# Three Authors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837 "2025-03-19T19:38:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/1 "2025-03-19T19:38:14Z")
Okay another hypothetical- you are gonna be in a cabin or desert island or something for a year. No TV, no internet, a sat phone to check on home but limited, but you do get books. But only three authors. Obviously you want to choose favorite authors- books you can re-read. But also prolific ones. I choose- Rex Stout- Nero wolfe mysteries and a few others. Ben Aaronovitch- Rivers of London, and the associated graphic novels. Isaac Asimov- lots of good stuff, interesting non fiction (I might learn a few things) and some great SF. Very prolific. How about others here? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/2 "2025-03-19T19:49:27Z")
Asimov? How big _is_ this cabin? Hell, how big is the island? šŸ˜ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/3 "2025-03-19T19:53:33Z")
Only 500 books. That is a lot, true. Cartland wrote over 700. Enid Mary Blyton 800 or so kids books. I am sure there are others that I have never heard about. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/4 "2025-03-19T20:01:29Z")
Neville Shute. Peter Hamilton James A Mitchener. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/5 "2025-03-19T20:46:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Only 500 books. Insufficiently precise. What is a ā€œbook?ā€ Is it one bound volume, or is it what the author called a book (e.g. there are six of those in Lord of the Rings)? While weā€™re in this neighborhood, does Christopher Tolkien count as a different author from JRR Tolkien? I think Anthony Trollope would be a good choice, he wrote, by precise count, a zillion books, that each take quite a long time to read. Related question: can I have them on an e-reader like a Kindle, with a little generator to keep it going? In any case, the number of books would not be an issue for me, by the time I had read all of them, I would have forgotten the earlier ones and could read them again. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/6 "2025-03-19T20:53:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cartland wrote over 700. Enid Mary Blyton 800 or so kids books. I am sure there are others that I have never heard about. Iā€™ve never read either author but I suspect Barbara Cartlandā€™s works are _really_ repetitive. I remember reading Robert Ludlum novels and they seemed a bit repetitive. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/7 "2025-03-19T21:14:36Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Anthony Trollope would be a good choice as a sleep aide? > In any case, the number of books would not be an issue for me, by the time I had read all of them, I would have forgotten the earlier ones and could read them again. already thereā€¦did the entire Neville Shute opus last year. Remembered very little about them 40 years+ on. I might sub in the **Alexandria Quartet** to keep my vocabulary sharp but then would need dictionary or Google. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/8 "2025-03-19T21:19:20Z")
Not Rex Stout because I have already read everything more than once. 1. Robert Silverberg (including everything published under a pen name. Thereā€™s probably even some half way decent pornography in there somewhere.) 2. Stan Lee (including the stuff he just took credit for). 3. Eric Foner would be my non-fiction pic just because he has written so much. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/9 "2025-03-19T22:17:56Z")
Forgetting works helps. My favorite author was rather prolific but i never get bored reading his fiction because by the time Iā€™ve finished reading all 40 books, Iā€™ve forgotten the first one almost completely. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/10 "2025-03-19T22:19:57Z")
Diana Gabaldon, John Sandford, Lee Child. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/11 "2025-03-19T23:33:14Z")
Jack Vance, Brandon Sanderson and Terry Pratchett. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/12 "2025-03-20T00:42:49Z")
[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://www.ursulakleguin.com/bibliography) [Shakespeare](https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Illustrated-Shakespeare-Three-Volumes/dp/B002I43S2I/ref=sr_1_2?crid=28XX0C2S2OZ1Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XovV8njGRUqdEhAqFyGE7AI6L8YNKwRzOPeASq-f-pbR_cndMxAVQdwEqNH6-Db208KtkQGWFBxZpWXJiQlgEh-K1gVnZ5Dy7Ke46_LWM9tCESQqDj_NvWYG30DSxJH-sxXcNuKmKZ9N8NHUG69MvPra89DeI3GCVNMpQIAo5bp1gTPErX_h8sHf0YU28MS7SmpKW_t04GXzmJQT0NwiycjV1lXmEEZEvmcu6WgzX8A._YEEERFMhRYkCFrkXqxX6tsrCCXlGaBiukRoX1iYhDU&dib_tag=se&keywords=shakespeare+3+volume+with+illustrations&qid=1742431132&s=books&sprefix=shakespeare+3+volume+with+illustrations%2Cstripbooks%2C152&sr=1-2#) (Oversized, with copious notes and illustrations) If branded anthologies count as one author, [Foxfire](https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Collection-Anniversary-Editions-Anniversay/dp/B00MRH3RYU). ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/13 "2025-03-20T02:54:16Z")
Patrick Oā€™Brian, George MacDonald Frazier, JRRT ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/14 "2025-03-20T03:29:47Z")
Terry Pratchett Robin Hobb Tad Williams Another option was Terry Brooks, as he is quite prolific, but the Shannara books got a bit much for me after a while. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/15 "2025-03-20T03:32:14Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Diana Gabaldon My wife loves her books. Sadly only ten- but rather thick it is true, > [@Alessan](#): > > Jack Vance, Brandon Sanderson and Terry Pratchett. pTerry and Vance would be among my other choices. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/16 "2025-03-20T05:05:06Z")
Pratchett, Iain [M] Banks (a two-fer!) and Alan Moore. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/17 "2025-03-20T07:18:38Z")
Philip Roth Patricia Highsmith Kurt Vonnegut I assume that I get everything - novels, short story collections and non-fiction? Each of them wrote books about writing so perhaps I could use them as inspiration if I also have a pad and a few pens. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/18 "2025-03-20T10:52:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Obviously you want to choose favorite authors- books you can re-read. But also prolific ones. Iā€™ve been thinking about this, and while picking authors I like is obviously the way to go, Iā€™m not so sure they have to be prolific. Some authors have written few works, but these have stirred my imagination for decades, while others wrote a lot of stuff thatā€™s good-read-it-but-thatā€™s-it. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/19 "2025-03-20T11:43:56Z")
Trying to pick things others havenā€™t chosen yet ā€¦ - Reginald Hill - the _Dalziel and Pascoe series_ of detective procedurals - _Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy_ - Iā€™ve heard very polarised opinions, so its a single book challenge entry - Mark Lewisohn - _Beatles_ (unfinished) _Trilogy_ - glorious ultra-fat biography, hoping he gets more than Vol. 1 [1700+ pages - and still in Hamburg] out before the ship sets sail. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/20 "2025-03-20T12:45:58Z")
My favorite American author, **John Steinbeck.** (It would take me a long time just to read the books I have in the bookcase next to me.) Humorist **Jean Shepherd**. (I have dogeared paperbacks from the 1960s of his collected stories that Iā€™ve read over and over again.) And probably **Kurt Vonnegut.** (Iā€™ve re-read ā€œSlaughterhouse Fiveā€ countless times and have generally enjoyed anything else heā€™s written.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837.md?page=2)