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Who are your "Most Read Authors"
Ken > Reviews > Most Read Authors1 Kurt Vonnegut 16
2 Agatha Christie 12
3 Hunter S. Thompson 11
4 Joseph Delaney 9
5 John Saul 9
6 Jack Higgins 9
7 Anne Rice 8
8 Douglas Preston 8
9 H.P. Lovecraft 8
10 Arthur Conan Doyle 8
Probably Michael Moorcock since he has written about 200 books, most of which are out of print--and I've read most of them. Next would be Stephen King.
Douglas Preston 22Stephen King 18
James Rollins 16
Douglas Coupland 15
G.M. Ford 12
Matthew Reilly 11
Steve Berry 10
Kim Harrison 10
Michael Crichton 10
Greg Iles 9
Hmph. Pretty much how I thought that would play out.
1 Philip K. Dick 532 Stephen King 33
3 Clive Barker 19
4 Charles Bukowski 17
5 Dean Koontz 16
6 Jeffrey Ford 15
7 Robert Anton Wilson 14
8 Lemony Snicket 13
9 China Miéville 12
(tie) 10 Joe R. Lansdale 10
(tie) 10 George R.R. Martin 10
1 Stephen King 632 Robert R. McCammon 21
3 Kealan Patrick Burke 17
4 Greg F. Gifune 15
4 F. Paul Wilson 15
6 Dan Simmons 14
7 Jeffery Deaver 13
8. Tim Curran 11
8 John Connolly 11
10 David Morrell 10
10 Peter Straub 10
12 Jeff Strand 9
12 Dennis Lehane 9
Stephen King 69Kealan Patrick Burke 12
John Connolly 11
J A Konrath 10
Jeff Strand 9
John Grisham 8
Blake Crouch 7
Tim Curran 5
Michael Crichton 5
Greg F Gifune 5
Lee Thompson 5
Joe Hill 5
Scott Sigler 5
Mod
2. Terry Pratchett 33
3. F. Paul Wilson 27
4. Stephen King 27
5. Graham Masterton 26
6. Richard Laymon 23
7. Kealan Patrick Burke 22
8. Robert R. McCammon 19
9. Andrew Vachss 19
10. John Connolly 17
1 Stephen King 262 Clive Barker 10
3 Chuck Palahniuk 7
4 H.P. Lovecraft 7
5 Bret Easton Ellis 7
6 J.K. Rowling 6
7 Roald Dahl 6
8 Irvine Welsh 5
9 Douglas Coupland 5
10 William Shakespeare 5
1. Stephen King 312. Bernard Cornwell 21
3. Patrick O'Brian 21
4. C.S. Forester 12
5. Chuck Palahniuk 10
6. Robin Hobb 10
7. Jim Thompson 9
8. C.S. Lewis 8
9. John Steinbeck 8
10. Tom Clancy 8
This seems off, think I need to revisit my "read" list.
@Jon - I did not know you were a Pratchett fan. I am on the 6th book, plan on reading the whole series, he is a lot of fun.
Ken, you seem to be the only one that does not have Stephen King on the list. Hudson, my list seems to be off too. I swear I have read more John Connolly than what it says here.
Erin > Reviews > Most Read Authorsauthor books read
1 3389 Stephen King 71
2 13730 R.L. Stine 49
3 9355 Dean Koontz 21
4 123715 Agatha Christie 16
5 209672 Charles M. Schulz 10
6 12014 Max Allan Collins 8
7 630 Dan Brown 5
8 51518 John Skipp 4
8 6941 Peter Straub 4
8 111933 Donn Cortez 4
I haven't read R.L. Stine in years but I still have my Goosebumps books.
