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All-time best selling authors: how many have you bought?


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A list of best-selling authors.

Now the question is: how many of these are you responsible for?

How many of these authors have you bought something of? 

 

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
Barbara Cartland
Danielle Steel 
Harold Robbins 
Georges Simenon 
Sidney Sheldon 
Enid Blyton 
Dr. Seuss
Gilbert Patten 
J. K. Rowling
Leo Tolstoy  
Jackie Collins
Horatio Alger, Jr. 
R. L. Stine 
Corín Tellado 
Dean Koontz 
Alexander Pushkin 
Stephen King
Louis L'Amour 
Erle Stanley Gardner
Jin Yong 
Jirō Akagawa 
Janet Dailey
Nora Roberts
Edgar Wallace 
Robert Ludlum 
James Patterson 
Frédéric Dard 
Jeffrey Archer 
Stan and Jan Berenstain 
John Grisham
Zane Grey
Irving Wallace
J. R. R. Tolkien
Karl May 
Mickey Spillane
C. S. Lewis
Kyotaro Nishimura
Dan Brown
Ann M. Martin
Ryōtarō Shiba
Arthur Hailey
Gérard de Villiers
Beatrix Potter
Michael Crichton
Richard Scarry
Clive Cussler
Alistair MacLean
Astrid Lindgren
Debbie Macomber
Paulo Coelho
Eiji Yoshikawa
Catherine Cookson
Stephenie Meyer
Norman Bridwell
David Baldacci
Roald Dahl
Evan Hunter
Andrew Neiderman
Roger Hargreaves
Anne Rice
Robin Cook
Wilbur Smith
Erskine Caldwell
Eleanor Hibbert
Lewis Carroll
Denise Robins
Cao Xueqin
Ian Fleming
Hermann Hesse
Rex Stout
Anne Golon
Ken Follett
Frank G. Slaughter
Edgar Rice Burroughs
John Creasey
James Michener
Yasuo Uchida
Seiichi Morimura
Mary Higgins Clark
Penny Jordan
Patricia Cornwell
Tom Clancy

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I am guilty of these:

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie
Enid Blyton
Leo Tolstoy 
Stephen King
Robert Ludlum
John Grisham
C. S. Lewis
Dan Brown
Arthur Hailey
Clive Cussler
Astrid Lindgren
Paulo Coelho
Roald Dahl
Tom Clancy

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Best seller doesn't necessarily = good!  :giggle2:

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie
Sidney Sheldon 
Enid Blyton 
Dr. Seuss
J. K. Rowling
Jeffrey Archer 
J. R. R. Tolkien
C. S. Lewis
Beatrix Potter
Paulo Coelho
Catherine Cookson - I read loads of these after I got too old for Enid Blyton!  I haven't read her for many years now though and suspect I wouldn't like them
David Baldacci - a book club book.  It was dire!  :lol:
Roald Dahl
Roger Hargreaves
Lewis Carroll
Ian Fleming - another book club book.  I couldn't believe how dense James Bond was - I spotted the 'baddie' a mile off!  :giggle:

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I have bought and read books by these authors from the list;

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
Enid Blyton 
Dr. Seuss
J. K. Rowling
Leo Tolstoy  

Stephen King
James Patterson 
J. R. R. Tolkien
C. S. Lewis
Dan Brown
Arthur Hailey
Paulo Coelho
Stephenie Meyer
Roald Dahl
Anne Rice
Lewis Carroll
Patricia Cornwell
 

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I agree with Janet's statement.  I often wonder how some writers become bestsellers.  I guess it is usually some mainstream appeal, and after awhile they build up a large fan base.  For me, writers like Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and Debbie Macomber have just never appealled to me much.  The one Nora Roberts book I read was a thriller and loaned by a friend, it was pretty good though.  I have bought numerous amounts of Debbie Macomber, but have never read the first one because they are always gifts for my grandmother. 

 

Agatha Christie

Danielle Steel (have only bought and read one novel by her)

Dr. Suess

R.L. Stine

J.K. Rowling (only read H.P. so far)

Dean Koontz

Stephen King

Nora Roberts(read one novel)

James Patterson (read two)

Debbie Macomber (gifts for grandmother)

Anne Rice (read one)

Lewis Carroll

Roald Dahl

Stan and Jan Berenstain (I read one of these everyday to my daughter)

William Shakespeare

Stephenie Meyer

 

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I have bought the following (the ones in bold are part of my permanent collection):

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie
Enid Blyton 
J. K. Rowling
Leo Tolstoy  
R. L. Stine 
Dean Koontz 
Stephen King (The Stand is one of my all-time favourite novels)
John Grisham
C. S. Lewis
Dan Brown
Beatrix Potter (I have all her tales for Xan and Josh)
Michael Crichton
Astrid Lindgren (Ronia, the Robber's Daughter is a childhood favourite of mine)
Paulo Coelho
Roald Dahl (I'm building this collection with Xan at the moment)
Anne Rice
Lewis Carroll (The Nursery Alice is one of my own childhood books which I've kept)
Ian Fleming
Patricia Cornwell

 

I have to ask, where is Terry Pratchett on this list???

