am. I believe my next stop was Hamnet. Then I embarked on my backlist project, going back to her debut After You’d Gone and working my way forward from there, pausing to read The Marriage Portrait when I got my copy.
While her style has evolved over time, the constants that keep bringing me back are stylish (but not overwrought) prose, interconnected, layered stories, intricate plotting, and evocative details. Her work consistently feels lush and richly textured in a way that this reader finds incredibly satisfying.
I hope you enjoy our completist series to come, and reading about my own completist journey today. Want to know where to start with Maggie O’Farrell? The eight novels below have been touchstones on my own path, and might just be your way in to meeting—or experiencing more of—one of my favorite authors.
Readers, you know I want to hear about your experience—past, present, and possible future—in comments.
Publication Order:
After You’d Gone (2000)
My Lover’s Lover (2002)
The Distance Between Us (2004)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (2006)
The Hand That First Held Mine (2009)
Instructions for a Heatwave (2013)
This Must Be the Place (2016)
I Am, I Am, I Am (2017)
Hamnet (2020)
Where Snow Angels Go* (2020)
The Marriage Portrait (2022)
The Boy Who Lost His Spark* (2025)
Land (2026)
*children’s book
Completist Author: Maggie O’Farrell
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This 2013 novel is set during the record-setting 1976 London heatwave during which the patriarch of an Irish family clears out his bank account and disappears, leaving his family to puzzle out where he went, and why. In the aftermath, the three adult children respond to their mother's plea for help and descend on their parents' home for the first time in ages. Soon the three are working (and squabbling) together as they try to determine what might have happened to their father. As the search progresses, secrets from the parents' marriage and the adult children's struggles and insecurities are revealed. The story takes us from London to Ireland and New York City as we wait to see what happened to the father, and what will happen next in each character's life. I read this ages ago and still think about these characters often; the audiobook is particularly lovely as voiced by John Lee, with his lilting Irish accent. More info →
This 2016 literary fiction consists of interlocking scenes from numerous points of view, taking place between 1944 and the next seventy years. It’s one of my my favorite rereads. Family stories are commonplace in fiction, but I love this one for its intricate plotting, nuanced characters, true-to-life feel, and ultimate hopefulness. The novel focuses on the unlikely but successful marriage between a floundering American linguistics professor and a British film star who hated the limelight so much she faked her own death and disappeared. Successful, that is, until an unexpected bit of news, twenty years old but newly discovered via a radio broadcast, threatens to unravel everything they've built together. More info →
In O'Farrell's 2018 memoir-of-sorts, she tells the story of her life through seventeen brushes with death. I didn't quite believe the premise when I first heard it (Seventeen brushes? Really?), but O'Farrell doesn't mess around with this heart-pounding collection, in which she recounts near-misses with car accidents, murderers, anaphylaxis, a childhood bout with encephalitis, and more. There's obviously sensitive content in this collection, but her heart-rending essay on miscarriage merits special mention: it's some of the finest writing I've seen on the subject. Those new to O'Farrell could easily begin with this collection, but readers of her novels may draw special pleasure from finding in these pages the real-life experiences that clearly informed so many of her characters. More info →
This sophomore novel, published in 2002, is my least favorite and—while these things don’t necessarily correlate—her lowest rated on Goodreads, at just 3.28. And yet! Flipping through my dog-eared, marked-up copy, deciding what to tell you about it, makes me want to re-read it immediately. It’s a love story with a hint of ghost story: Lily and Marcus meet when she falls on the sidewalk and he comes to her rescue. Lily moves in with Marcus before the week is over, sleeping in the room that not long ago belonged to his girlfriend Sinead. Marcus insinuates Sinead is dead but her presence haunts the loft, prompting an obsessed Lily to question what is real and doggedly dig for the truth. This work lacks the maturity of my favorite O’Farrell novels, but oh, what a delight to spy the same elements I love, even in this early work: questions of love and chance and causality, characters struggling with fear and self-sabotage, unspoken sentiments and family secrets. I also loved the little cameo from John of After She’d Gone. More info →
In this 2020 award-winning historical novel, O’Farrell takes a few known facts about Shakespeare’s wife and family and, from this spare skeleton, builds out a lush, vivid world. This book is devastating (I know I'm not alone in consuming the better part of a box of Kleenex while reading it). Yet with O'Farrell's sympathetic central character and evocative storytelling, you won't want to leave Shakespeare’s world. The story centers on Agnes, Shakespeare’s wife, who is torn apart by grief when their son Hamnet dies from the Black Death plague at age 11. Soon after, Shakespeare writes Hamlet—and O’Farrell convincingly posits that the two events are closely tied. In her distinctive style, O’Farrell takes you to the heart of what really matters in life, making you feel such a deep sense of loss for Hamnet that you won’t look at your own life the same way. More info →
O'Farrell’s 2000 debut may be my favorite of her older works. Told from multiple points of view, in multiple timelines, it took me a few chapters to find my footing, but once I did, I blew through this compelling mix of love story, mystery, and family saga. You should know that terrible, seemingly random tragedies beset characters in O'Farrell's novels, yet these surprising turns don't feel cheap in her plots, but all too true to our own real life experiences. (As one character muses, "Why isn't life better designed so it warns you when terrible things are about to happen?") The story opens with London-dwelling Alice stepping off a train in Scotland to visit her family, but while still in the station she witnesses something so shocking it upends her understanding of her entire life, and she immediately boards a return train to London. Through the course of the novel, we go back and forth in time to understand just what unfolded that day in the station, and we also watch Alice's great love story with a journalist named John unfold. When this novel was first published, critics marveled that this sophisticated story was the work of a debut novelist; I challenge you to read it today and not feel the same. More info →
O'Farrell's fourth novel, published in 2006, is a family saga through three perspectives: Iris, her grandmother Kitty, and her great-aunt Esme. Iris’s everyday life at her vintage clothing shop is upended when she receives a phone call from Cauldstone Hospital, a psychiatric facility, saying her great-aunt Esme is being released after sixty years of institutionalization, and Iris is listed as her emergency contact. This is unexpected, to say the least: Iris’s grandmother always said she’d been an only child. Iris's mother has likewise never heard of Esme. Grandmother Kitty has Alzheimer’s so Iris can’t ask her about what happened. Her only recourse is to get to know Esme and learn whatever she might share, all the while wondering why Esme's very existence has been carefully kept secret her entire life. Esme's reappearance turns Iris's understanding of her family—and to a larger extent, all of society—on its head, as the truth of her great-aunt's past is slowly revealed. The truths revealed in this book are difficult and bracing, but O'Farrell's tone manages to be at once urgent, tender, and wise. More info →
For her 2022 historical novel, O’Farrell drew inspiration from Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess, widely believed to have been inspired by Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara. In 1560, a fifteen-year-old girl left Florence to marry Alfonso, becoming Duchess Lucretia di Cosimo de’ Medici d’Este. Less than a year later she’d be dead; there were rumors she was murdered by her husband. This tragic story inspired this puzzle of a novel. Early in the story, as Lucretia sits to have her portrait painted, it’s clear she’s in trouble. She’s unable to give her husband an heir, for reasons that aren't her fault—but that doesn't mean the violent Alfonso won't take his anger out on her. She doesn't know what her husband is capable of, those close to the Duchess tell her, and urge her to develop an escape plan. O’Farrell's eye for detail shines in this taut and brilliantly written portrait of what unfolds inside a fraught marriage. My experience with this novel taught me much about myself as a reader: I can see it is brilliantly executed, absolutely gorgeous on a sentence level. It's thrilling, and so very smart, but lacks the emotional resonance that my personal favorites share. More info →
Who are your completist authors? Have you read any of Maggie O’Farrell’s works? Please share in the comments.
