I had a thought

Osiyo,                                             

  
When I read books by someone else I think "I can write this", and I feel my well of creativity fill with excitement and ideas. Then, there's that occasional book that makes me feel like I'm totally wasting my time. Ms. Nora does that to me, but I know I am nowhere near her league yet. Being published is sort of a requirement to even get close to her! But there are others who are new to this game and I can read from them and just know they will go so far. These are the authors I aspire to match one day. Those who were just published since I became a serious writer are my true inspiration because they are the ones I relate most to now. They are friends who are completely comfortable in their own talent that they have no qualms with giving advice to a beginner. 
We are not their competition, we are co-workers striving for the ultimate goal: Success in our individual abilities to tell not just good stories, but great stories.

It is to these wonderful people that I want to say: Thank you.
I value these writers and their opinions and hope to repay them for their generosity. 

I am considering a monthly book review and, hopefully, in time I will have the opportunity to have guest blogs from some of them.

So, what I need from ya'll out there is names, titles, suggestions. What have you read, and by whom that struck your fancy? 
Why? 
Was it a good book, one you couldn't put down before that very last page? 
No? 
Why or why not? 
Who is your favorite author and why? 

What would YOU like to know about the art and the artists?
I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point as I begin the building stage of this quest to help ya'll: 

Meet Your Favorite Authors