It is very possible that your favorite author has not written many books. So I am not asking who your favorite author is but rather which authors have you read the most books. It is likely that you don't even know this. I know because I keep a data base of books read with comments about each. If you had actual figures it might surprise you. I estimated my top three authors and only got one right when I checked the data base. Here are my three most read authors:
1. Lucy Gordon
2. Maureen Child
3. Nora Roberts
Each of these authors has written a lot of books and I don't remember reading one I didn't like. I must say that I liked Nora Roberts series romances best and may have read all the early ones.
What's your story - Do you have any way of knowing? I wonder how many people will share the same top three. I bet no one has my top three.
Update: Wow! This is just fascinating. These are great posts and I want to update the request. You can just do the romance genre as I have done or you can do any authors in any other genres. I also noticed that many have put more than three authors so I am going to expand my list. I don't suggest you count re-reads.
Romance Authors:
Lucy Gordon
Maureen Child
Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb
Betty Neels
Margaret Daley (plus 4 pen names)
All Genres Combined
Louis L'Amour (about 110 books)
Isaac Asimov (includes fiction & non-fiction)
Lucy Gordon
Douglas Reeman / Alexander Kent
Maureen Child
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
Mercedes Lackey Anne
Mercedes Lackey
Anne MacCaffery
Betty Neels
Emilie Loring
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Several of the authors
Several of the authors listed below were so close i had to list them all.
1) Nora Roberts
2) Julie Garwood
3) Linda Howard
4) Linda Lael Miller
5) Debbie Macomber
6) Jayne Ann Krentz
Kathy D
I had a big reply written and then the storm lost it for me
As I had intended to say, if you like authors who are prolific and have been around for a while then you have some good names. I would like to be able to name Leeanne and Lori here but unfortunately they're newbies and like all newbies they don't have a big backlist
Off the top of my head I would have to name Catherine Mann, Cindy Dees, Julie Miller, Charlotte Vale Allen, Barbara Delinsky, Stephanie Laurens, Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, Enid Blyton, Jessica Bird/JR Ward
Some people I have the intention of reading all their backlist when I can find it and/or all their new releases are Olivia Gates, Liz Fielding, Lainey Bancroft, Lori Borrill and Elle Kennedy, Diana Duncan
I've loved most of what I've read by Jo Leigh, Merline Lovelace, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts aka JD Robb,
BTW I think I could go on forever, but then I'm a rather prolific reader (with a slight flair for understatement
)
Has this answered your question?
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Well, for me I have five or
Well, for me I have five or so that are pretty high:
Nora Roberts/JD Robb; Jayne Ann Krentz (and all of her other names - Jayne Castle, Amanda Quick, Stephanie James), Debbie Macomber, Diana Palmer and Susan Mallery
Cady
TBR--The Born Readers
Hmm, Nora Roberts, Julia
Hmm,
Nora Roberts, Julia Quinn, Catherine Coulter, Stephanie Laurens, Debbie Macomber
New authors that do not yet have much in a backlist but are worth mentioning include: Amy Andrews, Olivia Gates, Fiona Lowe, Lynne Marshall. I plan on reading everything they produce
There are many others I love and look for their books whenever I'm near any bookstore, or website, or garage sale...
Nancy
Vince, this is a tough one!
I wish I had a database, too! I'll have to guess:
Ann Major, Maureen Child, Nora Roberts, Maggie Shayne, and Heather Graham.
I can't really list a top three in that group, so I'll list those five instead!
August's MEMBER OF THE MONTH
"It's perfectly normal to love both Jane Austen and Edgar Allan Poe..." -- (Me!)
I couldn't list three so
I couldn't list three so here are my top five:
Tiffany
BJBC
My Shelfari Page
Top Three?
Jude Deveraux, Kat Martin, and Mary Higgins Clark. The latter isn't romance, but I've read every single book she's written, as well as those by her daughter. I also read a lot from Susan Mallery, Diana Palmer, Nora Roberts, and Samantha James. However, several of the authors I've read and loved only have a few books to their credit so far, some only one. If they publish more books I'll be sure to read them, but it's not fair to count them yet since they're not actually eligible for having the most books written.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Re-reading?
