# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/41 "2006-07-25T07:07:45Z")
No way I could remember them all. I tend to do the same as the OP when I read sombody new. After reading for more than forty years, the full list would be reeeally long. Off the top of my head (mostly) and to the best of my knowledge: Spider Robinson, Tom Robbins, Harlan Coben, Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, George P. Pelecanos, Walter Mosley (except the sci-fi after **Blue Light**. what the hell was that?), Steven Brust, John Irving, Kilgore Trout šŸ˜‰ , Larry Niven, Roger Zelazny, Al Franken (except the Stuart Smalley stuff), Robert Ferrigno, Richard Russo, Neil Gaiman (novels only, not even close to all the comics), Tim Dorsey, George Hayduke, Kurt Vonnegut, Neal Barrett Jr (all I can find, anyway), Walter Jon Williams, Bill Fitzhugh, GM Ford (think thatā€™s a pseudonym?), Sherri Tepper (but not Ruth Rendell), Don Winslow, Tim Powers, Joe Haldeman, there are certainly more. Honorable mention to Tom Reamy, who wrote (according to the introduction) only one book called **Blind Voices**. I get even more obsessive with music. (I really wish I had more disposable income.) At least with CDs I can enjoy the same one repeatedly (and often). ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/42 "2006-07-25T11:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=DfrntBreign] Honorable mention to Tom Reamy, who wrote (according to the introduction) only one book called **Blind Voices** [/QUOTE] Sorry, he also has a short story collection, ā€˜San Diego Lightfoot Sueā€™ published back in 1979. Heā€™s on _my_ list, though! šŸ˜‰ **Jack Vance** **M.John Harrison** (well, not all his criticism yet - itā€™s fairly heavy going!) And Iā€™m probably close with a bunch more, but no-one comes to mind right away except some authors with only 2 or 3 books publishedā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/43 "2006-07-25T12:33:17Z")
Does anyone else do that thing where you go back to an authorā€™s section at the book store _in hope_ that maybe you somehow missed something and a new book youā€™ve never even heard of might mysteriously appear on the shelf? Iā€™m close on Stephen King ā€“ Iā€™ve read everything published for the mass market and Iā€™ve tracked down most of his short stories that only appeared in magazines (and then he went and published a lot of them in a book ā€“ geez, cheat why donā€™t you? šŸ˜‰ ) but I think there are a still a few out there that I havenā€™t gotten to yet. Iā€™ve read a good way through Dorothy Sayers ā€“ all the fiction and most of her academic work, Iā€™m still missing some essays and was just cruelly DENIED by a book store that claimed they could special order, and then they called back to say it turns out the reprint wasnā€™t available after all. Sheesh. I think Iā€™m complete on Madeleine Lā€™Engle, even including the preachier non-fiction which was a little bit of a chore. A lot of her non-science fictiony teen stuff hasnā€™t been in print for a while, so that was a fun challenge. Iā€™ve also read all of Nancy Mitford that Iā€™m aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/44 "2006-07-25T13:02:28Z")
Lots of repeats, and thanks, \*\*delphica[/b, I would have forgotten Madeleine Lā€™Engle: Madeleine Lā€™Engle C. S. Lewis Robin McKinley Almost everthing Chaim Potok wrote. I think I may be missing one L. M. Montgomery Terry Pratchett Huh. I think thatā€™s all. How strange. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/45 "2006-07-25T13:15:49Z")
Stephen King George R.R. Martin Charles Sheffield J.K. Rowling Harper Lee Kurt Vonnegut ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/46 "2006-07-25T13:18:21Z")
William Shakespeare Mark Twain Charles Dickens H. L. Mencken (except for a book on child-care he co-wrote) John Sandford Ed McBain John D. MacDonald Kinky Friedman Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner John Steinbeck Dashiell Hammett Loren D. Estelman Robert B. Parker Pat Conroy John Feinstein Norman MacLean Scott Turow Nelson DeMille J. D. Salinger Florence King and, of course John Kennedy Oā€™Toole Harper Lee ---
**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, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/47 "2006-07-25T14:05:57Z")
All of Garrison Keillor except the kidsā€™ books. Some of him I kinda wish I hadnā€™t read; reading too much Keillor is like eating too much tuna hot dish. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/48 "2006-07-25T14:18:25Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] But have you read ā€œLast chance to seeā€™ and 'The meaning of liffā€ ? [/QUOTE] Well, I have. I just read _Last Chance to See_ a few months ago. Itā€™s sad. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/49 "2006-07-25T14:47:55Z")