My completist authors are Barbara Kingsolver, Geraldine Brooks and Ann Patchett. A lunch date with one or all three of them would be a real treat!
Diane says:
I believe I’m a completist for both Louise Penny and Jan Karon. Yes, wildly different tales!
Debbie Swartzel says:
Diane,
I’m almost a completist in Jan Karon ( we live in Blowing Rock the town Mitford was based on) and am a Louise Penny completist. I’ve always thought that Louise Penny’s writing is exactly how Jan Karon would write a mystery. The character development, small town community and characters are both so layered-when either author has set her books outside Three Pines or Mitford I miss the supporting casts. Glad to know there’s someone out there that feels the same!
Anne says:
I love the range!
Joy M says:
Yes, I could only think of Laura Ingalls Wilder at first, but I’ve read all of Jan Karon’s Mitford series including a few short stories. I think I’m missing one or two from Louise Penny.
I’d like to be a completist for Taylor Jenkins Reid and maybe Ann Patchett, but I have a long way to go on both.
For Karon and Penny, I think I’m in love with their main characters, even though both are married and I know I’d love their wives too.
For Reid, I just really love her intricate stories that I can get lost in. And once I started reading a few, I found that some of her characters showed up in other books. Like one of her characters mentioned the actress, Evelyn Hugo. I just think that’s fun.
For Patchett, I just think she writes interesting stories about all kinds of people and I never quite know where I’m going to end up.
Nolo says:
Thanks for the list! Is is presented in the recommended way to read her books? Start w/Instructions for a Heatwave and end w/The Marriage Portrait?
Anne says:
Nope, one of my ongoing laments is that the order books appear in our lists is not consistent, so please don’t read anything into the order they appear in here! I walked you through my own Maggie O’Farrell journey in the text above, but I don’t believe there’s any “right” or “wrong” way to enter in.
Jill Jaclin says:
Thank you for this post. I’m eager to read more Maggie O’Farrell. I have read Hamnet and am curious about her other books which I know you have raved about for years. I’m working on being an Elizabeth Strout completist.
Natalie Hogue says:
I have read all of Fredrik Backman. His writing style is so unique and quirky, yet his characters are well-developed.
Deborah says:
I’m a completist for Tana French and Louise Penny, and on my way to becoming one for Maggie O’Farrell. I’ve read The Marriage Portrait, Instructions For a Heatwave, This Must Be The Place, and Hamnet, and loved them all. The Marriage Portrait is actually my favorite, I think because I had so much sympathy for Lucretia and loved how the author took the story of a girl about whom so little was known and fleshed it out in such an amazing way. Thank you for starting this series with Maggie O’Farrell, I just put two more of her books on hold at my library!
Katie says:
These are the 4 that I have read as well! I think I’m going to re-read This Must Be the Place, and then maybe read her memoir.
Caroline says:
Love this! If someone were completely new to O’Farrell, which three of her books would you recommend they start with and in what order?
Jen says:
IMO I’d start with Hamnet or This Must Be the Place. Enjoy!
Anne says:
I’d say that depends on your specific interests as a reader: The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet are both excellent, and both are 100% historical. This Must Be the Place is another excellent starting point. Depending on your interests, Instructions for a Heatwave and After You’d Gone could be hospitable entry points as well. I’d advocate for starting with one of these instead of other titles in her backlist.
jamie says:
thanks to you anne, i’m on my way to being a completist of Maggie O’farrell, Emily St. john Mandel, and Lily King, all authors i discovered from MMD.
Linda Henderson says:
Anne, you put Maggie O’Farrell on my reading radar so thank you. I am not a completist of her novels but I could be. My first O’Farrell was Instructions for a Heat Wave. I think This Must Be the Place will be my next. I have found alot of joy going through Anne Tyler’s novels. Also Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, and Geraldine Brooks are ones I love. I have never read Isabel Allende but her novels are on my TBR list. I am a completist on Abbi Waxman novels except her newest which I will purchase soon. Also I have completed all of Spencer Quinn’s Dog On It series. So fun.
Katie F. says:
MMD and Patreon member here- loving the new Completist Author series and excited for the upcoming author event. I have read 3 books by Maggie O’Farrell: This Must Be the Place, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and Hamnet (This one was my favorite). I’m a Fredrik Backman completist and my favorite book of his is My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. Happy Reading from Rochester, NY!
Anne says:
I’m excited you’re excited!
Jenny says:
I am curious why you didn’t include The Hand that First Held Mine. I just finished that one, and enjoyed the last 30 % of it most. I have read a few other of her books, and this wasn’t my favorite but it still had the emotional resonance that I love in her books.
Anne says:
The only reason is that I didn’t want to set a bad example for my team and write about ALL of them—I had to cut something! I enjoyed The Hand That First Held Mine. 🙂
Micheline says:
I am a completist for Edith Pargeter/ Ellis Peters ( Heaven Tree Trilogy and Brother Cadfael), Rosemary Sutcliffe, Deborah Crombie and Rumer Godden
I’ve read all of Julie Klassen’s books and also all of Sarah Jio’s novels. They are different writing styles but I love them both. A runner up is Tess Thompson’s books, but I never completely read every book she wrote. But love her writing style.