Mod
author books read
1 Graham Masterton 30
2 René Goscinny 26
3 James Patterson 23
4 Joanne Fluke 17
5 Dean Koontz 15
6 Kathy Reichs 14
6 Stephen King 14
8 Richard Laymon 13
9 Agatha Christie 12
10 Douglas Preston 11
10 Kim Harrison 11
12 J.K. Rowling 8
12 Nigella Lawson 8
12 Brian Keene 8
15 M.C. Beaton 7
15 Jack Ketchum 7
Kasia wrote: "This is so neat, I didn't even realize this was available to view on here :)author books read
1 Graham Masterton 30
2 René Goscinny 26
3 James Patterson 23
4 Joanne F..."
Me either and I just realized my entire list didn't copy and paste:
1 3389 Stephen King 71
2 13730 R.L. Stine 49
3 9355 Dean Koontz 21
4 123715 Agatha Christie 16
5 209672 Charles M. Schulz 10
6 12014 Max Allan Collins 8
7 630 Dan Brown 5
8 51518 John Skipp 4
8 6941 Peter Straub 4
8 111933 Donn Cortez 4
8 61105 Dr. Seuss 4
12 Alvin Schwartz 3
12 13388 Shirley Jackson 3
12 153394 Suzanne Collins 3
12 8726 Richard Matheson 3
12 706255 Stieg Larsson 3
17 Michael Norman 2
17 13974 Mark Z. Danielewski 2
17 6620 Greg Cox 2
17 11258 Stuart M. Kaminsky 2
17 3472 Margaret Atwood 2
17 2345 Nicholas Sparks 2
17 11758 Jerome Preisler 2
17 947 William Shakespeare 2
17 239579 Charles Dickens 2
17 Robert Cahill 2
Charlene wrote: "Ken, you seem to be the only one that does not have Stephen King on the list. Hudson, my list seems to be off too. I swear I have read more John Connolly than what it says here."
I like Stephen King's stories but don't have the patience to sit through 900 pages that could have been squeezed into 300.
Mod
Not all are that long
The Stand: 1,153 pages
It: 1,138 pages
Under the Dome: 1,072 pages
Insomnia: 787 pages
Desperation: 690 pages
Needful Things: 690 pages
Dreamcatcher: 620 pages
Duma Key: 607 pages
The Tommyknockers: 558 pages
Bag of Bones: 529 pages
although Stephen king is top of the list he is definitely not my favourite author. I only read him if I've got nothing interesting to read
sonny wrote: "although Stephen king is top of the list he is definitely not my favourite author. I only read him if I've got nothing interesting to read"Yeah, he's not my favorite, but he's pretty dependable really.
What was surprising to me was that I had read 8 Anne Rice books. I hate Anne Rice. I love her ideas but her execution annoys me. Every now and then, I find myself in front of a bargain bin with an Anne Rice title in my hand that I haven't read. I am SOOOOOO tempted. But, I just make myself put it down and walk away.
What about her execution don't you like, Ken?I loved her Mayfair Witches series and the first two or three Lestat stories, and then I fell out of love with her. I'm not sure why.
She feels the need to tell you how much smarter her characters are than you by making long lists of books that the character has read (that, I guarantee neither she nor you has read), as if this proves some sort of academic provenance.Secondly, call me a bigot for saying it if you want, but I don't need homo-eroticism (blatant or more subdued) in everything I read. She manages to weave something into every story. That's fine if that's what you want to read. I've got no problem with it. Its just not for me, at least not in the doses that Anne Rice serves.
There are other annoyances. But, those two are enough to keep me from wanting to read more.
Charlene wrote: "What about her execution don't you like, Ken?I loved her Mayfair Witches series and the first two or three Lestat stories, and then I fell out of love with her. I'm not sure why."
Too funny Charlene, I feel exactly the same way. Loved the characters in Mayfair and was actually pretty upset when Rowan cheated on (?) with Lasher!
1 Dick Francis 462 Stephen King 29
3 K.M. Peyton 9
3 Laura Ingalls Wilder 9
5 Rita Mae Brown 8
5 Armistead Maupin 8
5 John Connolly 8
8 Jane Smiley 7
8 J.K. Rowling 7
10 Marguerite Henry 6
It's nice to see some different authors, Holly!Ken, agree about the homo eroticism, for sure. It doesn't really bother me, but it is there.
