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This thread hasn't been used in a few months - it would be interesting to see if those who commented find their lists any different; those who haven't seen this thread before can join the fun!

Mine hasn't changed too much...the top three remain the same!

Mine go way back:

author books read
1 Doreen Virtue 18
2 Ngaio Marsh 16
3 James Patterson 13
3 Jeffrey Archer 13
5 Patricia Cornwell 12
6 John Grisham 10
7 Jodi Picoult 9
8 Eric Van Lustbader 8
9 Kathryn Fox 6
9 Jean M. Auel. 6

Hmm lemme see if mine has changed...

My top 10 are the same, except Tony Talbot moved to #3 with a total of 15 books...

1. Christopher Golden 25
2. Nancy Holder 15
3. Jeffrey J. Mariotte 12
4. Diana G. Gallagher 11
4. Justin Richards 11
6. Walt Disney Company 10
7. Murray Ball 8
8. Cassandra Clare 7
8. Paul Ruditis 7
8. Mel Odom 7

So not much has changed yet, except that Cassandra Clare has now joined the top 10.

Mine doesn't seem to have changed at all!!!

1. Natsuki Takaya /Kazune Kawahara - both 15
2. Katsura Hoshino / Lemony Snicket - both 14
3. Emily Rodda - 13
4. Naoko Takeushi /[ author:JK Rowling|14552721] - both 10
5. Rinko Ueda - 9

Most of these are manga artists :)

1 Tamora Pierce 28
2 Robin Hobb 18
3 Emily Rodda 17
4 Robert Jordan 16
5 Raymond Chandler 14
6 Garth Nix 12
6 John Flanagan 12
6 Robert Muchamore 12
9 John Grisham 11
9 Eoin Colfer 11

my reading habits include long periods of binge reading the fantasy series of any author I particularly like. so I wanted to see if I took that out how my list would look.

so a list of individual books from authors (generally reading for the books alone not the author (except grisham..they're just so easy to read when i'm bored)

1 Raymond Chandler 14
2 John Grisham 11
3 Oscar Wilde 6
4 James M. Cain 5
5 Bill Watterson 5
6 Jane Austen 4
7 Dashiell Hammett 4
8 Charles Dickens 4
9 Joseph Heller 3
10 Thomas Hardy 3

I read entirely too much fantasy.. haha

Khenan wrote: "1 Tamora Pierce 28
2 Robin Hobb 18
3 Emily Rodda 17
4 Robert Jordan 16
5 Raymond Chandler 14
6 Garth Nix 12..."

Too much fantasy? That's not possible:)

My list won't be very accurate as I haven't yet added all my books to ŷ������, but here goes:

1. Fay Weldon
2. Bernice Rubens
3. Anne Tyler
4. Jane Gardam
5. Edith Nesbitt
6. Alison Lurie
7. Andreï Makine
8. Tove Jansson
9. Ronald Frame
10. A tie between George Orwell, L.M. Boston, Molly Keane and Bill Bryson.

That's a pretty eclectic list!

Brenda wrote: "Danielle Steel 77 (from long, long ago!)"

Danielle Steel has written 77 books!?!?

I realised I haven't got lots of books on my shelf. I've read a heap of Jacki Collins years ago but don't have one on my shelf as well as a lot of crimes and mysteries. Oh, well, here the top

1. Danielle Steel 12
2. William Shakespeare 10
3. Stuart William Long 7
4. Colleen McCullough 6
5. Philippa Gregory 6
6. Steven Carroll 5
7. V.C. Andrews 5
8. Sarah Dunant 4

February 2015:
1 Lilliana Anderson 10
2 L.J. Smith 7
3 Lili St. Germain 5
4 Nicholas Sparks 4
5 Scott Mariani 3
5 Regina Duke 3
5 Suzanne Collins 3
5 C.L. Stone 3
9 G.J. Walker-Smith 2
9 Victoria Purman 2

November 2015:
1 Lilliana Anderson 15
2 L.J. Smith 8
3 Cate Tiernan 6
4 Nicholas Sparks 5
4 Cassandra Clare 5
4 Lili St Germain 5
7 E.L. James 4
8 Scott Mariani 3
8 Stephanie Perkins 3
8 C.L. Stone 3

Susan wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Danielle Steel 77 (from long, long ago!)"

Danielle Steel has written 77 books!?!?"

A LOT more than that Susan! It says on her profile there are "240 distinct works" - which will probably be less because of different languages etc. But not MUCH different! She churns them out and I stopped buying them a long time ago - all the stories are pretty much the same - different characters but written to a distinct formula! My tastes have certainly changed;)

Brenda wrote: "Susan wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Danielle Steel 77 (from long, long ago!)"

Danielle Steel has written 77 books!?!?"

A LOT more than that Susan! It says on her profile there are "240 di..."

Ah, that's why I stopped reading Danielle Steel. The first so many books I thought were brilliant, then suddenly they became what appeared to be very formula like. I was in my late teens or early twenty's when I stopped reading them, a bit like Jacki Collins, after a handful or two I just couldn't read anymore.

Exactly Sharon!

Brenda wrote: "Susan wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Danielle Steel 77 (from long, long ago!)"

Danielle Steel has written 77 books!?!?"

A LOT more than that Susan! It says on her profile there are "240 distinct works"

Well, you can't fault her work ethic!

Susan wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Susan wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Danielle Steel 77 (from long, long ago!)"

Danielle Steel has written 77 books!?!?"

Well, you can't fault her work ethic! "

I don't think we can fault Danielle Steel's word count ... or her sense of wanting to plow them out ... I have always been in awe of Danielle Steel ... she was someone with such a gift that I aspired to achieve some semblance of the same type of readership that she had, still has, but I do wonder if she lost earlier readers by not staying true to the originality that was with some of her earlier work. I allways thought she might have sold herself out --- traded, her great original story telling for --- oh, I don't know how to explain it ... and Danielle Steel will always remain one of my favourite writers, but something happened and her story telling once bigger dollars became involved wasn't quite the same... in my humble opionin ...

That said, she might have lost some of her earlier readers, but obviously, her readership is so enormous it is awe inspiring

1. Dean Koontz - 8
2. Robert G Barrett - 5
3. Evan Green - 5
4. Clive Cussler - 4
5. Stephen King - 4
6. Bryce Courtenay - 3
7. Jeffery Deaver - 3
8. Tom Clancy - 2
9. Justin Cronin - 2
10. Vince Flynn - 2

Sharon said: but I do wonder if she lost earlier readers by not staying true to the originality that was with some of her earlier work. I allways thought she might have sold herself out --- traded, her great original story telling for --- oh, I don't know how to explain it ...

I know what you mean, Sharon. Really good stories don't follow a formula (in my opinion) but many authors are either told by their publishers to follow the accepted formula for their genre or they find it easier and faster to write formulaic stories. It's a shame to lose the originality they once had. But, some readers prefer the secure feeling of a formula.

I suppose it's difficult to please all the people all of the time.

As for my favourites, well, there's lots but the top of the tree for me is Charles Dickens. Original and compelling.