Nikki Collins says:
My first was The Disappearing Act of Esme Lennox. She became my new favorite immediately. I read a number of her others, but none resonated so well until Hamnet. I found Maggie O’Farrell, Kate Atkinson, and Ruth Ozeki in the same year and what a wonderful trio. Very different, and yet they capture mood so well.
Christina D Ludwig says:
I am a completest of Fredrick Bachman and Louise Penny. I have not read Maggie O’Farrell but Hamnet is on my to read list.
Sabiha says:
My completist authors (caveat all adult works) are Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
I think emotionally resonant is the common thread that also speaks to me. The timelessness of the themes and lyrical writing.
I’m also nearly there with Amor Towles, just need to finish Table for Two.
Michelle Wilson says:
Instructions for a Heat Wave, is my favorite dysfunctional family story of all in that genre. Anne, you may have inspired me to go back and read her very earliest works. That’s the only problem with the personal curriculum idea…i keep acquiring them cause I think everything sounds fun and then I get mad at myself cause I cannot get them all read!!!
Donna says:
I picked up This Must Be the Place because of your recommendation. This is a good example of not every book is for every person. I have to be honest. I don’t think I even finished it. I don’t even remember why, but it just wasn’t for me at the time. However, I did read all of Hamnet. I think I was committed to it because of my old love of Shakespeare. Perhaps I should try another book of hers.
My only completist author has been Ruta Sepetys, but she has recently co-authored some newer YA novels that I have in my library, and now I need to read those. I would like to be a Kristin Hannah completist, but I need breaks between her novels, so it’s taking a while. I also spent one summer completing all of Jane Austen’s works.
Tasha Patterson says:
I also did not enjoy This Must Be the Place. Part of me thinks it’s Anne’s fault, I expected so much from her favorite book, how could it possibly live up?
Janice says:
Donna, I love Maggie but This Must Be The Place is one of my least favourites. Her books are all very different so worth trying others.
Being a WSIRN longtime listener, I’ve read (and loved) most of Maggie O’Farrell’s books because my reading tastes are so similar to Anne’s (part of what I adore about MMD!) but I’m discovering in this moment that I have never read Instructions for a Heatwave – firmly on my TBR now!
I love the idea of being a “Completionist” of my favorite authors and I can’t wait for this full series. Looks like I made a list back in 2024 of “Favorite Authors and All Their Books” and on that list for me: Tana French, Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ann Patchett, Emily St. John Mandel, and Jane Harper. Gosh I love them all so – don’t know who I’d choose to write my own essay about… whole heartedly recommend them all! Any book twins out there?
Lindy says:
I’m a completist of Barbara Kingsolver. I first read The poison wood bible, loved it. Then The Lacuna, which remains one of the-if not the- favourite book ever. Also The Bean tree, and she is now an automatic buy as soon as she has a new one out.Demon Copperhead, so good too.
I just discovered O’Farrell, with Hamnet and will certainly read more, thanks for the helpful list!
Melinda Kohn says:
I looooooove this concept…can’t wait to hear all the team’s picks. For the record, I thought Hamnet was breathtaking!! There are two authors whose works I have completed: Louise Erdrich (I started with Love Medicine back in 1997!), and more recently, Emily St. John Mandel (shout out to MMD for compelling me to read Station Eleven, the book that rejuvenated my love of reading and kickstarted my adult reading life).
Diane C says:
All of Maggie O’Farrell, anll of Jacqueline Winspear, and all of Inspector Gramache series (not all of Louis Penny).
Wendy Barker says:
A few years ago I set out to read all of Thomas Hardy’s books and I have completed them. The first Hardy I read was Tess of the D’Ubervilles but that was in high school and when I decided to read the complete ouevre, I reread it. So glad I did because I realized that the edition we read in high school was censored. One thing about reading all the works of an author who is dead is that they are a finite number so you know what you have taken on.
Like many other commentators, I’ve read all of Louise Penny (really, how could you not?)
I am currently working on reading all the novels by Canadian author, Helen Humphreys, who is not nearly well enough known even in Canada and I’ll bet many of the readers don’t even know her. She writes in a number of genres but historical fiction would be the most common. The first book I read by her was The Lost Garden which is set in England during World War II. The book that is my absolute favourite is Coventry, also set in England during World War II. I highly recommend you check out this author.
Lindy says:
I’m a completist for Barbara Kingsolver. First read the poison wood bible, loved it. Then, The Lacuna remains one of, if not the, favourite book ever. I’d also recommend The bean tree -much shorter. She has since been an automatic buy, her last, Demon Copperhead, another great read.
I’ve just read my first O’Farrell, Hamnet and will certainly read more, probably Instructions for a heatwave next. Thanks for your helpful list!
Elizabeth Rank says:
I am so excited with the concept and now execution of this series! I am making a list of those authors I would like to be more aware of to complete all works. This has been a great to help steer me toward books I may enjoy, especially to seek out if my Priority TBR is low.
I read all of Becky Chambers in 2025 thanks to Shannan’s high praise introduction. Still on the list, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Also close for LM Montgomery and Ann Patchett.
Sue K. says:
Wally Lamb and T. J. Klune for me !
Denise Brown says:
Oh God .YES, Wally Lamb, I forgot to mention him myself !
Lydia says:
I love the idea of being a completist… Like others here, it was you Anne, who introduced me to Maggie O’Farrell during Covid in 2020. My first book of hers was I am I am I am and it remains one of my favourite books of all time! I thought I was nearing being a completist of her work, but this list has shown me a few backlist ones I have now added to my library list. I watched the Hamnet movie on Friday as it is only showing in South Africa now, and the story and exquisite soundtrack by Max Richter, is still consuming my thoughts. So this post is very timeous.
Reading other’s comments I’ve realised I am probably closest to being a completist of Taylor jenkins Reid’s books – I am currently reading Atmosphere and only have 1 more backlist book to go! Good goal for 2026 – though I’ve taken on my own A-Z reading challenge, inspired by but not as strict as your recent podcast guest 😉
Elizabeth Shaffer says:
Sue Miller for me
Dorothy K says:
Jane Kirkpatrick for me. I love her writing style and she writes from the point of view of women in historical settings with a spiritual grounding being traced through her stories.
