Bill's Authors List - A to Z

For the past few days I've enjoyed working through a list of my all-time favorite 100 books. I thought that for the next while I'd try a different tack. I plan to present a list of authors that I enjoy or that I want to try. It might turn out to be somewhat laborious, for you and me, but my plan is to go through my bookshelves that I've developed on Goodreads and offer a list of authors and some of their books that interest me and might interest you. It'll be my Author's A - Z list. I'll warn you now. There are an awful lot of them. The total books listed on my bookshelf is 2100+; most authors have more than one book, so the list will be a bit smaller than 2100.. :)

I'll start off with a list of ten authors who I've enjoyed for the most part since I moved to Comox on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (that being 2000), but some from before as well. I joined Goodreads around 2008 and have been building up my shelves since that time. The most basic portions are the total, the books read shelf, the currently reading shelf and the unread shelf. There are many sub-categories as well; mystery, science fiction, classics, fiction, etc. It definitely helps satisfy my enjoyment of creating lists.

So for today I provide a list of ten authors that I've read the most in the past. They aren't necessarily my favorites but I must enjoy them, eh? Lots of them are from continuous series. Anyway, let's get on to the list

Bill's Most Read Authors Since 2008

Sue Grafton

1. Sue Grafton (19 books). Sue Grafton is an American author of detective novels, especially noted for her 'alphabet' series, featuring private detective, Kinsey Millhone. Grafton was born in Louisville, Ky in 1940 and died in California Dec 18, 2017. She died after completing Y, leaving her fans without the resolution of the final letter of the alphabet. She was interesting in that she refused to let the series be turned in to either movies or TV series. I've always wondered who might be suited to play the role of Kinsey. I kind of thought Sigourney Weaver might suit the role. I guess we'll never know.

I bought the first book at a local used book store we used to have in downtown Courtenay, ABC Books. It's been closed for a few years now. It's one of those comfort series and so far I've finished up to S is for Silence. I usually try to read at least one per year. They are comfort reads with interesting characters, especially Kinsey's friends, and interesting cases. As with most series, some are better than others but you always get good value for money.






The series starts with A is for Alibi. "Laurence Fife was a slick divorce lawyer and slippery ladies' man. Until someone killed him. The jury believed that it was his pretty young wife, Nikki, so they sent her to prison for eight years. Now Nikki's out on parole and Kinsey Millhone's in for trouble. Nikki hires Kinsey to discover who really killed her husband. But the trail is eight years cold, and at the end is a chilling twist even Kinsey doesn't suspect - a second eight-year-old murder and a brand-new corpse."

I won't list all of the others except the final books I have yet to read -

- T is for Trespass
- U is for Undertow
- V is for Vengeance
- W is for Wasted
- X
- Y is for Yesterday.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

2. Edgar Rice Burroughs (14 books). Burroughs was an American writer of fantasy and fiction. He lived from 1875 - 1950. He is probably best known for his Tarzan of the Apes series but he also contributed many other series in all genres; adventure, science fiction, fantasy, western, etc.

I first started reading his books when I discovered his John Carter of Mars series. I started this series when I was a very young man but have revisited it many times. I enjoyed them so very much and they traveled around the world with me and were so well-thumbed that I had to replace most of them. The John Carter books. The first book in the series, A Princess of Mars, was written in 1912 and finds John Carter transported to Mars where he has to save the planet. He becomes the warlord of Mars, usually traveling back and forth to Mars. The series spanned 11 books, ending with John Carter of Mars, a collection of stories.

Since moving to Comox, I've begun exploring other of Burroughs' novels. I enjoyed his stand-alone The Mad King, originally published in 1914. After many years, I've finally started The Tarzan of the Apes series, a collection of 26 books, begun in 1912. I've also read The Moon Men, published in 1923. This was the 2nd book in that series. There are so many to explore. He is also noted for his Venus series and his Pellucidar series, etc. I think I can keep myself busy for awhile exploring his fascinating worlds.

Laurell K. Hamilton

3. Laurell K. Hamilton (14 books). Hamilton is an American fantasy writer noted for two fantasy series; Anita Blake Vampire hunter and Meredith Gentry, Princess of the Unseelie world. I was introduced to her books when I found the first Anita Blake book, Guilty Pleasures, in one of my book stores in Ottawa. It was a unique series; horror, fantasy, romance. It really intrigued me, this world where vampires are now legal citizens of the US, where Anita Blake is both a vampire hunter (hunting rogue vampires) and necromancer who works for a company that raises the dead when there are legal challenges to the estates, and that sort of thing.

I was quite hooked on the series. Each one was scarier, sexier and introduced new demons of the week. I hooked many people on the series as well, including my oldest daughter, who has used it in her university communications courses. In 2000, Hamilton introduced her Meredith Gentry series with A Kiss of Shadows. It deals with conflicts in the Elvish world and intersects with the current reality. The books are definitely sexier.... you know what those elves are like, eh? The problem for me was that I now had to wait two years for the next Anita Blake book as Hamilton alternated between series. It's been awhile since I've tried the series, but I continue to explore the books. There are now 25 books in the Anita Blake series and nine in the Meredith Gentry series. Anita Blake has also been converted into a comic book series, based on the three first books in the series.

