Is there a reason why this web site is so geared to fiction? I can't get good statistics on this, but general consensus seems to be that
Nonfiction sells a lot more than fiction. And yet you look at this thread, and, unless I am missing something, it's all fiction.
Not that there's anything terrible about that.
As for favorite authors and why, I like to feel that I am getting in touch with what humanity is really like. And even to sometimes cry about the fate of a character, or of us all.
If I answered the OP question on seven days of the week, I'd give seven different answers, and I feel a little guilty how male this particular list turned out, but here's mine for tonight:
Non-fiction:
Hernando de Soto Polar
Erik Larson
Winston Churchill
and for today's US reality, one hit wonder Bill Bishop
Fiction:
Charlotte Brontė
Richard Russo
Anthony Trollope
Lately I'm reading a lot of Faye Kellerman (on book 5 of her 20 or so title series). I care about her characters much more than the norm for mystery books, and I like that the plots are simple enough for me to follow. But I'm not sure I trust her to be telling the truth about her characters rather than what she thinks will keep me reading.