Tasha Patterson says:
I don’t think I’m a completist for anybody! (unless of course I happened to read the only book written by an author). This series is going to make me think. I feel like my reading life has been split in two – there was the way I used to read, the long break, and the way I read now. This reminded me that in my old reading life I often (always?) read additional books by the same author. It was my way, find a book I like, read several books by that same author, move on to someone new. I haven’t even thought about this in many many years. It hasn’t even occurred to me in recent years to look at an author’s backlog. How interesting!
Sharron Cox says:
What a great idea for a series! I’m very much looking forward to it!
I don’t know if I’m a completist for anyone, but I’m close on several I think. I’m going work on that. Thank you for the inspiration!
Janice Nelson says:
I have never really thought about a completist list, but I was intrigued. So I had to think which authors I love and have read all of their books. I may be missing a few but here goes: Wallace Stegner, Elizabeth Strout, Elizabeth Berg, Anne Tyler, Fannie Flagg, Richard Russo, Carol Shields, Alice Hoffman, Peggy Ehrhart ( she writes a cute Knit and Nibble mystery series that I started as a comfort read in 2020 during the pandemic and I love the knitting group characters so I read every one! ), Simon Van Booy (still working on his back issues), Fredrik Backman, Maeve Binchy, Susan Branch, Michael Cunningham, Kent Haruf, William Kent Krueger. Ok I will stop there. I had no idea I did this! There are many others I am still working through. I will now pay more attention to this.
Suzy says:
This sounds great!! But I have a rocky road with Maggie O Farrell. My first was because of Anne’s rec—-This Must Be The Place. To be honest, I just didn’t “get it.”! But then I read, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and WOW!!! Masterful, spellbinding, astounding!!! It remains my favorite O’ Farrell. (Good pairing would be The Woman Who Would Not Be Silenced). Then I read Hamnet. Sorry, for me, this was a tedious non-story. What am I missing? But then I read Instructions for a Heatwave, and realized—yeah, she’s my people! I love these character driven atmospheric novels. After that was I Am I Am I Am and I thought it was excellent. And finally, just last month I read The Hand That First Held Mine and I thought it was sooo good! Really liked the way she brought the timelines together!
I am a completist with Monica Wood, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth Strout, Liane Moriarty, Dick Francis, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and Sue Grafton. Am working on Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Tyler. And Maggie O!
Karla Teague says:
My completist authors at this point are: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Edgar Allan Poe, The Minimalists, and Courtney Carver. I’m almost there with Jen Hatmaker – just missing “Feed These People”. I’ve just started reading through the Kristin Hannah catalog.
I’m so excited about this series! I am a Fredrik Backman completist and aspire to be an Anne Tyler completist, though she is so prolific that I have a long way to go to go.
Anne, you introduced me to This Must Be the Place and it is now high on my list of all-time favorites. I have not (yet) read all of Maggie O’Fararell’s books, but I’ve loved the four that I HAVE read and look forward to reading more.
Sarah says:
Anne Tyler is the first for whom I became a completist. She got me back into reading in a big way, in an adult way. All her books are in this perfect bubble in my brain 📚🥰
I completely relate to the joy of being a completist reader—it feels like stepping into an author’s full universe. Maggie O’Farrell is a brilliant choice, and reading her entire body of work really shows how her themes and style evolve over time!
Kelly Cass says:
I am a completist of Rebecca Serle and Tracey Lange. I’m reading Hamnet now, but so far I’m not in love with it.
Laurie Bartels says:
As a high school student I was a completist for every Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle. As an adult I’ve read every Louise Penny book including State of Terror co-written with Hilary Clinton, and have reserved The Last Mandarin, slated for release May 12th, also a thriller and co-written with Mellissa Fung. I’ve even made the pilgrimage to Knowlton with a friend. 🙂 I love Louise Penny’s books because she can be relied on to consistently develop her characters, because she is really writing about relationships, community, trust, and what drives people to do what they do, and because she can spin a darn good mystery yarn that resonates beyond the actual mystery (see start of this sentence).
I’ve read Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water and would like to read the remaining books by Abraham Verghese. I find his writing immersive and a beautiful blend of history and poignant characters. Finding an author such as Verghese, who gifts me lengthy deep stories that stay in my head for the duration and beyond, is my idea of heaven in a book. 🙂
Lindy says:
The covenant of water is wonderful on audio by the author.
Janice says:
If I love an author, I almost always go back and read all their backlist and it is fun to see them evolve. Especially if you can read in order of publishing date.
Brenda Stewart says:
Slowly, oh so slowly, working my way through William Kent Krueger series. I collect any of his books from thrift stores and Little Free Libraries, etc. so I’m developing my own shelf of his books.
Denise Brown says:
When I love a book by an Author I want to read everything they`ve ever written so I am , I guess a “a completest reader “Love “literary fiction”, and crime and mystery and not sure what you would call are the others but here is my list. Kate Atkinson,Ann Patchett, Maggie O`Farrell, Daniel Silva Ann Tyler,Elly Griffiths, Anne Rivers Siddons, Kristen Hannah, Kate Ellis,Richard Osman, John Grisham,Lillian Jackson Braun, Hennig Mankell,Ragnar Jonasson, Trisha Ashley, Miranda James, Viveca Sten, Lucy Foley, Susan Hill, Katrine Engberg, Anthony Horowitz, Lisa Jewell, Andrev Kurkov, Sophie Hannah, John Banville, Elin Hildebrind, Denise Mina, and Louise Penny. I probably have forgotten some. I am also a real book lover and when I finish a novel I have loved I am always sad because I will miss the characters, and the place it took place in and the Author`s voice. I guess that`s why I am a “completest reader “.
Hillary says:
I accidentally read The Hand that First Held Mine 7 years ago when I pulled the book from a hotel book swap on my kids’ spring break. What serendipity! I love O’Farrell’s writing and would love to take on the challenge of being a completist. Other authors on that list for me: Fredrik Backman and Lily King. I don’t think I’ve been a completist since childhood (Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, S.E. Hinton).
Kate says:
I love this topic and can’t wait to hear about more authors!! I’m a completist for Emily Giffin, Abby Jimenez, and Maud Hart Lovelace, and I’m getting there with Maeve Binchy!!
