# What authors have you read, from beginning to end? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860 "2006-07-24T19:16:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 24, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/21 "2006-07-24T20:50:13Z")
JK Rowling Robert A. Heinlein Ursula K. LeGuin (includes writing books, essays, and poetry) Patti Smith Elizabeth Lynn Chuck Palahniuk Dorothy Sayers A pretty good number of science fiction writers and poets, but these are the people who come to mind initially. I’d like to read all of Asimov. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/22 "2006-07-24T21:04:01Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Oh, and Harper Lee. 😛 [/QUOTE] Good one. Me too! Jane Austin L.M. Montgomery Laura Ingalls Wilder (including all her newspaper articles that I can find) Roald Dahl…children’s novels and adult short stories ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/23 "2006-07-24T21:33:15Z")
Heh, I love or have loved most of the authors on this list, but the only two I’ve ever read beginning to end have been H.P. Lovecraft and Alistair Maclean. All the other authors I stopped reading after they jumped the shark. I’m not one much for reader loyalty. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/24 "2006-07-24T21:37:44Z")
The only author who I’d consider “have read everything” would be Terry Pratchett. Douglas Adams and Isaac Asimov come close, but I know I’m missing some of their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/25 "2006-07-24T21:43:06Z")
The only two I can think of are Tamora Pierce and Naomi Kritzer. I should read more. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/26 "2006-07-25T00:43:37Z")
Robert Heinlein Stephen King John Varley ---
**Author:** ![Salt\_Seller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Salt\_Seller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salt_Seller)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/27 "2006-07-25T00:50:35Z")
Henry Miller Virginia Woolf Albert Camus Stephen Jay Gould ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/28 "2006-07-25T01:25:59Z")
Kurt Konnegut Michael Crichton ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/29 "2006-07-25T02:35:25Z")
Bill Bryson. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/30 "2006-07-25T02:50:29Z")
JRR Tolkien Terry Pratchett Neil Gaiman Simon Green Jim Butcher Isaac Asimov Lois McMaster Bujold Neal Stephenson…I think, might have missed a Wired article here and there. JK Rowling Kim Harrison Alexander Solzhenitsyn Jay Bonansinga Tom Clancy…well I skimmed the non fictions. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/31 "2006-07-25T03:16:14Z")
H.P. Lovecraft, most all of William Shakespeare, most all of Arthur Conan Doyle. Various authors of smaller output - mostly SF/fantasy - that I read a decade or two ago and can no longer remember. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/32 "2006-07-25T03:33:33Z")
Jane Austin Alexander McCall Smith Ursula LeGuin Armistead Maupin Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child Florence King Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine Peter Straub (I’m almost done working my way through Mark Helprin and Carl Hiaasen.) Poets: James Wright Stephen Dunn Ted Kooser Richard Hugo Kenneth Patchen ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/33 "2006-07-25T04:00:08Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] Peter Straub [/QUOTE] He was almost on my list, but then I remembered that I haven’t been able to finish **Mr. X** , despite three tries. I guess I should try again. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/34 "2006-07-25T04:04:05Z")
Looking at some of the other lists, I realize I need to add: Bill Bryson Michael Crichton Kurt Vonnegut Someone should alert Pratchett about the Dope. There’s enough of us here to qualify for some kind of honorable mention in a book. I see Nobby carrying a pocket version of one of Cecil’s books in his back pocket, and referring back once or twice for pearls of wisdom, while Vimes tells him to put that silly book away, but in the end some nugget from the book saves the day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/35 "2006-07-25T04:27:06Z")
Homer Galileo Jane Austen Lewis Carroll (possibly except for some mathematical works) Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes only) Robert Benchley (books, but not all published articles) Dave Barry (ditto) Douglas Adams Tom Robbins (I think) John Grisham (I’m not necessarily proud of this one) Stephen Fry John C. Wright Lemony Snicket Bill Watterson and of course: **Cecil Adams!** I own all of Walt Kelly’s _Pogo_ books, but I haven’t finished reading them all. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/36 "2006-07-25T04:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] if it wasn’t for the few dreadfully boring lesser-known plays I could add **Shakespeare**. [/QUOTE] [Cymbeline](http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/cymbeline/index.html)? [Coriolanus](http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/coriolanus/index.html)? Some other? Those are the first two which pop to mind. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/37 "2006-07-25T04:55:54Z")
Since everyone is bragging about Harper Lee, yes I have read everything by her. And also another Pulitzer Prize winner, John Kennedy Toole. Did someone beat me to it? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/38 "2006-07-25T04:57:13Z")
Stephen Greenleaf. Own every book he’s written, read 'em all, and most I’ve re-read several times. Like revisiting old friends. Stephen King… but, no. I didn’t finish either Desperation or the Regulators, was that the title? Maybe I’ll give them another shot. And I didn’t get into the Dark Tower books. But when he’s good, he’s really good. I just re-read 'Salem’s Lot on Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/39 "2006-07-25T05:18:36Z")
Ellis Peters A lot of Anne McCaffrey, but not all. I’m working on it, though. J.K. Rowling Margaret Fraser At least up to the latest, I think. And only because I’m feeling nostalgic lately, Rosamund du Jardin. (blush) I’m trying to catch up and keep up with Michael Jecks. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/40 "2006-07-25T05:46:16Z")
But have you read “Last chance to see’ and 'The meaning of liff” ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860.md?page=3)