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I notice that everyone here appears to associate the author's views with being something negative, which doesn't always have to be the case imo. Plenty of authors have strong opinions and convictions that shine through in their work without necessarily degrading the quality or feeling forced in any way.
There are plenty of authors who have carved out a niche for them by being as shocking or controversial as possible, but very few of them stay with you for very long. What really gets me are the non-fiction books out there that document the very real atrocities that humanity is able to inflict on each other. Just about any book about the Holocaust are mighty disturbing, but a special mention should also go to a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman called Maus. I believe it was based on the actual experiences of the author's father who lived through the terrors of Nazi Germany as a Jewish person. It isn't just unsettling, but also deeply sad. Just in case you are convinced that the Nazis were all evil cackling beings who thrived on death on violence you should read Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning. The book explains how a lot of the atrocities were committed by average middle-aged Germans who were just following orders.
I actually love horror books and rarely stray outside of this genre, especially not to read non fiction books. Well, imagine my surprise when a well meaning relative who knows about my reading tastes got me a nonfiction book that they thought was a fictional horror story. I haven't seen or heard a lot of people talk about this book, so I have no idea if it is actually popular or not, but it is called "Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men" by an author named Harold Schechter. Initially I also thought that it is fiction, I mean come on, a female psychopath serial killer who ran a murder farm? Well, turns out that not only was Belle a real person, but she also probably killed as many as 40 people who she lured to her farm under the pretense of seeking male companionship. Even more evil, when she suspected that she might be caught, Belle faked her own death and had her farm burned down with her own children still inside. Belle had a fondness for poisoning her victims before butchering them and this book made my blood run cold on a number of occasions! It is also the book that made me broaden my horizons from only reading horror novels to include some non fiction true crime stories as well and at this point I think the non fiction stuff scares me way more!
To find the answer to this question you don't even have to read the books of the authors just go on social media and see which ones have embraced the online culture. I'm not saying that authors who secret themselves away from the public I can't be pop culture savvy, but the ones who interact with their fans online definitely have their finger on the pulse. One of my favorites is Neil Gaiman, an author who has established quite a community on Twitter. He is also one of the few authors who don't mind getting his fans involved with his work and asking for their input while writing. I feel like I should also mention Margaret E. Atwood, who despite the fact that she is pushing 80, has close to two million followers on Twitter alone. Her books, like The Handmaid's Tale, has always been ahead of their time and it almost feels like pop culture is catching up to her and not the other way around!

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