Hanna says:
I love this plan for a series about completist reading! I have read all full-length books by at least Silvia Moreno-Garcia, David Mitchell, Becky Chambers and Jane Austen. I have to finish one more by Elif Shafak and then I’ll have read all hers too! I try to hunt down all these authors’ short stories too, but haven’t quite gotten there, sometimes they are harder to access. It is interesting, because none of these authors mostly write the kinds of books I would consider to be my favorite kinds of books, if I had to define a favorite kind of book, and yet I love them all. Like, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books are spookier than I usually read, but I love them. Elif Shafak’s are almost too sincere for me at times, I am often more cynical, but I love them too. I think they all help me be a more complete person.
Bev says:
Years ago I read After You’d Gone and This Must Be the Place. I absolutely loved reading both of those and was so excited to read Hamnet when it published in paperback. I tried several times but could not get past the writing and slow pace of Hamnet.
I read a variety of books, preferring literary fiction, but rarely complete the works of an author. I will always read everything written by Amor Towles, though. I just made a list of O’Farrell’s other novels and am excited to begin reading the rest, unless I come across another Hamnet. Or perhaps I will try reading it again; often one must read the right book at the right time!
Samantha Morgan says:
I have a few: Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult and Liz Moore.
Pam says:
I tend to be a completist of series, rather than authors. Recent examples:
Alphabet/Kinsey Millhone mysteries by Sue Grafton
All series by Michael Connelly (Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer, etc.)
Reacher series by Lee Child; I’m quitting this series at #30; it’s no longer written by Lee Child and isn’t as good as it used to be
Longmire series by Craig Johnson
Gamache series by Louise Penny
Will Trent series by Slaughter; I haven’t read her other series or standalones
Myron Bolitar by Coben; I haven’t read most of his many standalones
Mrs. Pollifax series by Gilman
Song of Ice and Fire series by Martin
Working on reading currently:
Murderbot series by Wells
Slough House series by Herron
Montalbano series by Camilleri
Adrienne says:
I have a couple of Maggie O’Farrell books on my TBR, but the only one I have read is This Must Be the Place, which I liked but did not love.
I’m a reluctant Jodi Picoult completist… I love her writing style and in her earlier writing years, I snapped up each book as soon as it was published. Lately though, I think her books often present a very one-sided view of a complex or controversial topic, and I don’t appreciate the way she uses her characters actions and their dialogue to belittle opposing views. These days I’m far less enthusiastic about reading her books. The recent exception is “By Any Other Name,” which I found to be a fabulous historical fiction novel.
Happy Reading!
Bev says:
I’m replying simply to say that your comment, especially “a reluctant Jodi Picoult completist,” perfectly expresses my opinion of her works after reading them for many years now. “Leaving Time” is one of my all time favorite reads. I have not read “By Any Other Name,” having given up on her, but based on your opinion it is already in my Amazon cart. Thank you!
Adrienne says:
Hi Bev! I loved Leaving Time too; it was very different from many of her other books. I hope you enjoy By Any Other Name! Really, really good!
Leslie J says:
I actually have a shared note in my phone with my book besties tracking our completist authors/goals!
So far, I am a completist in Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, Jane Austen, Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanigahara, Donna Tartt, Emily Henry, and Abby Jiminez. On the goals list: Amor Towles (3/4), Curtis Sittenfeld (4/10), Lauren Groff (5/8), Elena Ferrante (4/8), Barbara Pym (11/14), Rosamunde Pilcher (5/32), Barbara Kingsolver (4/9), Lily King (3/7), and Kazuo Ishiguro (3/8). This is a list I need to revisit more frequently! Perhaps I will add Maggie O’Farrell, I have read three of her books. What a wonderful topic.
Beth C. says:
Completist of Maeve Binchy, Anita Shreve & Amor Towles.
Really liked Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (my first of hers) and The Marriage Portrait. DNF This Must Be the Place, but might have to give it another go.
Kathrin says:
A few days ago the Guardian published their ranking of Maggie O’Farrell’s works. You might find a comparison interesting (although I understand that yours is not a ranking).
In terms of being a completist, I’m steadily working on becoming one for Agatha Christie but haven’t managed to even come close for other authors. There are just too many good books and authors out there.
Jean Speake says:
I am so glad I read this far in the comments because there are a few others like me who habitually are completist readers! There are currently 27 authors on my completist list, although five of them are only for a particular series they wrote, and I am close to completing Ann Patchett’s backlist. Mind you, I am 70 so there are a lot of reading years represented there, and some authors that younger readers have probably never heard of or read!
This is a great topic. I’ve enjoyed reading what authors other readers are completists of, both the authors we have in common and the authors I haven’t read much of but might want to explore. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the MMD team have to share on this topic.
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68 comments
My completist authors are Barbara Kingsolver, Geraldine Brooks and Ann Patchett. A lunch date with one or all three of them would be a real treat!
I believe I’m a completist for both Louise Penny and Jan Karon. Yes, wildly different tales!
Diane,
I’m almost a completist in Jan Karon ( we live in Blowing Rock the town Mitford was based on) and am a Louise Penny completist. I’ve always thought that Louise Penny’s writing is exactly how Jan Karon would write a mystery. The character development, small town community and characters are both so layered-when either author has set her books outside Three Pines or Mitford I miss the supporting casts. Glad to know there’s someone out there that feels the same!
I love the range!
Yes, I could only think of Laura Ingalls Wilder at first, but I’ve read all of Jan Karon’s Mitford series including a few short stories. I think I’m missing one or two from Louise Penny.
I’d like to be a completist for Taylor Jenkins Reid and maybe Ann Patchett, but I have a long way to go on both.
For Karon and Penny, I think I’m in love with their main characters, even though both are married and I know I’d love their wives too.
For Reid, I just really love her intricate stories that I can get lost in. And once I started reading a few, I found that some of her characters showed up in other books. Like one of her characters mentioned the actress, Evelyn Hugo. I just think that’s fun.
For Patchett, I just think she writes interesting stories about all kinds of people and I never quite know where I’m going to end up.
Thanks for the list! Is is presented in the recommended way to read her books? Start w/Instructions for a Heatwave and end w/The Marriage Portrait?
Nope, one of my ongoing laments is that the order books appear in our lists is not consistent, so please don’t read anything into the order they appear in here! I walked you through my own Maggie O’Farrell journey in the text above, but I don’t believe there’s any “right” or “wrong” way to enter in.
Thank you for this post. I’m eager to read more Maggie O’Farrell. I have read Hamnet and am curious about her other books which I know you have raved about for years. I’m working on being an Elizabeth Strout completist.