I don't really remember about the lists of books, but I will take your word for it. I do follow Anne on FB, and she does read some pretty far out stuff. She also likes to talk about reviewers and reviews. She shows up on Amazon every once in a while to chat.
You all need to read more McCammon! ;-)If you don't like Anne's homo-eroticism, definitely stay away from her son Chris's books....
Hunter
McCammon would be in the top spot for me, if he just wrote some more. :)
Hunter wrote: "You all need to read more McCammon! ;-)If you don't like Anne's homo-eroticism, definitely stay away from her son Chris's books....
Hunter"
Funny you should say that! I picked up one of his books, hoping that the talent for ideas rubbed off on him but not some of the other traits. I opened the book to a random page, right into the middle of a man-on-man sex scene. Well, there you go.
LOL I've seen them on a book tour for both his and her new books they have that were just released. She is very supportive of him, which is nice. But m/m is not my thing.
Mod
Next, they'll be dedicating chapters to restroom visits.
"Bob's morning crap was wetter than usual, but the smell was invigorating....."
I wanna do this but my list is small and I've never read more then 2 of an authors books, I need to step it up!
Jon, aren't those the opening lines from an Edward Lee novel?
Jon Recluse wrote: "Bob's morning crap was wetter than usual, but the smell was invigorating....."Good opening line for a story, Jon. You should run with that!
1. Stephen King: 182. Clive Barker: 8
3. Douglas Adams: 6
tied for 4.Gregory Maguire, Bentley Little: 4
tied for 5: Isaac Asimov, Sarah Langan, H.P. Lovecraft, John Saul, Joe Hill, Junji Ito: 3
With Lovecraft it's a bit weird... I'm pretty sure I've read as many or close to as many stories as the person posting 8 books by Lovecraft... but number of books depends on how the stories were packaged.
I hope to soon move Joe Hill and Bentley Little up my list, and I hope Sarah Langan writes something else to read.
And in spite of myself, I am going to wind up reading more John Saul.
But as it stands... most writers I only read one or two things by.
R.L. Stine 44 Richard Laymon 33
Stephen King 33
Christopher Pike 31
Laurell K. Hamilton 24
Charlaine Harris 24
L.J. Smith 22
Bill Amend 17
Arthur Conan Doyle 13
Janet Evanovich 13
Hideyuki Kikuchi 11
1 Robert B. Parker 512 Neil Gaiman 37
3 Piers Anthony 34
4 Terry Pratchett 24
5 Tanya Huff 21
6 Simon R. Green 20
7 Stephen King 17
8 Warren Ellis 13
8 Christopher Moore 13
10 Peter David 12
This is a really cool function that I never ealised existed until I saw this thread. Mine certainly are no surprise to me.
Stephen King 39
Dean Koontz 34
Richard Laymon 24
Michael Connelly 15
Jeffery Deaver 15
Nora Roberts 13
Charlaine Harris 11
Tami Hoag 9
Joy Fielding 8
Terry Goodkind 8
Stephen Leather 8
Gabrielle Lord 8
I'm a bit surprised by #1 (and ashamed, but it's hard to not keep watching the train wreck, I haven't bought anything of hers in a decade...so I'm not totally crazy!)Of all the books in my top 10, there will be at least 10 more books added to the various authors by the end of the year, 5 new releases, at least 5 books on my tbr list.
1 Laurell K. Hamilton 35
2 Lilian Jackson Braun 30
3 Christine Feehan 25
4 Patricia Cornwell 24
5 Sue Grafton 23
6 Anne Rice 18
6 P.N. Elrod 18
8 Sherrilyn Kenyon 17
9 Kathy Reichs 16
10 Charlaine Harris 15
10 Kim Harrison 15
12 Terry Goodkind 14
13 Brian Lumley 13
13 Stephen King 13
15 Darren Shan 12
15 Anne McCaffrey 12
17 Kerrelyn Sparks 11
17 J.R. Ward 11
19 Amy Cross 10
19 Laura Ingalls Wilder 10
19 Lynsay Sands 10
This is a cool thread! We need to dust this off the shelf and bring it back into play for all the newcomers. Might need to update it a little for previous posters as it has been 2 years for members that had posted on here. :)With that being said...lol...here is my top ten:
1. John Saul - 29
2. Stephen King - 21
3. Dean Koontz - 12
4. John Sandford - 9
5. Bentley Little - 7
6. Darcy Coates - 7
7. Alex Kava - 7
8. Cindy Parmiter - 6
9. Mariah Stewart - 6
10. Ambrose Isben - 5
I was surprised that I had read more of Saul than King. I no doubt need to remedy that! lol
This is an interesting topic. I need to get my listing sorted ASAP!