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Just the usual suspects for me, I guess.  :smile:

I thought Margaret Mitchell would be on this list?

I am ashamed of how many authors on this list I don't know. :hide:

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
Dr. Seuss
J. K. Rowling
Leo Tolstoy  
Alexander Pushkin 
Stephen King
John Grisham
Beatrix Potter
Roald Dahl
Anne Rice
Lewis Carroll
Ken Follett
 

Edited by Anna Begins
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Here's my list:

William Shakespeare

Agatha Christie 

Danielle Steel 

Sidney Sheldon 

J. K. Rowling

Leo Tolstoy  

Jackie Collins

R. L. Stine 

Dean Koontz

Stephen King

Janet Dailey

Nora Roberts

James Patterson 

John Grisham

J. R. R. Tolkien

C. S. Lewis

Dan Brown

Ann M. Martin

Michael Crichton

Astrid Lindgren

Debbie Macomber

Catherine Cookson

David Baldacci

Roald Dahl

Anne Rice

Robin Cook

Lewis Carroll

Ken Follett

Mary Higgins Clark

Patricia Cornwell

Tom Clancy

 

I should point out a few of these were used books from the charity shop so they don't count towards the popularity. My parents bought some of the children's authors for us but I didn't buy it myself so I didn't include it in the list (ie. Beatrix Potter and Dr. Seuss). A few of the authors mentioned have books that are on my wishlist and I do own a Stephenie Meyer book but it was a gift and so doesn't count.

Edited by Athena
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I have a list below of the authors who I have read at least one book of ( most of them only one ) .

 

I call most of these "Grocery-Store Books , because that's where you find them . I can't hardly agree either that most would be considered great reading . If these are on the bestseller lists, then I'm guessing most people aren't looking for much MEAT in their books . rather just something light to pass the time .

 

I've read a couple Christie's and M H Clark  ,which were good, but I'm not a huge mystery fan .

 I did read a couple Danielle Steele ,Cookson ,Janet Daily & Nora Roberts back in the early 80's . ....not memorable ...

Sidney Sheldon - Master of the Game WAS good !

Dean Koontz and Stephen King, I've read a couple of each. They were both good if you like horror type books .

Jeffrey Archer & Dan Brown , Follet were ok ...

Grisham --Good writer if you like the legal thriller type books .

Cussler - pretty good ,but aimed more for men I'd think ..

 

Erskine Caldwell -- very surprising this is on the list ... Weird ... I didn't think most people would even REMEMBER this one ... that was a LONG time ago .. The books were odd ...

 

Michener is great also , but takes a lot of patience. His books are whoppers and go into extreme detail ,but SO worth it if you stick with them !

 

The 2 that hit on target were Dr Seuss and Richard Scarry . Both EXCELLENT kid's authors .

Edited by julie
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I have to ask, where is Terry Pratchett on this list???

 

I agree! Surely Terry Pratchett has sold more books from his (how many now, about 40?) Discworld novels than, for example, Stephanie Meyer?

 

And where's Charles Dickens??

 

To be honest there are a lot of authors on this list I have never heard of but I have bought...

 

William Shakespeare

Agatha Christie  

Enid Blyton 

Dr. Seuss 

J. K. Rowling

Stephen King 

James Patterson (kind of... I bought a book the library were getting rid of by him last week. I haven't read it yet though)

J. R. R. Tolkien

C. S. Lewis

Dan Brown

Beatrix Potter

Roald Dahl

Lewis Carroll

 

Although actually Blyton, Seuss, Rowling, Lewis, Potter, Dahl and originally Carroll were bought for me by my parents when I was younger... does that still count??

 

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There's more that I've read but don't own. I think my favourites from this list would have to be Dr Seuss and Stan and Jan Berenstain . I know quite a few of them almost off by heart and quote them on a daily basis :D

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
Enid Blyton 
Dr. Seuss
J. K. Rowling
Stan and Jan Berenstain 
J. R. R. Tolkien
C. S. Lewis
Beatrix Potter
Richard Scarry
Catherine Cookson
Anne Rice
Wilbur Smith

 

 

 

Edited by poppy
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This is my list of authors whose works I have bought (at some point):

Enid Blyton 
J. K. Rowling
Dean Koontz
Stephen King
Robert Ludlum 

James Patterson 
Jeffrey Archer 
John Grisham
J. R. R. Tolkien
Dan Brown
Michael Crichton
Stephenie Meyer
Roald Dahl
Anne Rice
Ken Follett

Patricia Cornwell

 

There are so many on the list that I have never heard of. :thud:

 

I've bolded the authors whose books I have enjoyed and would still purchase now.
 

