Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s theme is:

Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From

This post is definitely going to b an eye-opener! Some of the results are fairly unexpected, others… well, probably expected haha!

1. Enid Blyton

A whopping 75 books (the vast majority of these were read during my adolescence)

I read a lot of Enid Blyton books as a kid. The Famous Five, Malory Towers, the Naughtiest Girl… I was pretty much all over them. I had a huge collection of first and second editions of a lot of these series too (I gave them away to a cousin of mine when I got older but I really wish I had kept onto them). I loved getting caught up in the adventure of these stories but the boarding school series were probably my favourite ones.

2. Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

An impressive 65 books

I adored the Chalet School series (another boarding school story). I owned nearly the full set and those that I didn’t own I got out of the library to read (though to be honest, I didn’t exactly read them in any kind of order). I really wanted to go to boarding school when I was little – it looked like there were so many grand adventures to be had there.

3. Christopher Pike

A more than respectable 47 books

It’s not really a surprise to me that Christopher Pike is so high up on this list. I went through these books at record speed when I was just hitting my teenage years. There were a few of his books that I didn’t read because they were out-of-print but I devoured every one of them I could get my hands on.

4. Stephen King

A terrifying 39 books

Funnily enough, I was actually reading Stephen King books at the same time as I got into Pike’s teen horror novels. In fact, I actually read King first, I read Cujo when I was about nine – and it scared the crap out of me! Stephen King was, of course, aimed at a much older audience but I really connected to his books back then. I still enjoy his writing, but I tend not to gravitate to the horror genre much anymore though I do enjoy a good scare now and again.

5. Katherine Applegate

A staggering 37 books

This one surprised me quite a bit. I actually did not realize I had read so many of Katherine Applegate’s books especially considering I have never even picked up one of her most popular series – Animorphs.

6. L.J. Smith

A teen-rific 31 books

This was one definitely not a surprise. I really enjoyed L.J. Smith’s books as a teen and she was fairly prolific back then. Now is a totally different story of course, still waiting for that elusive 10th and final book in the Night World series called Strange Fate which fans of the series have been waiting for… wait for it… over 16 years!!

7. R.L. Stine

A not-too-shabby 30 books

Point Horror was a staple of my childhood and it is not surprising that the most read author from this series is R.L. Stine. I read so many of his books back then. I am not sure how well they will stand up to a reread but at some point I am determined to try reading some of these again. R.L. Stine would probably be further up this list but I can’t actually remember what/how many Goosebumps books I read as a nipper. 😉

8. Raymond E. Feist

An A-okay 28 books

I really went through a fantasy phase when I hit my middle-teens and this is still my favourite genre today. I wouldn’t say that Raymond E. Feist is my favourite fantasy writer (that would be Robin Hobb or Juliet Marillier) but he is certainly one of the most prolific and I have read nearly all of his Riftwar Cycle series (although I still have a couple to catch up with at the end there).

9. Caroline B. Cooney

Also sitting-pretty at 28 books

Caroline B. Cooney is an author I really enjoyed in my teens. I liked her Point Horror entries but I was particularly partial to her Dance series and the Face on the Milk Carton. I am really not surprised she is in the top ten at all.

10. Janet Quin-Harkin

Straggling in at the end with 22 books

Yay, Janet Quin-Harkin! I enjoyed her Sweet Dreams books the most. They were always fun and lighthearted. Janet Quin-Harkin is actually the pseudonym for Rhys Bowen but I actually haven’t read any of her adult-oriented books. I should maybe do something about that!!

This was a fun topic but I would really have been lost without using Goodreads most read authors facility! I also noticed a trend that all of the authors listed above are ones I read in my youth. I have read plenty from newer (to me) authors but they cannot seem to compete with the output of authors such as Christopher Pike, Enid Blyton or Caroline B. Cooney. Plus, I think I was a tad more obsessive back then when I found an author I liked. 😉

Please note: I have omitted any authors that also employed ghost-writers such as the Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal or the Baby-sitters Club by Ann M. Martin.

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