Depends what type of book or topic you are looking for. I read A LOT and I have tons of Catholic books and some favorite writers, but mostly I’m looking to fill some specific interest of need. Rather than looking for favorite writers, I usually look for Catholic publishing houses that I’ve come to trust for orthodox content and that carry lines of topics that I’m interested in. That way I don’t have to scan all the titles or writers names; I just look for the publisher’s name or icon on the spine, then I can pick the book up and see if it interests me. This saves me lots of time and annoyance.
Over the years, through trial and error, this is what I’ve found. Some may disagree, but it works for me:
GOOD Publishers of Catholic Books
Ignatius
Sophia
Basilica
Tan
OSV
Emmaus Road
Image
Servant
BAD Publishers of Catholic Books
Paulist Press
Notre Dame
Crossroads
Secular publishing houses (though they do occasionaly publish some good authors, like Scott Hahn)