# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/21 "2025-03-20T13:34:41Z")
Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe detective stories) Lee Child (Jack Reacher - Hobo not Vagrant!) Tolkien I find all these authors very re-readable. 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/22 "2025-03-20T13:35:30Z")
Terry Pratchett - lots of novels, and humor Gene Wolfe - complex stories with plenty of depth so you can find more with every reading John Barth – combination of the two others ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/23 "2025-03-20T14:35:49Z")
My first thought was that one would be Vonnegut, but I’ve read lots of his stuff and while he’s one of my favorite authors I think I’d get tired of rereading him over and over after a while. So I’ll go with: Mark Twain - classic American humorist, lots of novels and short stories. Neal Stephenson - writes huge sci-fi books that would take me a while to plow through, and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of rereading Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon. David McCullough - because I’d need some non-fiction and he seems like a good fit. And then I would be sad that I never get to read Catch-22 again. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/24 "2025-03-20T15:25:41Z")
Mark Twain and Isaac Asimov definitely, particularly if it included their _complete_ works as it would give me a chance to non only re-read favorites but catch up on all the ones I haven’t read. On a similar note, I think I would go with Terry Pratchett. AS others have said, lots of humor and interesting reading. Plus, I haven’t yet read any of the Wee free Men or Tiffany Aching books yet (although I think I have some of them on my Kindle). Not having access to a TV or Internet for a year would give me a chance to catch up on a lot of reading. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/25 "2025-03-20T15:45:00Z")
I missed the “for a year” part of the OP. That makes a big difference if it’s not a permanent thing. I might have to put Vonnegut on that list after all. Sorry Mr McCollough! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/26 "2025-03-20T17:06:44Z")
Pratchett, Hiaasen, Ellison ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/27 "2025-03-20T17:31:35Z")
Jane Austen Patrick O’Brien William Makepeace Thackeray ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/28 "2025-03-20T17:45:13Z")
Depends a bit on what else there is to do on the desert island or in the woods. Patrick O’Brien Jim Butcher David McCullough A copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica would keep me busy for a year. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/29 "2025-03-20T17:55:11Z")
I first read this as “you’re there with the author”, which was intriguing. That said: - James Joyce - Agatha Christie That would keep me more than occupied. ---
**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 20, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/30 "2025-03-20T18:38:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My wife loves her books. Sadly only ten- but rather thick it is true, Her books would be a years worth of reading alone. I hope I don’t die before _Outlander_ finale book comes out~if it doesn’t, my wraith will wreak revenge involving Gaelic curses and venomous things in unpredictable places. Has your wife sought out and read other fiction by Gabaldon? She’s done some fun novellas and short story collections, most involving characters affiliated with _Outlander_ characters or story lines. Worth scouting out. ---
**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, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/31 "2025-03-20T19:09:25Z")
> [@Moonrise](#): > > I’ve been thinking about this, and while picking authors I like is obviously the way to go, I’m not so sure they have to be prolific. Okay, but if you are a big time reader like me- who can easily read a book a day if no TV- and maybe two eve, then Getting three authors who together have written say 20 books is gonna be a poor choice, no? > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Humorist **Jean Shepherd**. (I have dogeared paperbacks from the 1960s of his collected stories that I’ve read over and over again.) I have all of his books, including “Sheps Army”, and yes I re-read them every so often, but that is like 7? book? > [@glee](#): > > Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe detective stories) > Lee Child (Jack Reacher - Hobo not Vagrant!) > Tolkien All good choices. > [@Shoeless](#): > > Mark Twain - classic American humorist, lots of novels and short stories. Absolutely. _Innocents Abroad_ and _Roughing it_ are two of my faves. > [@LurkMeister](#): > > Plus, I haven’t yet read any of the Wee free Men or Tiffany Aching books yet (although I think I have some of them on my Kindle). IMHO those are even better than most of the regular Discworld series. Read them! > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Her books would be a years worth of reading alone. Oh, well for me- maybe a month. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/32 "2025-03-20T19:12:14Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I first read this as “you’re there with the author”, which was intriguing. That said: > > - James Joyce > - Agatha Christie > > That would keep me more than occupied. - Bernard Cornwell. ---
**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, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/33 "2025-03-20T21:00:11Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Plus, I haven’t yet read any of the Wee free Men or Tiffany Aching books yet Those are the same sub-series. But there are non-Discworld books like Nation, the Nomes, Johnny Maxwell, and Dodger. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/34 "2025-03-20T21:12:47Z")
Elizabeth Linington, including the ones she wrote as Dell Shannon and Leslie Egan (three series of police procedurals) Isaac Asimov (I prefer his nonfiction to his fiction) Louis L’Amour (mostly, but not all, westerns) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/35 "2025-03-21T00:08:23Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > But there are non-Discworld books like Nation, the Nomes, Johnny Maxwell, and Dodger. All of which i read and found- meh. > [@SCAdian](#): > > Isaac Asimov (I prefer his nonfiction to his fiction) In general I agree- but the three Foundation books are great. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/36 "2025-03-21T00:10:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Isaac Asimov (I prefer his nonfiction to his fiction) > > In general I agree- but the three Foundation books are great. First one was good, I agree. I got distracted somewhere in the middle of the second, and never finished them I’ve been thinking about starting over, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/37 "2025-03-21T00:24:16Z")
If I wanted to survive, I would take R.A. Heinleins works. His heros are unrelentingly positive and not weak. Failure is not an option. Put a strong redheaded woman on the island and I may never want to leave. I have just described most of Heinlein’s work. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/38 "2025-03-21T00:40:02Z")
Every Heinlein unconventional hero is Heinlein’s idealizised veiw of himself. Every strong woman is his wife Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/39 "2025-03-21T01:31:28Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > If I wanted to survive, I would take R.A. Heinleins works. His heros are unrelentingly positive and not weak. Failure is not an option. This reminds me of how, supposedly, when G. K. Chesterton was asked what one book he’d want to have with him on a desert island, his reply was _Thomas’s Guide to Practical Shipbuilding_. So, are we supposed to consider books/authors that might be of practical use to us? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837/40 "2025-03-21T05:00:31Z")
Heinlein Piper Cussler I would have named Flint, for the Ring of Fire series, but he’s not the only author And the same goes for the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-authors/1015837.md?page=3)