Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Popular Authors
I Have Never Read
Initial Thoughts:
So I also had to clump some authors together, just because. Either way, take my blurbs with a grain of salt. All images link to the authors Goodreads page. Listed in no particular order:
1. Stephen King (The Shining, Dark Tower)
Unforgivable, right? But I have seen most of the screen adaptations though – so I guess that counts for something. Watching “It” as a child (on top of Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes involving Laughing Clown or Crimson Clown) solidified my fear of clowns. Like holy shit.
2. John Green (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska)
From the community vibe alone, I feel like this man is a god to many readers (his fanclub even has a name?). But by no means am I chirping his books – I’m sure they’re wonderful in their own right – I just haven’t found myself reading anything by him (yet?).
Also to tangent on something I just remembered: does anyone else find it slightly weird that Tris and Caleb of Divergent are Hazel and Augustus in TFioS? I mean I get that they’re two separate roles and should be engaged as such but say whaaaattttttt.
3. E.L. James / Stephanie Meyer (50 Shades; Twilight, The Host)
Uh. I…no. Sorry not sorry.
3.5. Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy, Bloodline)
My reasoning lies in between what I listed for the above (James/Meyer) and below (Clare). Das it.
4. Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices)
I think it’s the number of different paranormal fantasy elements that deter me from reading her books. And not that it affects my choice or anything, but Google tells me there’s a lot of poop hitting the fan surrounding her rise to fame – yikes.
5. George R.R. Martin (A Song of Fire and Ice)
I’m sorry, how many pages did you say it was?
They’re such behemoth reads.
6. Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn) / Charles Dickens (Great Expectations) / Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) /
Bronte Sisters (Jane Eyre)
Classics are classics – unfortunately I don’t think I’d read anything by them anytime soon.
7. Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) /
Pittacus Lore (Lorien Legacies)
So I’ve seen the respective movies but haven’t read any of the books. I think I’m more inclined to continue following the Lorien Legacies series as opposed to the Percy Jackson franchise based on interest alone. But I will say that if the Percy Jackson books continue to be adapted into movies, I’ll probably watch them because Logan Lerman’s a pretty grounded actor for his age (at least I think so).
8. James Patterson (Alex Cross) / John Grisham (A Time To Kill)
Many of their books are in literary genres that I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. And when I do opt for something suspenseful, mysterious, or thrilling, it’s usually prompted by a random author (for which I decide to read that book instead of these two). But I think the main deterrent is the fact that I watch enough prime-time television involving crime and the like to fill my desires of these genres.
9. Markus Zusak (The Book Thief)
The Book Thief doesn’t immensely interest me but I was hoping that the movie was a good enough adaptation to do the novel of relative justice. Apparently not. So I’ll just defer this until another remake is made in the distant future.
Afterthoughts:
Oh look, I’ve neglected a wide spectrum of bestselling authors. But hey that’s okay. Real talk: read for the sake of reading, not basing choices on prior expectations or book hypes.
Cheers,
Joey
thoughts and afterthoughts. 
Though I personally haven’t seen any of the Percy Jackson movies, I hear they don’t do the books justice. I enjoyed that series, but the real paydirt is in the follow-up series Heroes of Olympus. Really great.
LikeLike
Yeah I’ve heard many people say Olympus is better than it’s counterpart but I don’t think I’d make it to that point since I’m not immensely invested into reading all of Percy Jackson.
LikeLike
I haven’t read a lot of these authors either. I just can’t get intrigued enough by some of them. I’m going to attempt my first Stephen King soonish though! Great list!
LikeLike
Pretty much how I feel when I consider reading a mystery/suspense or just go on my way and watch an episode of Criminal Minds or something haha! I await your perspective on some of King’s novels.
LikeLike
I could have written this list! Although I have read Mark Twain and John Grisham–but that’s it. I’ve read Stephen King’s memoir called On Writing which was great, but I’ve never read any of his fiction.
LikeLike
Great to hear that I’m not the only one who hasn’t read many of these best sellers!
LikeLike
I clicked your post expecting a list of my all-time favorite books. Then I got to the bottom and realized I’d only read two of them (Twilight–which is kind of both underrated and overrated–and Lightning Thief). I tried to start Game of Thrones and City of Bones too, but… they were *so* boring xD
LikeLike
Just a shot in the dark, but i’m sure we share similar preferences in genres and this weeks theme would totally be the opposite of your all-time favourites!
LikeLike
Haha, yeah! I get that same feeling! I can’t remember the last time I ever looked for a book outside of the YA section, and I see a *lot* of stuff I love in your writing!
Except, I just can’t hate on Twilight xD Even thought Edward Cullen sets the bar somewhere above outer space, he feels so alive that I can’t bring myself to hold it against Stephanie Meyer.
I’m lucky enough to have gotten into the series before the fangirls twisted it into… what it became.
LikeLike
Keep preaching! But seriously, I’m glad you enjoy my… keyboard smashing? Much appreciated.
LikeLike
Oh I love The Lorien Legacies–I’ve read them all. The Book Thief was also one of my favorites and I do like to dip into the classics from time to time. I don’t like reading Charles Dickens though . . . I think this weeks lists are so interesting, so many authors to be introduced to. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
LikeLike
Yeah I have some friends who’ve bugged me to start reading the Lorien Legacies. And despite the movie not performing well in the box office, it was actually the starting point for my interest in this series. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
Sometimes I’m deterred from reading popular authors simply because it seems so hard to break into the community. Some of these I’ve never read either, and I’m not a big fan of classics.