Do re-reads count in our numbers? Or do you mean just the most prolific authors? Because I have some authors that I re-read all/most/many of their books(depending on how many they have) every year (or every other). If re-reads count that might change my answer.
The great gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap [Hah! It most certainly is not!], it consoles, it distracts, it excites. It gives knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
Oh, i completely forgot
Oh, i completely forgot about Suzanne Brockmann.
Kathy D
Hi Jo, What Vince means is:
Hi Jo, What Vince means is: if you were to look at all the books that you've read since you started reading, which authors have you read the most of.
Hope that's clearer.
Kathy D
re: reading the most books
Interesting...now I'm wishing I had a database so I could see which authors I've read the most of...it would probably have to be one of the authors of a series I read as a kid, but I'm not sure which ones were written by ghostwriters. I know Nancy Drew and the Sweet Valley books were, so they don't count...what about the Babysitter's Club? Hmm.
Otherwise, I'd say probably Anne McCaffrey...prolific, and I really enjoyed her books, so I read most of them. She beats out Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley by just a tiny bit, I think.
Lady Amalthea...
I didn't consider the books I read when I was younger. I guess I could also include Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew) and Lucy Maude Montgomery (best known for Anne of Green Gables), even though it's been a while since I've read either one. However, if we're talking the whole scope of our lives, I did an awfully lot of reading when I was a kid and teenager and I loved reading books from those two series.
So that was a good point you mentioned.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Good question!
I don't have my keepers logged yet, but I can just turn around and look at the shelves to see, so in no particular order and definitely more than 3:
And in Harlequins:
Now I definitely want to get started on my keepers - the TBRs are all done except for about 50 anthologies. Once they are in then it is keeper time!
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
Oops! I forgot the bookshelf in my living room!
How could I forget these? - besides having every book they've ever written, they are also favourite authors!
~ ElleJay - Team member of Novel Obsession
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the pleasure is having lots to do and not doing it!
1. Betty Neels 2. Agatha
1. Betty Neels
2. Agatha Christie
3. Anne Mather
I have read so many books in my life this was a hard one to answer.
Only 3?
Hmm... Interesting question. But a tough one. If I can limit it to romance/romantic suspense, it'll be easier. But there are so many authors I used to read voraciously in the past (many I remember the books/series, but not the author), but now I really have to pick and choose and prioritize because of my reading time.
Without keeping any particular kind of data, but instead relying on a quick look at my keeper shelf, I'd say these are the authors of whose books I've read the most:
1. Janet Dailey (nothing recent, though--but any HQ Presents she wrote, plus some of her early ST's)
2. Debbie Macomber (her true romances--have read her Navy books many times--and her RS's, though none of her women's fiction books)
3. Rachel Lee (pretty much anything--all of her SIM/SRS, her ST's--though I haven't gotten into her ST's as Sue Civil-Brown too much, and her fantasies for LUNA)
4. Suzanne Brockmann (pretty much everything)
5. Debra Webb (ditto)
Now, if I can open it up to non-romance and scan back over the years, then I'd say:
1. Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew)
2. Agatha Christie
3. Donald J. Sobol (Encyclopedia Brown)
(I was a mystery junkie even as a kid
)
Julie Miller
ARMED AND DEVASTATING--The Precinct: Brotherhood of the Badge mini-series--Intrigue, July 08 (Romantic Times Top Pick!)
PRIVATE S.W.A.T. TAKEOVER coming in October!
Enter my Summer Book GiveAway Contest at www.juliemiller.org
Thanks For Your Posts -- Note: I've Updated the Original Post
Hi All:
I find this very interesting. Please note that I've updated the initial post to include all books and also a list of just romance books. You can also include all the books you've read over a life time if you want.
Thanks again,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
choices of a newer romance reader
Since I am new to the genre, prolific doesn't count for me.
Harlequin authors:
Liz Fielding, Jessica Hart, Jackie Braun, Olivia Gates, Carol Townend and Michelle Willingham.