I have read all of Fredrik Backman. His writing style is so unique and quirky, yet his characters are well-developed.
I’m a completist for Tana French and Louise Penny, and on my way to becoming one for Maggie O’Farrell. I’ve read The Marriage Portrait, Instructions For a Heatwave, This Must Be The Place, and Hamnet, and loved them all. The Marriage Portrait is actually my favorite, I think because I had so much sympathy for Lucretia and loved how the author took the story of a girl about whom so little was known and fleshed it out in such an amazing way. Thank you for starting this series with Maggie O’Farrell, I just put two more of her books on hold at my library!
These are the 4 that I have read as well! I think I’m going to re-read This Must Be the Place, and then maybe read her memoir.
Love this! If someone were completely new to O’Farrell, which three of her books would you recommend they start with and in what order?
IMO I’d start with Hamnet or This Must Be the Place. Enjoy!
I’d say that depends on your specific interests as a reader: The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet are both excellent, and both are 100% historical. This Must Be the Place is another excellent starting point. Depending on your interests, Instructions for a Heatwave and After You’d Gone could be hospitable entry points as well. I’d advocate for starting with one of these instead of other titles in her backlist.
thanks to you anne, i’m on my way to being a completist of Maggie O’farrell, Emily St. john Mandel, and Lily King, all authors i discovered from MMD.
Anne, you put Maggie O’Farrell on my reading radar so thank you. I am not a completist of her novels but I could be. My first O’Farrell was Instructions for a Heat Wave. I think This Must Be the Place will be my next. I have found alot of joy going through Anne Tyler’s novels. Also Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, and Geraldine Brooks are ones I love. I have never read Isabel Allende but her novels are on my TBR list. I am a completist on Abbi Waxman novels except her newest which I will purchase soon. Also I have completed all of Spencer Quinn’s Dog On It series. So fun.
MMD and Patreon member here- loving the new Completist Author series and excited for the upcoming author event. I have read 3 books by Maggie O’Farrell: This Must Be the Place, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and Hamnet (This one was my favorite). I’m a Fredrik Backman completist and my favorite book of his is My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. Happy Reading from Rochester, NY!
I’m excited you’re excited!
I am curious why you didn’t include The Hand that First Held Mine. I just finished that one, and enjoyed the last 30 % of it most. I have read a few other of her books, and this wasn’t my favorite but it still had the emotional resonance that I love in her books.
The only reason is that I didn’t want to set a bad example for my team and write about ALL of them—I had to cut something! I enjoyed The Hand That First Held Mine. 🙂
I am a completist for Edith Pargeter/ Ellis Peters ( Heaven Tree Trilogy and Brother Cadfael), Rosemary Sutcliffe, Deborah Crombie and Rumer Godden
I’ve read all of Julie Klassen’s books and also all of Sarah Jio’s novels. They are different writing styles but I love them both. A runner up is Tess Thompson’s books, but I never completely read every book she wrote. But love her writing style.
My first was The Disappearing Act of Esme Lennox. She became my new favorite immediately. I read a number of her others, but none resonated so well until Hamnet. I found Maggie O’Farrell, Kate Atkinson, and Ruth Ozeki in the same year and what a wonderful trio. Very different, and yet they capture mood so well.
I am a completest of Fredrick Bachman and Louise Penny. I have not read Maggie O’Farrell but Hamnet is on my to read list.
My completist authors (caveat all adult works) are Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
I think emotionally resonant is the common thread that also speaks to me. The timelessness of the themes and lyrical writing.
I’m also nearly there with Amor Towles, just need to finish Table for Two.
Instructions for a Heat Wave, is my favorite dysfunctional family story of all in that genre. Anne, you may have inspired me to go back and read her very earliest works. That’s the only problem with the personal curriculum idea…i keep acquiring them cause I think everything sounds fun and then I get mad at myself cause I cannot get them all read!!!
I picked up This Must Be the Place because of your recommendation. This is a good example of not every book is for every person. I have to be honest. I don’t think I even finished it. I don’t even remember why, but it just wasn’t for me at the time. However, I did read all of Hamnet. I think I was committed to it because of my old love of Shakespeare. Perhaps I should try another book of hers.
My only completist author has been Ruta Sepetys, but she has recently co-authored some newer YA novels that I have in my library, and now I need to read those. I would like to be a Kristin Hannah completist, but I need breaks between her novels, so it’s taking a while. I also spent one summer completing all of Jane Austen’s works.
I also did not enjoy This Must Be the Place. Part of me thinks it’s Anne’s fault, I expected so much from her favorite book, how could it possibly live up?
Donna, I love Maggie but This Must Be The Place is one of my least favourites. Her books are all very different so worth trying others.
Being a WSIRN longtime listener, I’ve read (and loved) most of Maggie O’Farrell’s books because my reading tastes are so similar to Anne’s (part of what I adore about MMD!) but I’m discovering in this moment that I have never read Instructions for a Heatwave – firmly on my TBR now!
I love the idea of being a “Completionist” of my favorite authors and I can’t wait for this full series. Looks like I made a list back in 2024 of “Favorite Authors and All Their Books” and on that list for me: Tana French, Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ann Patchett, Emily St. John Mandel, and Jane Harper. Gosh I love them all so – don’t know who I’d choose to write my own essay about… whole heartedly recommend them all! Any book twins out there?
I’m a completist of Barbara Kingsolver. I first read The poison wood bible, loved it. Then The Lacuna, which remains one of the-if not the- favourite book ever. Also The Bean tree, and she is now an automatic buy as soon as she has a new one out.Demon Copperhead, so good too.
I just discovered O’Farrell, with Hamnet and will certainly read more, thanks for the helpful list!
I looooooove this concept…can’t wait to hear all the team’s picks. For the record, I thought Hamnet was breathtaking!! There are two authors whose works I have completed: Louise Erdrich (I started with Love Medicine back in 1997!), and more recently, Emily St. John Mandel (shout out to MMD for compelling me to read Station Eleven, the book that rejuvenated my love of reading and kickstarted my adult reading life).
All of Maggie O’Farrell, anll of Jacqueline Winspear, and all of Inspector Gramache series (not all of Louis Penny).
A few years ago I set out to read all of Thomas Hardy’s books and I have completed them. The first Hardy I read was Tess of the D’Ubervilles but that was in high school and when I decided to read the complete ouevre, I reread it. So glad I did because I realized that the edition we read in high school was censored. One thing about reading all the works of an author who is dead is that they are a finite number so you know what you have taken on.
