Bloggin' 'bout Books: 07/07/20

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- Arizona

- Arkansas

- California

- ~~Colorado~~ (2)

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- Florida

- Georgia

- Hawaii

- Idaho

- Illinois

- Indiana

- Iowa

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- Maine

- Maryland

- Massachusetts

- Michigan

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- Montana

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (2)

- North Carolina

- North Dakota

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- Oklahoma

- Oregon

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- South Carolina

- South Dakota

- Tennessee

- Texas

- Utah

- ~~Vermont~~ (1)

- Virginia

- ~~Washington~~ (1)

- West Virginia

- Wisconsin

- Wyoming

- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- England (1)

- France (1)

- Puerto Rico (1)

Top Ten Tuesday: My Most Read Authors

1:00 AM

All of us have favorite auto-buy (or at least auto-read) authors. Some of them publish dozens of books, all of which we clamor to consume. This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic—Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books By—made me think about the writers I've loved over my 44 years of life and how many of their books I've read. Using Goodreads, Fantastic Fiction, and my not-very-reliable memory, I managed to come up with a list that's fairly accurate (I think).

Before we get to that, though, I want to encourage you to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our host, Jana, a little love. If you want to join in the TTT fun, her blog has all the deets.

Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books By

1. Mary Higgins Clark (20+ books read)—I've mentioned this grand dame of mystery many times on my blog. My dad is a big MHC fan; he's the one who introduced me to her. As a junior high/high schooler I inhaled her engrossing suspense novels (many times late at night, long after I was supposed to be asleep). I haven't been as impressed by her more recent offerings and haven't actually read her for a number of years. Still, the recent passing of this mystery maven made me sad.

2. Jodi Picoult (21 books read)—Picoult's books rarely fail to engage me, so it's no wonder I've read almost everything she's ever written.

3. Kathy Reichs (19 books read)—I love Reichs' forensic mysteries starring Temperance Brennan and have read every book in the series. As of yet, I haven't tried her YA series, Virals, which she pens with her son, Brendan.

4. Maeve Binchy (15+ books read)—Binchy's recent-ish death is another I was saddened by. She was a wonderful Irish writer whose novels I've enjoyed greatly over the years.

5. Judy Blume (12+ books read)—Like many girls of my generation, I grew up reading books like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Super Fudge; Deenie; and Blubber. Although I haven't read a Blume book in decades, I zoomed through a whole bunch of them as a kid.

6. Adriana Trigiani (13 books read)—It's been a little while since I've read anything by this Italian-American author, but I've enjoyed a number of her books. Her Big Stone Gap series is my favorite.

7. Sharon Bolton (12 books read)—Although her British crime novels can be super dark and disturbing, I can't resist Bolton.

8. Jane Casey (12 books read)—Ditto this Irish author of crime fiction. I'm especially enamored of her Maeve Kerrigan series.

9. Stephen King (11 books read)—Reading wasn't considered very cool when I was a teen, so I generally hid my bookwormish tendencies from anyone who wasn't family. If I did risk being seen reading in public, I made sure it was with a socially acceptable author, of which King was definitely one. I'm a lot wimpier now than I used to be, so I haven't read anything from the "Master of Horror" in a decade or so. Still.

10. Christopher Pike (10+ books read)—Pike is another author I loved as a teen. His YA thrillers kept me up way past my bedtime on many a night.

There you go, the top ten authors whose books I've read most throughout my life. What do you think? Do we have any in common? Whose works have you consumed most? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!