Thanks for stopping by my TTT! 🙂
LikeLike
Yeah, I can sort of see where you’re coming from — assuming you’re talking about rabid fans who chirp at the slightest bit of negativity.
LikeLike
I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series when I was younger. Not sure what I would think about them now, though. And Stephen King…I’ve read two of his books (Under the Dome and Carrie), and well, to be honest I’ve been quite underwhelmed. Good to know I’m not the only one who hasn’t read The Book Thief–I thought I was the only one. xD
LikeLike
Pertaining to The Book Thief, I think it’s the nature of the novel itself that I wouldn’t have too much of an attention span to keep myself into it. Although this is just my current perception of it, it might change one day!
LikeLike
Great list – very eclectic! I’ve read TFiOS, Pride and Prejudice (and many other classics!), Twilight, E.L. James and The Book Thief from your list and enjoyed them all, some WAAAY more than others 🙂 I’ve been keen to give Stephen King a try though.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
LikeLike
Haha, there should be no shame in taking enjoyment to the extremes! It’s one of the foundations of the book blogosphere, I’d say.
LikeLike
We do have a lot of overlap! I have only read three things by Stephen King, but I loved two of them: *Joyland* and *The Stand* (which is also a beast of a read!). And, I have to say it’s partially the Nerdfighter fandom that makes we want to like John Green. Are you familiar with his Project 4 Awesome? What a cool guy.
LikeLike
I think I’ve heard of P4A by proxy of other youtube vloggers (or maybe it was trending on twitter?) — but I agree, he’s totally rad for doing something like that. I think it’s just that i haven’t gotten sucked into the vortex of his fans or books albeit reading about him everywhere.
LikeLike
I apologize in advance because this is going to be a really long comment… XD
*Laughs* I love your responses to all the authors you’ve listed!
I’ve read about half of the authors you listed. Stephen King I haven’t read due to me being a scaredy-cat more than anything else. John Green is on my to read list but I just don’t know if I can handle all the feels that come along with The Fault in Our Stars and the genius-like attitude people have for him like you said – just, so much hype!
Not gonna lie, I did read the Twilight series, but I’m so not touching the rewritten-fanfiction series known as 50 Shades with a ten foot pole. I’m not interested enough in vampires to read Vampire Academy. I’ve read Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones and am planning on seeing where the next one at least goes, and I just ignore all the stuff about her personally because I do try and keep authors (and artists of all kinds, really) separate from their books (or art).
George R.R. Martin… Oh man, I want to read his books, but at the same time, the size! And there are at least two more that haven’t been released yet!
I enjoy Rick Riordan’s work, but I’m staying far, far away from Pittacus Lore (that’s one author I haven’t been able to separate from their books).
I have read some of James Patterson’s works, but not in years. And I just read The Book Thief this past year because I wanted it to read it before watching the movie (which I still haven’t seen). I haven’t really been paying much attention to what people thought of the movie, though.
Oh, whoops, I almost forgot to mention the classics! I’ve read some of Mark Twain’s and Charles Dickens’ works, but they were abridged versions, so I’m not sure if that really counts?
Sorry for the long comment, I just had a lot to say for some reason XD
LikeLike
I’m glad that you enjoyed this post! I really do just type out what comes to mind and run with it. And your input per each author is much appreciated as I certainly enjoy reading other perspectives.
LikeLike
Not a huge fan of Clare..she is very good a reusing her stories/elements and they get old FAST. I would totally recommend Vampire Academy though! They are a lot of fun and Richelle is a very talented writer.
LikeLike
Duly noted. I think Vampire Academy perked my interest when I saw news of it (or maybe it was the trailer?) saying it had similarities to Mean Girls or something like that.
LikeLike
I’ve actually read some of these authors (Stephenie Meyer, Cassandra Clare, George RR Martin) and uhhh, not worth bothering with. I do LOVE Jane Eyre, but it is probably the only classic I would read again (and again). John Green is enjoyable, so is Stephen King… so if you are interested in sticking your toe in those ponds, I wouldn’t hesitate.
LikeLike
Great to know! I’ll probably dabble with Green in a future but unlikely to read King’s old stuff on account of the movies.
LikeLike
I’m not sure John Green lives up to the hype for me. I enjoy his books but they’re not what I was expecting from his legions of fans….
And Games of Thrones – they’re long but I like all the detail. I’ve seen the show and the first season especially – it’s a faithful adaptation.
LikeLike
Certainly one of those things that could be appreciated more if it wasn’t so blown up. I did consider picking up the the GoT show since I see my social feeds often blow up with craze about what happens but I was dubious about starting another show since I already follow so many. So many forms of entertainment…so little time.
LikeLike
#SorryNotSorry hahahaha! I love how often I’ve been seeing EL James & the like – it makes me feel like I’m not alone. 🙂
There is a really good (and lesser known) novel by Stephen King called The Eyes of the Dragon, which was my first and only book that I’ve read by him. It’s not his typical horror fare; my understanding is that he wrote it after being asked by his daughter why she couldn’t read any of his books. It’s more fantasy, and I remember really liking it (I read it about 10+ years ago).
Thanks for stopping by my blog, I really appreciate it!
LikeLike