Like many other commentators, I’ve read all of Louise Penny (really, how could you not?)
I am currently working on reading all the novels by Canadian author, Helen Humphreys, who is not nearly well enough known even in Canada and I’ll bet many of the readers don’t even know her. She writes in a number of genres but historical fiction would be the most common. The first book I read by her was The Lost Garden which is set in England during World War II. The book that is my absolute favourite is Coventry, also set in England during World War II. I highly recommend you check out this author.
I’m a completist for Barbara Kingsolver. First read the poison wood bible, loved it. Then, The Lacuna remains one of, if not the, favourite book ever. I’d also recommend The bean tree -much shorter. She has since been an automatic buy, her last, Demon Copperhead, another great read.
I’ve just read my first O’Farrell, Hamnet and will certainly read more, probably Instructions for a heatwave next. Thanks for your helpful list!
I am so excited with the concept and now execution of this series! I am making a list of those authors I would like to be more aware of to complete all works. This has been a great to help steer me toward books I may enjoy, especially to seek out if my Priority TBR is low.
I read all of Becky Chambers in 2025 thanks to Shannan’s high praise introduction. Still on the list, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Also close for LM Montgomery and Ann Patchett.
Wally Lamb and T. J. Klune for me !
Oh God .YES, Wally Lamb, I forgot to mention him myself !
I love the idea of being a completist… Like others here, it was you Anne, who introduced me to Maggie O’Farrell during Covid in 2020. My first book of hers was I am I am I am and it remains one of my favourite books of all time! I thought I was nearing being a completist of her work, but this list has shown me a few backlist ones I have now added to my library list. I watched the Hamnet movie on Friday as it is only showing in South Africa now, and the story and exquisite soundtrack by Max Richter, is still consuming my thoughts. So this post is very timeous.
Reading other’s comments I’ve realised I am probably closest to being a completist of Taylor jenkins Reid’s books – I am currently reading Atmosphere and only have 1 more backlist book to go! Good goal for 2026 – though I’ve taken on my own A-Z reading challenge, inspired by but not as strict as your recent podcast guest 😉
Sue Miller for me
Jane Kirkpatrick for me. I love her writing style and she writes from the point of view of women in historical settings with a spiritual grounding being traced through her stories.
I don’t think I’m a completist for anybody! (unless of course I happened to read the only book written by an author). This series is going to make me think. I feel like my reading life has been split in two – there was the way I used to read, the long break, and the way I read now. This reminded me that in my old reading life I often (always?) read additional books by the same author. It was my way, find a book I like, read several books by that same author, move on to someone new. I haven’t even thought about this in many many years. It hasn’t even occurred to me in recent years to look at an author’s backlog. How interesting!
What a great idea for a series! I’m very much looking forward to it!
I don’t know if I’m a completist for anyone, but I’m close on several I think. I’m going work on that. Thank you for the inspiration!
I have never really thought about a completist list, but I was intrigued. So I had to think which authors I love and have read all of their books. I may be missing a few but here goes: Wallace Stegner, Elizabeth Strout, Elizabeth Berg, Anne Tyler, Fannie Flagg, Richard Russo, Carol Shields, Alice Hoffman, Peggy Ehrhart ( she writes a cute Knit and Nibble mystery series that I started as a comfort read in 2020 during the pandemic and I love the knitting group characters so I read every one! ), Simon Van Booy (still working on his back issues), Fredrik Backman, Maeve Binchy, Susan Branch, Michael Cunningham, Kent Haruf, William Kent Krueger. Ok I will stop there. I had no idea I did this! There are many others I am still working through. I will now pay more attention to this.
This sounds great!! But I have a rocky road with Maggie O Farrell. My first was because of Anne’s rec—-This Must Be The Place. To be honest, I just didn’t “get it.”! But then I read, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and WOW!!! Masterful, spellbinding, astounding!!! It remains my favorite O’ Farrell. (Good pairing would be The Woman Who Would Not Be Silenced). Then I read Hamnet. Sorry, for me, this was a tedious non-story. What am I missing? But then I read Instructions for a Heatwave, and realized—yeah, she’s my people! I love these character driven atmospheric novels. After that was I Am I Am I Am and I thought it was excellent. And finally, just last month I read The Hand That First Held Mine and I thought it was sooo good! Really liked the way she brought the timelines together!
I am a completist with Monica Wood, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth Strout, Liane Moriarty, Dick Francis, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and Sue Grafton. Am working on Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Tyler. And Maggie O!
My completist authors at this point are: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Edgar Allan Poe, The Minimalists, and Courtney Carver. I’m almost there with Jen Hatmaker – just missing “Feed These People”. I’ve just started reading through the Kristin Hannah catalog.
I’m so excited about this series! I am a Fredrik Backman completist and aspire to be an Anne Tyler completist, though she is so prolific that I have a long way to go to go.
Anne, you introduced me to This Must Be the Place and it is now high on my list of all-time favorites. I have not (yet) read all of Maggie O’Fararell’s books, but I’ve loved the four that I HAVE read and look forward to reading more.
Anne Tyler is the first for whom I became a completist. She got me back into reading in a big way, in an adult way. All her books are in this perfect bubble in my brain 📚🥰
I completely relate to the joy of being a completist reader—it feels like stepping into an author’s full universe. Maggie O’Farrell is a brilliant choice, and reading her entire body of work really shows how her themes and style evolve over time!
I am a completist of Rebecca Serle and Tracey Lange. I’m reading Hamnet now, but so far I’m not in love with it.
As a high school student I was a completist for every Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle. As an adult I’ve read every Louise Penny book including State of Terror co-written with Hilary Clinton, and have reserved The Last Mandarin, slated for release May 12th, also a thriller and co-written with Mellissa Fung. I’ve even made the pilgrimage to Knowlton with a friend. 🙂 I love Louise Penny’s books because she can be relied on to consistently develop her characters, because she is really writing about relationships, community, trust, and what drives people to do what they do, and because she can spin a darn good mystery yarn that resonates beyond the actual mystery (see start of this sentence).
I’ve read Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water and would like to read the remaining books by Abraham Verghese. I find his writing immersive and a beautiful blend of history and poignant characters. Finding an author such as Verghese, who gifts me lengthy deep stories that stay in my head for the duration and beyond, is my idea of heaven in a book. 🙂
The covenant of water is wonderful on audio by the author.