Pratchett, Gaiman, Adams, J.K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce, Guy Gavriel Kay, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine Lā€™Engleā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/50 "2006-07-25T14:56:30Z")
J.K. Rowling Janet Evanovich **Mystery** : Lindsey Davis **Romance Writers:** Barbara Metzger Dara Joy Mary Jo Putney Amanda Quick Laura Kinsale Lynn Kurland ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/51 "2006-07-25T15:11:46Z")
Michael Connelly Diana Gabaldon Tabitha King Alice Hoffman Ed McBain Elizabeth George P.J. James ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/52 "2006-07-25T15:30:19Z")
Sue Grafton Sara Paretsky Lawrence Sanders Marcia Muller Danielle Steele (I think) Kathy Reichs Patricia Cornwell Judy Blume šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/53 "2006-07-25T15:31:19Z")
Janet Evanovich Jane Austen Diana Gabaldon (though I havenā€™t finished ā€œLord John Greyā€ yet) J.K. Rowling Laura Ingalls Wilder James Herriott Larry McMurtry On a tangent, here are some authors whose novels Iā€™ve given up on: Laurell k. Hamilton (her Anita Blake series started out witty and sassy; then they degenerated into porn) Jean Auel - Too much time elapsed between books and I found I no longer cared what happened to Ayla. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/54 "2006-07-25T15:45:41Z")
I think Vonnegut is the only one. Iā€™m fairly close on Lovecraft, but I hate the Dunsany-like dream stuff. I made a good push to read all of Ursula Leguin, but she sort of lost her edge with some of her stuff (e.g., ā€œThe Eye of the Heronā€) and I never got into the whole eastern Europe thing. I wonder if I shouldnā€™t revisit her, though. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/55 "2006-07-25T16:32:17Z")
A couple I forgot earlier: **Lewis Shiner** **Jonathan Carroll** **Kim Stanley Robinson** - just a bit to go on the _Mars_ trilogy, although Iā€™ve already read the collection, _Martians_. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/56 "2006-07-25T16:46:28Z")
Read 'em all: John D. Macdonald Robert Heinlein Isaac Asimov Piers Anthony Tom Clancy Jonathan Kellerman Terry Pratchett L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (all the Recluce books) David Eddings Katherine Kurtz Dick Francis Louis Lā€™Amour Lee Child J. K. Rowling Tony Hillerman H. P. Lovecraft John Grisham On my in-progress list: J. A. Jance Diane Duane Larry Niven Steve Martini ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/57 "2006-07-25T16:47:48Z")
Rex Stout Ngaio Marsh Ellery Queen Ed McBain Ruth Rendell (only the Wexford series) Leslie Meier Tons of mystery series I canā€™t think of off the top of my head. JK Rowling Laura Ingalls Wilder Chaim Potok James Herriott Most of Vonnegut ---
**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, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/58 "2006-07-25T17:11:21Z")
You guys reminded me of a couple more ā€“ Lemony Snicket and Tom Reamy, with just the one book and the short story collection but my gosh, theyā€™re fine. If short stories count, Iā€™ll add 70ā€™s SF and horror writer **Bob Leman** , who Iā€™ve just learned is near death from a lung disease. His stories were collected in Feesters in the Lake, which should be on every SF fanā€™s bookshelf. ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/59 "2006-07-25T17:11:50Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] Sorry, he also has a short story collection, ā€˜San Diego Lightfoot Sueā€™ published back in 1979. Heā€™s on _my_ list, though! šŸ˜‰ \ [/QUOTE] :smack: I have that book, too. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860/60 "2006-07-25T18:51:34Z")
Iā€™m pretty impressed with those of you who have read all of Isaac Asimovā€™s books. I think Iā€™ve read all of his fiction, but heā€™s written a ton of non-fiction. Off the top of my head, Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ve read everything by: Joe Haldeman Robert Heinlein Octavia Butler Sharon Kay Penman Diana Gabaldon James Herriot Jane Austen Patrick Oā€™Brian (okay, just the Aubrey/Maturin books) Iā€™m working on Tanya Huff, Jim Butcher, Bernard Cornwell (Iā€™ve read all the Sharpe books), Charlaine Harris, and Peter F. Hamilton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authors-have-you-read-from-beginning-to-end/365860.md?page=2)