Charlaine Harris

4. Charlaine Harris (14 books). Harris is another American writer. Her books / series span the mystery and fantasy genres. I've enjoyed books from 5 of her series. I've completed the Harper Connelly and Lily Bard series. Harper Connelly can sense the dead and is hired to determine how they died, whether naturally or violently. She and her half-brother travel around the southern states hired for a variety of cases, regularly becoming involved as they solve the crimes. Lily Bard has moved to the small town of Shakespeare, Texas, hiding from her past, working as a cleaning lady and solving crimes. Both of these series fascinated me.

I was introduced to Charlaine Harris when I noticed her Sookie Stackhouse fantasy series. I always found it to be a bit of Anita Blake lite. It was turned into a truly fantastic horror series on HBO; True Blood. Sookie works as a waitress at Merlottes, can hear people's thoughts and falls in love with both a vampire, Bill Compton, and a shapeshifter, Sam Merlotte (at various times). You meet so many fascinating beings throughout this series.

I've since started a new trilogy, Midnight Texas, with the first book being Midnight Crossroad. You will meet characters from both the Harper Connelly and Lily Bard series which adds to the interest. It was also made into a TV series in 2017. Both Jo and I got invested in it immediately.

The only series that I've been unable to really get in to is Harris's Aurora Teagarden series, a cozy mystery series that I really didn't enjoy. I've read one of the books and found it irritated me more than anything. I will finish the Sookie Stackhouse series and also the Midnight Trilogy.

Ian Rankin

5. Ian Rankin (13 books). Rankin is a British crime writer best known for his Inspector Rebus crime drama series. Jo and I first heard of the series when we watched the TV series set in Edinburgh, starring Ken Stott as Inspector Rebus. There was an earlier series which starred John Hannah as Rebus. Personally I preferred Ken Stott. He fit my image of the crusty, alcoholic trouble - making Inspector to a tee.

Jo surprised me for Christmas 2008 when she presented me with pretty well the whole Rebus book series. I've been enjoying ever since. A Question of Blood is next in line for me. I also have the Malcolm Fox series to try so I will definitely be enjoying the series for the near future.

C.S. Forester

6. C.S. Forester (12 books). C.S. Forester lived from 1899 to 1966. He is best known for his 12-book Horatio Hornblower series but also wrote war stories, adventures and mysteries. I've been enjoying the Hornblower series but also have delved into many others of his books. The African Queen and The Ship were listed in my Top 100 books entries.

So far, I've read 8 of the Hornblower books and they are always entertaining. There was an excellent BBC series based on the books, starring Ioan Gruffudd as Horatio Hornblower. It's worth searching for.I still have Lieutenant Hornblower, Hornblower and the Atropos and Hornblower in the West Indies to read in this series. I have a few others of his books on my shelves also to try so I'm looking forward to trying them as well. I've mentioned The African Queen and The Ship, but I've also read and enjoyed; Payment Deferred, a suspenseful mystery from 1926, and The General, a WWI story from 1936. I keep finding books by Forester and I look forward to trying them as well.

Bernard Cornwell

7. Bernard Cornwell (12 books). Cornwell is the author of another of my favorite historical adventure series, that being the Sharpe series. He also has written a variety of other series; the Warlord Chronicles, the Grail Quest, the Saxon stories and the Starbuck Chronicles, but I have yet to try them. I want to finish the Sharpe books first.

I tried the Sharpe books first because I liked the covers of the books. There are 24 books in the series. I've been working through them chronologically and enjoying very much. The last book I completed was Sharpe's Battle set during the wars on the Iberian peninsula. If you enjoy the books check out the TV series starring Sean Bean as Sharpe.

I have 6 authors here I have read 11 of their books. Arbitrarily, I'll choose the three authors below whose books I prefer slightly more.

Ellis Peters

8. Ellis Peters (11 books). Ellis Peters is a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter. She has written a number of series but the one I've been enjoying is her historical mystery series featuring a monk in the 12th century, Cadfael, hence the Cadfael chronicles.

There are 21 books in the Cadfael and I've enjoyed 11 so far. Once again, this was also an excellent TV series starring the talented Derek Jacoby as the fascinating monk. Both are well worth trying.

Ian Fleming

9. Ian Fleming (11 books). Ian Fleming lived from 1908 - 1964 and was not only a writer but during the war was a spy for the Allies. He is most well-known for his James Bond novels.

There are 14 books in the James Bond series. The last book I enjoyed was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (this was the only movie that featured George Lazenby as Bond.) The next book in line is You Only Live Twice.

Ngaio Marsh

10. Ngaio Marsh (11 books). New Zealand crime writer, Ngaio Marsh, lived from 1895 - 1982 and was known as the prolific author of the Chief Inspector Alleyn mystery series. The series is set mainly in England but for a period the inspector visited New Zealand. I originally read the first few books haphazardly but of late I've been finding and reading them from the first book published.

There are 36 books in the Chief Inspector Alleyn series, written from 1934 to her death in 1982. Since I've begun to read them in chronological order, I've finished the first eight. Next in line for me is Death at the Bar (1940). Nice to know I've got so many still to enjoy.

So there you go for now. Starting next I'll begin going through the authors I find on my bookshelf; A - Z. For now I'm going to enjoy the Canadian Men's Curling Championship final game between Newfoundland and Alberta. Have a great week.