She Fly and Emily, I only read books by authors like you mentioned. I have been on an "adventure reading" kick, due to the virtual book club I joined, and my interest in endurance sports. But, my reading isn't heavy duty, except for some of the non-fiction, maybe. Heck, I was an English minor and English teacher; I have always disliked classic lit. Not only do I find it difficult because of the language, I like to read stories that i can connect to in some way. That might sound anti-intellectual, but reading is reading. I get the New Yorker every week, and make it a rule to get through the entire magazine in a week... so I get my fill of "high end" authors that way, in a short form. Sometimes, I do skip the major piece of fiction, if I can't get into it, but the non-fiction content keeps me very informed, too.
I love New England authors, too and took a whole course on southern lit in college.