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There are so many on the list that I have never heard of. :thud:

 

Glad I'm not the only one :smile: I even had to look some up.  According to wiki, The Little Prince tops the Best Selling Books list at 200 million, followed by A Tale of two Cities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

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I could not agree more, about best selling not equals quality. 

I for one would never read anything Jackie Collins or any other "romance" literature. Heck, I would not ever even consider reading 50 shades of gray. It's just not my thing. But I know that A LOT of women loves to read such novels. Hence why they sell like butter.

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I have some books by Jackie Collins but haven't read them yet (I hope to like them though). I own the first 50 Shades of Grey book after it was given to me for free, but I don't have much desire to ever read it. I read a few pages in the middle and it made me sick, so I've put it up the attic. I'd much rather read books I actually feel like reading. That said, my parents enjoyed the 50 Shades books and I would never look down on someone just because of what they choose to read or not to read. It's nice we all like different things, the world would be a bit more boring if we all liked the exact same books.

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I'll be the odd (wo)man out who actually liked 50 Shades of Grey.  They were easy, fast reads for me.  Oh and I liked Twilight too so :P  :D

 

I liked the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy too, Anna, so that makes two of us :D   Like you, I found them fast, easy reads.  I thought they were more like slightly overheated Danielle Steele books than anything else, and as I have confessed elsewhere, Danielle Steele is my "guilty pleasure" author!

 

From the list, I have read works by:

 

William Shakespeare

Agatha Christie 

Barbara Cartland

Danielle Steel 

Harold Robbins 

Sidney Sheldon 

Enid Blyton 

Dr. Seuss

J. K. Rowling

Leo Tolstoy  

Jackie Collins

Dean Koontz 

Alexander Pushkin 

Stephen King

Robert Ludlum 

James Patterson 

Jeffrey Archer 

John Grisham

J. R. R. Tolkien

C. S. Lewis

Dan Brown

Arthur Hailey

Beatrix Potter

Michael Crichton

Richard Scarry

Clive Cussler

Alistair MacLean

Paulo Coelho

Catherine Cookson

David Baldacci

Roald Dahl

Anne Rice

Wilbur Smith

Lewis Carroll

Ian Fleming

Edgar Rice Burroughs

James Michener

Mary Higgins Clark

Patricia Cornwell

Tom Clancy

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I am almost ashamed to admit that I have only bought and read 3 of them - mind you, think of all those lesser known authors and truly wonderful books that I have read instead. :smile:  

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More than I thought I would have:

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
Enid Blyton 
J. K. Rowling
Dean Koontz 
Stephen King
Robert Ludlum 
James Patterson 
J. R. R. Tolkien
Dan Brown
Michael Crichton
Alistair MacLean
David Baldacci
Roald Dahl
Anne Rice
Ken Follett
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tom Clancy

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Lets see....

 

J. K. Rowling

 

J. R. R. Tolkien

 

C. S. Lewis

 

Shakespeare

 

Leo Tolstoy

 

Arthur Hailey

 

Agatha Christie

 

Sydney Sheldon

 

Not many of my favorites are on this list. No Jane Austen, Henry Thoreau, Elizabeth George, Jan Karon, Louise Edrich, Ken Follet, etc... I can not ABIDE James Patterson! I think it has to do with the fact that his writing machine pushes out at least four or five books a year. His books ALONE take up at least three shelves at the bookstore. I despise him on a matter of principle!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Boight as an adult:

William Shakespeare

Georges Simenon

J. K. Rowling

Leo Tolstoy

J. R. R. Tolkien

Lewis Carroll

Tom Clancy

 

Bought as a teenager/child:

Agatha Christie 

Enid Blyton 

Dr. Seuss

C. S. Lewis 

Beatrix Potter

Michael Crichton

Alistair MacLean

Roald Dahl

Ian Fleming (Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang! Not read any Bond)

 

I've read a few others: Patricia Cornwell, Dan Brown, James Michener, Erle Stanley Gardner, John Grisham, Arthur Hailey at various times, with varying opinions on each, but not bought their books. Of those listed as bought, I thoroughly enjoyed books by them all at the time they were bought.

Edited by willoyd
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This is what I've bought/read from the list over the years:

 

William Shakespeare
Agatha Christie 
J. K. Rowling
Leo Tolstoy  
Dean Koontz 
Alexander Pushkin 
Stephen King
Robert Ludlum 
James Patterson 
Irving Wallace
J. R. R. Tolkien
C. S. Lewis
Dan Brown
Paulo Coelho
Stephenie Meyer
Anne Rice
Lewis Carroll
Hermann Hesse
 

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Just the usual suspects for me, I guess.  :smile:

I thought Margaret Mitchell would be on this list?

I am ashamed of how many authors on this list I don't know. :hide:

 

I'm guessing Margaret Mitchell is not on there, because she only wrote the one book, whereas most of these authors (as far as I can tell) have written a fair few.  

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