Very cool thread. I hadn't noticed this list.1 Stephen King 51
2 Joe R. Lansdale 27
3 Greg F. Gifune 26
4 Jonathan Maberry 25
5 Elmer Kelton 21
5 Tom Piccirilli 21
7 Richard Laymon 18
7 Jeff Strand 18
9 Brian Keene 17
10 Dean Koontz 15
10 Edgar Rice Burroughs 15
10 Bernard Cornwell 15
There are some just outside of my top 10 I need to get back to.
Also, I'm really going to miss Tom Piccirilli. There are a few of his I still haven't read on my TBR that I'll be reading to start my new year.
I answered this about 2 1/2 years ago. Let's see how it changed.April 2014:
1 Robert B. Parker 51
2 Neil Gaiman 37
3 Piers Anthony 34
4 Terry Pratchett 24
5 Tanya Huff 21
6 Simon R. Green 20
7 Stephen King 17
8 Warren Ellis 13
8 Christopher Moore 13
10 Peter David 12
Dec 2016:
1 Robert B. Parker 51
2 Neil Gaiman 40
3 Piers Anthony 34
4 Terry Pratchett 25
5 Tanya Huff 21
6 Simon R. Green 20
7 Stephen King 19
8 Warren Ellis 15
9 Tinnean 13
9 Christopher Moore 13
Not a lot of change. But most of the authors have the same number of books read. I'm going to take that to mean I've been reading a lot of different authors, which is always a good thing.
2014:1 Laurell K. Hamilton 35
2 Lilian Jackson Braun 30
3 Christine Feehan 25
4 Patricia Cornwell 24
5 Sue Grafton 23
6 Anne Rice 18
6 P.N. Elrod 18
8 Sherrilyn Kenyon 17
9 Kathy Reichs 16
10 Charlaine Harris 15
10 Kim Harrison 15
2016:
1 Sherrilyn Kenyon 52
2 Laurell K. Hamilton 38
3 Christine Feehan 31
4 Lilian Jackson Braun 30
5 Patricia Cornwell 28
5 Robin Cook 28
7 Maggie Shayne 27
8 Sue Grafton 25
8 Lynsay Sands 25
10 J.D. Robb 23
10 P.N. Elrod 23
10 Anne McCaffrey 23
My top 10 has changed a fair bit. Wow, 35 Sherrilyn Kenyons in 2 years...
