Check out an inspiring list of authors that includes contemporary and classic fiction, faith-based reading, education and leadership.

There are 25 authors on this list because so many authors are tied for 5th, 7th, and 10th place. Goodreads makes this possible with this snazzy chart.

My first place author is no surprise. I’ve read more from Murakami and more about Murakami than any other author. I suspect I am leaving him in the last decade of my life, though. However, I am still teaching one of his novels, and I don’t think I’m done writing about him yet. 

I’m starting to work through different works from Kevin Vanhoozer, Paul Ricouer, and David Foster Wallace this year, so they will more than likely define the next decade for me.

Here’s a list of the authors I’ve read the most from. 

authorbooks read
13354Haruki Murakami14
21264Jean Baudrillard9
325423John Piper8
41069006C.S. Lewis7
5847789Timothy Keller5
5947William Shakespeare5
71938Friedrich Nietzsche4
77491463Francis A. Schaeffer4
7829Daniel Goleman4
101730Umberto Eco3
101630Ray Bradbury3
101439Malcolm Gladwell3
101260Michel Foucault3
101082290A.W. Tozer3
102340358Slavoj Žižek3
103190F. Scott Fitzgerald3
106547946Tom Rath3
103565Oscar Wilde3
10153394Suzanne Collins3
1051983Elyse M. Fitzpatrick3
1013009Gilles Deleuze3
107894Nella Larsen3
1068John C. Maxwell3

So tell me, who is the number one author you’ve read? Who would you recommend to me?
Top 10 Tuesday

39 Responses

  1. Some great authors here; several of whom I also have read. Here are a few of my ‘favorite’ writers (fiction and non-fiction) based on number of books I’ve read:
    – CS Lewis
    – Eugene Peterson
    – John Le Carre
    – Margaret Atwood
    – Steven Saylor
    – Walker Percy
    – Walter Mosley
    – William Shakespeare
    – JK Rowling
    – JRR Tolkien
    – Robert Caro
    – John Maxwell
    – Stephen King
    – Neil Gaimon
    – William Gibson
    – Phillip Dick

    I’ve read multiple books by each of these authors (in fact I’ve read everything by a few of them) and consistently enjoyed them.

    1. I… have to say I’ve probably read everything King has written, and had some sort of fun with all of it. He’s best read when one is young, though. I’ve read a lot of Murakami, and I’m now re-reading him. I have some real old-school tastes, and I’ll have to say aside from King, I’ve probably read and re-read more Alexandre Dumas than most people my age. (If one doesn’t read some French, it’s impossible to get to his back catalogue.) Your list tends to the philosophical, I notice! I just discovered Slavoj Žižek through his documentaries and he’s rather brilliant (if quirky!)

    2. I saw Zizek speak in San Francisco a while back. It was wild, hilarious, and brilliant, just like his writing. My philosophical tastes have changed, but like you and King, he was someone I enjoyed in my youth.

    3. I’m in Miami, and he was here not long ago. I can imagine how he would have blown my mind when I was younger.Now, it’s more like: “Yes, I know these things, I agree with you, mostly.” 😉 Who do you think is a writer that can still deeply impress a reader as they go into their 30s?

  2. Ken Kesey
    Iain Banks
    Salman Rushdie
    John Fowles
    Kurt Vonnegut jnr
    DH Lawrence
    Kasuo Ishiguro
    George Orwell
    Jack Kerouac
    and like you I’d put Murakami at the top.

    1. I actually wrote my MA thesis on time and narrative in his novels. It might sound a bit lame, but all of his books are really great. I highly recommend On Chesil Beach and Atonement (which has been made into a film), though Amsterdam and Saturday are quite good, too .

    2. My taste is very versatile, ranging from Agatha Christie to Shakespeare’s sonnets. If I’m in the mood for a non pretentious psychological thriller, I go for Ingrid Noll. When I need a good laugh, I’ll read Ephraim Kishon and my favorite spiritual writer is probably Philip Yancey.

    1. It’s automatic. If you click on your “read” shelf, you’ll see an option for “most read authors” on the left. I just copied and pasted the chart. If you click on the numbers, you can see which books were read by that author. You can also see this list for anyone you are friends with on Goodreads.

  3. I suspect Wodehouse and Agatha Christie would easily top the list of authors of whom I’ve read the most books. Must find the link on Goodreads to confirm this.

  4. Haruki Murakami is also my my top read author. Some other I’d recommend:
    – Kobo Abe
    – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    – Mario Vargas Llosa

  5. I have 7 different authors tied for #19. Ha! This is a really interesting look at things. My #1 is Stephen King (I’ve read 31 of his books) and next is V.C. Andrews. I’ll own it!

    I’m going to take this idea and run with it for my blog. Thanks!

    p.s. I suggest Neal Stephenson.

  6. A lot of people I haven’t read there! I’m not a fan of authors per se so I couldn’t really make a list like this. I am on third John Green book; not exactly CS Lewis but I love his tone, and i love how he makes ordinary people seem magical.

  7. Amazing…definitely jumping on Goodreads! I’ll happily add Elizabeth Gilbert, Brene Brown, Brendon Burchard and Danielle LaPorte.x

    1. I would be delighted to share my favorite books with you!

      And I really need to get around to reading Vonnegut. I’m not sure what’s taking me so long.

  8. Appreciate your list; I have read only six though. Presently into theological nonfiction. (Is that an oxymoron?)
    Oswald Chambers
    Paul David Tripp
    Charles Spurgeon
    Octavius Winslow
    *Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to name a few…
    Less heavy reading, but not really is Ann Voskamp’s, “One Thousand Gifts.”

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