Booky Books...

Saw a fun "challenge" on Bluesky yesterday. You were supposed to list five living authors that you'd read at least five books by.

And there were people who were stumped.

And I have to admit I was as well.

I mean, who makes the list? Who do you leave off? How do you decide?

The first cut was in the rules, author had to be living. There are a few authors I've read a ton of books by who have relocated to a different plane. You know, they're dead. And then there are a few who are technically still on this plane of existence but are dead to me. So off the list they go.

Then at least five books.

That's where my mind went spinning off. Do I try and figure out who I've read the absolute most books by? Or do I put other qualifiers on it, like no series, has to be standalone books. Or do I try and do genre balance, like one horror, one SF, one fantasy sort of thing?

I finally decided if I was going to do it I would probably post the first five that came to mind.

So here you go:

Stephen King
John Scalzi
Jenny Lawson
Fredrik Backman
Leigh Bardugo

Ended up with a split of genres even going off the first ones I thought of. Did not go with no series (Bardugo) but also she's there because she was the first one I thought of that maybe needed a qualifier of standalones but then realized that I've read a few different series by her so totally counts. She's fantasy through and through.

Fredrik Backman is an author that I will move any new book of his to the top of my TBR list immediately. I just have to make sure I grab a box of tissues first since I will ugly cry at least once. He's just fiction, contemporary fiction or literary fiction I think are the actual categories. He tells stories without magic, murder, or space travel.

Jenny Lawson is another one that I read everything she writes. I also had to double check on her for number. If I count her activity book she's written five. And since I read the activity book cover to cover I counted it. I'd put her work in Memoir and Self Help as a mix.

John Scalzi I just started reading his work a few years ago with some of his stand alone books. But he has a massive back catalog so it didn't take me long to get past five books of his. I've just started The Old Man's War series which is probably his most famous work, but I cannot recommend Starter Villain enough for anyone who wants to try out his writing without committing to a series. I cackled my best cackles throughout. I will say he probably made the list because I follow him on Bluesky so he was top of mind, but still counts! Science Fiction would be where I put him.

Stephen King. Well I mean...who hasn't read at least five Stephen King books? Even if you've only read two books of his you've read at least five, am I right? Look, it's not fair to anyone else on this list, I started reading him when I was way too young to read his books and I just never stopped. And the dude is prolific. Not just during the addiction years, but still to this day he's putting out book after book. I have no idea how many of his books I've read but I'd guess that it's by far the most by any other living author, especially if you add in the Bachman books. Horror, I mean there are some in there that aren't, but I'd still put him as horror.

So those are the first five I thought of.

I didn't post them because it's living authors and I didn't want anyone that I read who didn't make the list to see my list and be sad they didn't make the cut. Not because I think I'm that special, but because I know how fragile a lot of author's egos are and I could see them searching for people's lists hoping to see themselves on it, and muttering, Fucking King, after every one of them....

So how about you? Could you do a list easily or would you also overthink it?