1 Richard Laymon 202 Stephen King 19
3 R.L. Stine 15
4 Joe R. Lansdale 13
5 Brian Keene 11
6 Jonathan Maberry 9
7 Dr. Seuss 9
8 Rick Remender 9
9 Simon Clark 8
10 24514 Brian K. Vaughan 7
1. Darren Shan 40
2. Stephen King 27
3. Neil Gaiman 16
4. Meg Cabot 12
5. J.K. Rowling 12
6. J.R.R. Tolkien 7
7. George R.R. Martin 6
8. Charles Dickens 6
9. L.A. Meyer 6
10. Douglas Adams 5
2. Stephen King 27
3. Neil Gaiman 16
4. Meg Cabot 12
5. J.K. Rowling 12
6. J.R.R. Tolkien 7
7. George R.R. Martin 6
8. Charles Dickens 6
9. L.A. Meyer 6
10. Douglas Adams 5
1. Christopher Pike 54
2. Francesca Lia Block 33
3. V.C. Andrews 20
4. Stephen King 11
5. Joe Hill 9
6. J.K. Rowling 8
6. Kelley Armstrong 8
8. Stephenie Meyer 7
8. C.S. Lewis 7
10. Mitch Albom 6
2. Francesca Lia Block 33
3. V.C. Andrews 20
4. Stephen King 11
5. Joe Hill 9
6. J.K. Rowling 8
6. Kelley Armstrong 8
8. Stephenie Meyer 7
8. C.S. Lewis 7
10. Mitch Albom 6
1 Bradley Poage 36
2 Hiroya Oku 34
3 Stephen King 29
4 Carlton Mellick III 28
5 Hideo Yamamoto 26
6 H.P. Lovecraft 25
7 R.L. Stine 24
8 Robert Bloch 23
9 Iain Rob Wright 22
10 Hitoshi Iwaaki 20
Well, the statistics based on works and volumes alone are perhaps a bit messy and non-representative. For example, the works by Bradley Poage and Iain Rob Wright have all been bite-sized shorts and the two japanese authors are actually manga artists. 34 manga volumes "equal" perhaps one or two long novels by Stephen King.
2 Hiroya Oku 34
3 Stephen King 29
4 Carlton Mellick III 28
5 Hideo Yamamoto 26
6 H.P. Lovecraft 25
7 R.L. Stine 24
8 Robert Bloch 23
9 Iain Rob Wright 22
10 Hitoshi Iwaaki 20
Well, the statistics based on works and volumes alone are perhaps a bit messy and non-representative. For example, the works by Bradley Poage and Iain Rob Wright have all been bite-sized shorts and the two japanese authors are actually manga artists. 34 manga volumes "equal" perhaps one or two long novels by Stephen King.
Tim wrote: "Very cool thread. I hadn't noticed this list.1 Stephen King 51
2 Joe R. Lansdale 27
3 Greg F. Gifune 26
4 Jonathan Maberry 25
5 Elmer Kelton 21
5 Tom Piccirilli 21
7 Richard Laymon 18
7 Jeff Stra..."
The reason you are seeing this list is because I went a few pages back in this thread and found it from 2 years ago. :) I like to explore the threads in HA to see what I have missed from the past. :)
2013:1 Kurt Vonnegut 16
2 Agatha Christie 12
3 Hunter S. Thompson 11
4 Joseph Delaney 9
5 John Saul 9
6 Jack Higgins 9
7 Anne Rice 8
8 Douglas Preston 8
9 H.P. Lovecraft 8
10 Arthur Conan Doyle 8
2016:
1 William Meikle 19
2 Kurt Vonnegut 16
3 Agatha Christie 15
4 David Haynes 14
5 Richard Laymon 12
6 Edward Lee 11
7 Hunter S. Thompson 11
8 John Bellairs 10
9 Jack Higgins 9
10 Joseph Delaney 9
10 John Saul 9
10 David Stuart Davies 9
10 H.P. Lovecraft 9
A little interesting revisiting this. Frightening though that I have Edward Lee and Richard Laymon high on a list that includes YA authors Bellairs and Delaney.
Happy to see Rice fall off the list. Happier to see HA authors showing up, namely Meikle and Haynes.
Marie wrote: "The reason you are seeing this list is because I went a few pages back in this thread and found it from 2 years ago. :) I like to explore the threads in HA to see what I have missed from the past. :)"Thanks for dusting this one off. I had been thinking about refreshing it for some time.
It's hard to keep track sometimes but I think this is pretty accurate.Alan Moore
HP Lovecraft
Neil Gaiman
Warren Ellis
Thomas Ligotti
Stephen King (from youth)
Jonathan Hickman
Clive Barker
Rick Remender
Grant Morrison
Horror Aficionados
Authors mentioned in this topic
Agatha Christie (other topics)Georges Simenon (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Mary del Priore (other topics)
J.R.R. Tolkien (other topics)
More...
How to find this info:
Go to "My Books". Look in the left column near the bottom and you will find a link "most read authors". Copy and paste the top ten here. You may have to clean the list up (formatting, not content!) a bit before posting.