Lori Devoti, Amy Andrews & Michele Hauf when I read their new ones
All books:
Anonymous....the most prolific writer (and one of the best too) ever perhaps!
Hermann Hesse, Elie Wiesel, Chaucer, Sir Thomas Malory (if you count rereads), Robert Henryson.
I have no desire to read Nora Roberts whatsoever. Her early romance was too sweet to me and her online personality was quite the opposite so I have removed her from my list because I don't have time to read someone no matter how great her new stuff might be. I am trying to focus my reading more and she falls outside the areas I want to review. I can't even find time to read my Debbie Macomber books! As a newer romance reader, prolific is actually a negative connotation to me. When I see a long backlist, there has to be a very good reason to pick up an author...I can't even find time to read all of Hannah Howell, Margaret Moore or other Medieval classic romance writers. So far, Liz Fielding and Amanda Stevens are the only two authors for whom I have really made an effort to locate past books and that is purely based on the fact that to me personally, their writing style is so unique and wonderful to me. I am sure other people have their favorite classics but I just cannot see adding more right now---my TBR is absolutely staggering so I need to cut, not add unless it's a loved area like Medieval or romantic suspense or paranormal or action romance
AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus
This is an easy question to
This is an easy question to answer. They are all SF writers.
Top Three
Robert A. Heinlein - Did a bibilography for a pannel discussion many years ago. I was amazed at how many of his works I had read. Really don't care much for most of his later stories.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Have a complete set of the Mars and Venus series.
Robert Asprin - Skeeve and Ahz rock!
Others
Roger Zelazny - Loved the Amber series. Nice guy, too bad he is no longer with us.
CJ Cherryh - Been a while since I picked up one of her books.
John Norman - Stopped about half way through his Gor series.
Articfrog
"And, they lived haply ever after."
I Forgot -- I've Read All the John Norman Books
Hi Articfrog:
Woops! I"ve read all the John Norman books -- even the ones that were not part of the Gor series. Did you know he was a philosophy professor? Like C.S. Lewis, I think his books really aggravated his colleagues -- the problem was that each book was worse than the last one. Still I read them all because I knew how mad they were making at lot of PC lovers.
I must have read 1000 SF books. What do you think of Robert Silverberg? I think I enjoyed reading his books the most.
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
CS Lewis wrote some good
CS Lewis wrote some good Medieval scholarship that is still appropriate today. It might noit be the most cutting edge work but it was good and is still read today.
Don't ignore Anonymous!
AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus
Which Book Should I Read?
Hi Merri:
I love C. S. Lewis. I liked his SF the best. I've had a college course in C. S. Lewis and it was wonderful. His associates were not happy that he was so famous for writing non-academic popular books. I read many of his religious works but I never read any of his academic works. All I know was that he was very good and that some of his work is still used. Is there one I should read? A short one?
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
re: reading the most of...
Oh gosh, John Norman...I read some of the Gor books when I was way too young for them...my parents had no idea!
And hah, I completely went off into non-romance right away, didn't I? Like Paisley, it's a new genre for me, so most of my prolific reading was in sci-fi, fantasy, or mystery. I forgot about Agatha Christie! Read a bunch of her when I was a kid, too.
I love Silverberg's Majipoor
I love Silverberg's Majipoor Chronicles, but I have tried reading his other work. I didn't like his other books as much.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
CS Lewis and his medieval scholarship
Vince, a lot of CS Lewis' work is in essays in old journals and who knows where my moving boxes are with all my old notes if they mae it through the flood even. THE DISCARDED IMAGE and also THE ALLEGORY OF LOVE are 2 books I can remember though that are more accessible. A lot of cool authors were Medievalists..him, JRR Tolkein and even Dorothy Sayers...I discovered Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries quite by accident thanks to her scholarship.
AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus
Have You Read "The Inklings"? Fantastic if you like Lewis.
Hi Merri:
I'll check those two titles out. BTW, have you read The Inklings? It is a wonderful story of C. S. Lewis and his friends who met once a week for many years. If you have not read it, I think you'll love it. They do mention Sayers -- but she came in towards the end.
