Today's Top Ten Tuesday linkup with The Broke and the Bookish is about which authors you own the most books from. This was probably the easiest topic for me so far! I'm sure #1 will be a surprise to anyone who has visited me before!
1. Agatha Christie - I'm sure this one is a shock to everyone. In addition to her 85 mysteries I also own her autobiography and her memoir regarding her time with her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan. I also have 1 of her Mary Westmacott books but I haven't tried it yet to see if I need to buy the rest of them.
2. Patricia Wentworth - I'm working on collecting all of her books but it's difficult because she hasn't gotten quite the same level of attention as Agatha so not all of her books are easy to find.
3. Ngaio Marsh - A contemporary of the first two though I don't like her nearly as much. On the covers off all her books there's a comment that states that "She's Better than Christie". She isn't but they're still good reads. I recommend False Scent.
4. Barbara Michaels - I love her gothic-y romantic suspense books. They're a smidge guilty pleasure and all fun reading.
5. Mary Roberts Rinehart - I have most of the books by this Classic American mystery writer. I don't think I've read them since college but I hope to revisit them one day!
6. Rosamunde Pilcher - For years Pilcher's The Shell Seekers was my favorite book. It isn't really now but I still enjoy rereading several of her books - especially her short story collections.
7. Nora Roberts - Several of her books are keeper shelf rereads for me including Three Fates and Jewels of the Sun
8. Kathryn Tucker Windham - This us a regional author who wrote a number of books including collections of ghost stories, cookbooks and memoirs about growing up in Depression era Alabama and her time as a reporter in Montgomery and Birmingham.
9. L.M. Montgomery - I own all of her books except for collected journals. The Blue Castle is one of my most reread boos.
10. Julia Quinn - Like Roberts I have several of her books on my keeper shelf. Especially The Viscount Who Loved Me and The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. I know that last one is one of her most least liked books but it's always been a favorite of mine.
I'm not into sleuth series, can you recommend one of Agatha Christie's stand alone novels...other than And then there were None
ReplyDeleteAnd Then There Were None does seem to be the standard recommendation doesn't it! Agatha's books fall into 2 categories - 1 is an exotic location adventure type and 2 is the more standard English manor house type. For the first kind The Man in the Brown Suit, They Came to Baghdad or Destination Unknown are lots of fun. If you're interested in the 2nd type Crooked House, Ordeal by Innocence or Sparkling Cyanide are good ones. Her series books are only a series in that they have a reoccurring character and not that they need to be read in any kind of order. You may want to give Poirot's Murder on the Orient Express or Marple's Sleeping Murder a try. Hope that helps!
DeleteThis was such a fun prompt this week! Agatha Christie made it onto my list, but I don't own nearly as many of her books as you do!
ReplyDeleteMine were all bought over years at a used bookstore for the most part. I need to replace some of the copies but I had so much fun collecting them that I hate to replace them!
DeleteThe Shell Seekers is an old favorite of mine, too. I've been tempted to reread, but may not appreciate it as much now and don't want to ruin the memory.
ReplyDeleteYou've listed a couple authors I'm not familiar with... off to investigate!
I definitely didn't love it as much when I read it a few years ago. It was still good just not quite as wonderful.
DeleteI'm really surprised about Christie and Roberts making the rounds today. Although I've never read any of their books, they sure each have enough to make massive individual libraries. Lol.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!
Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life
They definitely don't hurt for quantity! Though I think Agatha wins in consistency.
DeleteAwesome list!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my blog as well. Maybe even hit the follow button? It'd be greatly appreciated! http://bundles-of-books.blogspot.com
Thanks! I'll be sure to give you a visit.
DeleteI think my Agatha Christine collection doesn't come close to rivaling yours, but I do have a lot of her books and am sure she'd make this list. :-) Along with Sue Grafton and Michael Connelly.
ReplyDeleteI used to have tons of Sue Grafton but I think they all went to used bookstore in the last move. My set is a bit raggedy but I had so much fun collecting them I don't want to trade them out for books of all the same edition.
DeleteSadly I've only read books by Agatha Christie and LM Montgomery on your list. This week's list is really fun and very varied. I like it alot. I expected to see really similar lists and I am not.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see what everyone collects. I think we all have different philosophies on what books stay on the shelf too so it makes for some good variety!
DeleteI saw another blogger who owned a lot of Agatha Christie's books, but your number just blew hers out of the water. Let me applaud you.
ReplyDeleteIt took years but yeah it's kind of crazy! That's not counting all the books I have that are just ABOUT her either.
DeleteGreat list, Katherine! I used to own a lot of mysteries, but during one of our moves I purged a lot of them so now I only have a very few.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm working on purging my paper books which are mostly romances. But I'm keeping my favorite authors...lol. And now I'm collecting digital copies of sci-fi and fantasy!
I don't keep many of the modern mysteries and the ones I did got purged in the last move. I couldn't get rid of my classics though - especially my Christies! I'm not a big keeper unless the book is something I know I'm going to reread or it's special for some reason.
DeleteI adore Barbara Michaels and am trying to collect all of her books myself. Iam also a huge Agatha Christie fan :) My favorite thing to do is search for vintage mysteries at my local used bookstore. Thanks to them I now have quite the collection of Mary Roberts Rinehart books myself!
ReplyDeleteI've got to revisit Roberts! It's been far to long. I have most of Barbara Michaels' book though I did get read of the few that I didn't love. I spent a lot of time haunting used bookstores for vintage mysteries! It was a lot of fun!
DeleteOh I forgot Agatha when I was thinking about mine..King, Krentz, Roberts, Graham, just to name a few..oh and Mira Grant!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I'll end up keeping them but I definitely see me reading more Krentz in the near future. Loving River Road!
DeleteWow, impressive numbers! The authors I own lots of are a mix of romance, mystery, sci fi, and fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI don't read a huge amount of sci fi and fantasy and what I have read has been recent when I haven't been purchasing as many books. I read a lot more variety now.
Delete85 mysteries!? I may not be shocked that you've read them all or have them all but dang I had no idea Christie was that prolific!!
ReplyDeleteShe wrote for a little over 50 years and averaged at least a book a year. If you count all the books she wrote under the Mary Westacott name it's probably well over 100. The amazing thing is while not every book is a winner you dont' see a decrease in quality until the very end of her career.
DeleteI've only read one Agatha Christie but I would love to read more. Like you, I have a friend who pretty much owns every single book she ever wrote. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my TTT :)
ReplyDeleteShe definitely wrote a lot of great mysteries but with all the books out there it's hard to go back and pick up an author that isn't a new release!
DeleteSoul sisters, I'm telling you! Christie, Marsh, Pilcher, Roberts, Montgomery and Quinn are all favorites. For some reason I never got into either Mary Roberts Rhinehart, Barbara Michaels, or Patricia Wentworth when I tried them back in high school/college, but given our similar tastes in reading material, I will have to give them another try!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! I'm kind of surprised you didn't like Wentworth but she is much more cozy than Christie. Michaels and Rinehart are a bit patchy on some of their stuff. If you decide you to give them another try I'd try Man in the Lower Ten from Rinehart and House of Many Shadows or Vanish with the Rose from Michaels.
DeleteI tried one of Wentworthy's books in late high school or early college and found it kind of dry. I may just have gotten one that wasn't as good, or perhaps I was just in the wrong mood or state of mind. So I'll try again! Thanks for the Michaels and Rhinehart recommendations, too.
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