If I love an author, I almost always go back and read all their backlist and it is fun to see them evolve. Especially if you can read in order of publishing date.
Slowly, oh so slowly, working my way through William Kent Krueger series. I collect any of his books from thrift stores and Little Free Libraries, etc. so I’m developing my own shelf of his books.
When I love a book by an Author I want to read everything they`ve ever written so I am , I guess a “a completest reader “Love “literary fiction”, and crime and mystery and not sure what you would call are the others but here is my list. Kate Atkinson,Ann Patchett, Maggie O`Farrell, Daniel Silva Ann Tyler,Elly Griffiths, Anne Rivers Siddons, Kristen Hannah, Kate Ellis,Richard Osman, John Grisham,Lillian Jackson Braun, Hennig Mankell,Ragnar Jonasson, Trisha Ashley, Miranda James, Viveca Sten, Lucy Foley, Susan Hill, Katrine Engberg, Anthony Horowitz, Lisa Jewell, Andrev Kurkov, Sophie Hannah, John Banville, Elin Hildebrind, Denise Mina, and Louise Penny. I probably have forgotten some. I am also a real book lover and when I finish a novel I have loved I am always sad because I will miss the characters, and the place it took place in and the Author`s voice. I guess that`s why I am a “completest reader “.
I accidentally read The Hand that First Held Mine 7 years ago when I pulled the book from a hotel book swap on my kids’ spring break. What serendipity! I love O’Farrell’s writing and would love to take on the challenge of being a completist. Other authors on that list for me: Fredrik Backman and Lily King. I don’t think I’ve been a completist since childhood (Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, S.E. Hinton).
I love this topic and can’t wait to hear about more authors!! I’m a completist for Emily Giffin, Abby Jimenez, and Maud Hart Lovelace, and I’m getting there with Maeve Binchy!!
I love this plan for a series about completist reading! I have read all full-length books by at least Silvia Moreno-Garcia, David Mitchell, Becky Chambers and Jane Austen. I have to finish one more by Elif Shafak and then I’ll have read all hers too! I try to hunt down all these authors’ short stories too, but haven’t quite gotten there, sometimes they are harder to access. It is interesting, because none of these authors mostly write the kinds of books I would consider to be my favorite kinds of books, if I had to define a favorite kind of book, and yet I love them all. Like, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books are spookier than I usually read, but I love them. Elif Shafak’s are almost too sincere for me at times, I am often more cynical, but I love them too. I think they all help me be a more complete person.
Years ago I read After You’d Gone and This Must Be the Place. I absolutely loved reading both of those and was so excited to read Hamnet when it published in paperback. I tried several times but could not get past the writing and slow pace of Hamnet.
I read a variety of books, preferring literary fiction, but rarely complete the works of an author. I will always read everything written by Amor Towles, though. I just made a list of O’Farrell’s other novels and am excited to begin reading the rest, unless I come across another Hamnet. Or perhaps I will try reading it again; often one must read the right book at the right time!
I have a few: Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult and Liz Moore.
I tend to be a completist of series, rather than authors. Recent examples:
Alphabet/Kinsey Millhone mysteries by Sue Grafton
All series by Michael Connelly (Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer, etc.)
Reacher series by Lee Child; I’m quitting this series at #30; it’s no longer written by Lee Child and isn’t as good as it used to be
Longmire series by Craig Johnson
Gamache series by Louise Penny
Will Trent series by Slaughter; I haven’t read her other series or standalones
Myron Bolitar by Coben; I haven’t read most of his many standalones
Mrs. Pollifax series by Gilman
Song of Ice and Fire series by Martin
Working on reading currently:
Murderbot series by Wells
Slough House series by Herron
Montalbano series by Camilleri
I have a couple of Maggie O’Farrell books on my TBR, but the only one I have read is This Must Be the Place, which I liked but did not love.
I’m a reluctant Jodi Picoult completist… I love her writing style and in her earlier writing years, I snapped up each book as soon as it was published. Lately though, I think her books often present a very one-sided view of a complex or controversial topic, and I don’t appreciate the way she uses her characters actions and their dialogue to belittle opposing views. These days I’m far less enthusiastic about reading her books. The recent exception is “By Any Other Name,” which I found to be a fabulous historical fiction novel.
Happy Reading!
I’m replying simply to say that your comment, especially “a reluctant Jodi Picoult completist,” perfectly expresses my opinion of her works after reading them for many years now. “Leaving Time” is one of my all time favorite reads. I have not read “By Any Other Name,” having given up on her, but based on your opinion it is already in my Amazon cart. Thank you!
Hi Bev! I loved Leaving Time too; it was very different from many of her other books. I hope you enjoy By Any Other Name! Really, really good!
I actually have a shared note in my phone with my book besties tracking our completist authors/goals!
So far, I am a completist in Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, Jane Austen, Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanigahara, Donna Tartt, Emily Henry, and Abby Jiminez. On the goals list: Amor Towles (3/4), Curtis Sittenfeld (4/10), Lauren Groff (5/8), Elena Ferrante (4/8), Barbara Pym (11/14), Rosamunde Pilcher (5/32), Barbara Kingsolver (4/9), Lily King (3/7), and Kazuo Ishiguro (3/8). This is a list I need to revisit more frequently! Perhaps I will add Maggie O’Farrell, I have read three of her books. What a wonderful topic.
Completist of Maeve Binchy, Anita Shreve & Amor Towles.
Really liked Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (my first of hers) and The Marriage Portrait. DNF This Must Be the Place, but might have to give it another go.
A few days ago the Guardian published their ranking of Maggie O’Farrell’s works. You might find a comparison interesting (although I understand that yours is not a ranking).
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/16/more-heartache-than-hamnet-maggie-ofarrells-best-books-ranked
In terms of being a completist, I’m steadily working on becoming one for Agatha Christie but haven’t managed to even come close for other authors. There are just too many good books and authors out there.
I am so glad I read this far in the comments because there are a few others like me who habitually are completist readers! There are currently 27 authors on my completist list, although five of them are only for a particular series they wrote, and I am close to completing Ann Patchett’s backlist. Mind you, I am 70 so there are a lot of reading years represented there, and some authors that younger readers have probably never heard of or read!
This is a great topic. I’ve enjoyed reading what authors other readers are completists of, both the authors we have in common and the authors I haven’t read much of but might want to explore. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the MMD team have to share on this topic.
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