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
hmmmm....good question
I dont know if I can stop at 3....without actually going and counting each book (there may be some I dont have any more. Here is my list of most read, in no particular order.
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark-Hunter series)
Laurell K Hamlton (Anita Blake/Merry Gentry series)
Janet Evanovic (Stephanie Plum, and other books)
Karen Marie Moning (Highlander/Fever series)
Debbie Macomber (a couple series and singles)
Linda Lael Miller (McKettrick series, and others)
Anne Rice (most of the Vampire Chronicles)
Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampire series, and others)
Mary Janice Davidson (undead series and others)
Once I start to read an author and start to reading, i want to read everything they ever wrote. And once I start a series I cant stop, even if there are are a few I didnt care for. With Anne Rice, those books started getting repetitive, and I lost intrest.
Terri
Got Books?
Quick note
Vince,
I discovered John Norman's true identity recently. A blog comparing and contrasting the Gorian Male and the Presents Male would be interesting.
I have read only a few of Silverberg's books. Did you know he also did erotic pulp fiction in the sixties?
Science Fiction is my first love as a reader. The romance genre is a recent addition to my reading interests.
This blog is great. It is evidence to refute an old boss's claim that romance readers are single dimensioned.
Lady_Amalthea: I know what you mean. I was too young when I first read Stranger in a Strange Land. It didn't do as much damage as The Red Pony.
Articfrog
"And they lived haply ever after"
Articfrog
"And, they lived haply ever after."
Well that got me to
Well that got me to thinking and here are the authors I read the most. Forgive me Harlequin/Shilouette:
Hmmm....
For romance: JD Robb, Debra Webb, Maggie Shayne , Suzanne Brockmann, Sherrilyn Kenyon/Kinley MacGregor, Phyllis Whitney, and Victoria Holt would probably be the tops
If we're including non-romance, I've got to say: John Sandford, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Agatha Christie, Anne Rice
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge
Interesting . . . .
For me, the top names are:
1. Dr. Suess
2. Peanuts (you didn't say I couldn't include this)
3. Nancy Drew (Carolyn Keene)
4. Agatha Christie
5. Carole Mortimer
6. Nora Roberts
This list is based in order that I started reading them, not what I read the most of (which is probably NR). I remember plowing thru all the ND before moving on to AC. My first few Harl. I read were CM's Presents (which I still have). I also started reading NR early on (1982 or 83).
I'll have to do a more thorough check someday. I started writing down what I read in June of 2003, but that doesn't include the years before. I've kept a lot of books though, so we'll see. Some of my tops there would probably be (not including the above):
1. Miranda Lee
2. Alison Kent
3. Julie Elizabeth Leto
4. Julie Miller
5. Tori Carrington
I also made a list of authors I've done a lot (or all) audios. This is definitive, since I started listening late in 2003.
1. Stuart Woods
2. Janet Evanovich
3. James Patterson/Sue Grafton (tied)
4. Patricia Cornwell/Dorothy Gilman (tied)
Ok, now that I've added waaaaaay more than the original post wanted. Sorry Vince. Its really hard to limit
Amanda
If a man's home is his castle . . . HE can learn to clean it!
DFW Plus - Come see what we are reading!
Whew. I'm a huge HP
Whew. I'm a huge HP reader, and so many of the HP authors have written TONS of books. So it's hard to say who I've read the most of, when I've read dozens of books by any prolific HP author.
The authors in the HP line that I will read ANYTHING by: (these authors are on my "send them a medal and candy" list, because they usually give a light, angst-free story, with fidelity!)
Susan Napier, Carole Mortimer, Diana Hamilton, Michelle Reid
The author I've read the most in the past four months: Lynne Graham, 30 books or so
Authors I've enjoyed loads of books from: Robyn Donald, Emma Darcy, Kate Walker, Lucy Monroe, Penny Jordan, Sharon Kendrick, Sandra Marton, Miranda Lee, Kim Lawrence, Charlotte Lamb, Janet Dailey, Anne Mather
Non HP authors: Angela Knight, Nina Bangs