Please don’t ever feel you have to apologize for being honest about your opinions or preferences, in writers, books, anything! I come here to hear about books, ideas, writing and reading. It’s so good to get away from the PC world and what it dictates to us. I’m a woman and not one bit offended that these were all men. In fact, I celebrate you being true to yourself.
I tried to think of my choices before watching this video. My choices were close to yours and most one of these authors crossed my mind. I did forget about Hammett and Chandler , but the instant you brought up one I agreed with both. I have never read Ross McDonald, but I must resolve this omission. I went in with the thought that "who are the writers who inspire me to read all of their works?" So I guess it is my conclusion that ten is too few. I would add Clark Ashton Smith, William Hope Hodgson, Mark Twain, and Robert Louis Stevenson, and certainly P. G. Wodehouse. I have never read a book by Wodehouse I have not enjoyed and i believe I have a good 70 more to go. Thanks for a great share.
I appreciate your honesty. Don't let the W. Horde tell you what to enjoy. How can people really learn if they are not getting the real scoop. Keep it up buddy your videos are really good.
Thank you for the list (though I did keep checking to see if the title wasn’t ‘favorite horror and adventure authors’). I use to love and re-read Chandler repeatedly in the 80’s, but I found it much more difficult to engage with recently. I loved Hanmet too, though it’s been awhile since I’ve tried rereading him (Red Harvest👍). I’m happy I’ve discovered your channel and look forward to checking more of your recommendations and thoughts.
As a girl, I am not drawn into men's adventure. But you are making me develop an appreciation for it. HG Wells is an author that we all need to read. But the stories of Robert E Howard stir me the most. I am all ears when you share about the characters and the stories, and I am going to find them and read some.
Try Daphne du Maurier. I read Edna Ferber's Giant, but I failed to see what the big deal was. Going back some, you might want to see about Edith Wharton as well.
I'm still relatively new to the reading hobby so I haven't read much more than 1 book from most authors I've read yet. However I can say that Dostoevsky is my favorite. I've read all his 4 major novels this year and loved them all. I also like Dumas a lot, especially The Count of Monte Cristo. My favorite sci-fi/fantasy author atm would be Dan Abnett, primarily for his Eisenhorn series. Very fun!
Here to give Dostoyevsky additional praise. Brothers Karamazov was so deep and such a brilliant study of the variety of human beliefs and values. One of those books that crossed centuries and oceans to teach me about myself
Thank you for your great list, and this very illuminating video. I learn so much from you. In particular, my father was right to encourage me to read Herbert George Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P . Lovecraft, Robert E. Howards and many of the authors mentioned.
While I love Howard, Wells, Lovecraft and Burroughs I was waiting for Jack London, Kipling, and Jules Verne. I haven't read any of the crime writers mentioned except Doyle but all together a great list.
You should read some of Twain's later stories and essays. Some very cynical and dark stuff. Twain and Howard could probably have had a good conversation about life over a few drinks or a fine cigar. Very different from his earlier whimsical writings, though they are enjoyable as well. :)
Great video! Really enjoyed it. Chandler has been one of my favourites for a long time but I only recently read hammett, the Maltese Falcon is masterful indeed!!
Hi Mike! I just wanted to congratulate for this video. I mean, it's hard to single out a favourite author, at least for me ... Maybe I would go with HPL ... but there are so many, mainstream and not... What really makes me appreciate your discussion is that you actually nailed it down, you got to the point of what is literature and what is not. Howard wrote fantastic stories, but what makes him a "serious writer" is the fact that, as you said, put himself into his stories, his own philosophy, his worldview. He was not a hack, he was an artist.
I want to thank you for putting me on to H.P. Lovecraft I purchased a complete fiction of his and am loving it I just read “old bugs” and “the transition of Juan Romero” Awesome Thanks again
I have to try Hammett and Mathessen. I probably misspelled their names, and I apologize. Could you maybe talk about that Black Leather Star Trek book I see in the background? Like your Flat cap by the way.
The depth of your reading of individual authors is impressive! And it probably enables you to come up with a list of favorites. By contrast, I have read quite broadly but not in depth--which probably makes me something of a dilettante--so I am really unable to make a list of favorite writers. Some of my favorite books are by writers on your list (Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett and Burroughs).
Ahhh Richard Matheson. You know I relate to that one! I’d love to do a Wells video before the end of the year if I can….I’m amazed that you chose Machen above Doyle. Have you done a video on Machen yet? I can’t remember seeing one…..? I like the way you describe Lovecraft’s style….a difficult thing to articulate in some ways. Love this video.
Great list Michael. I think the only major surprise here for me was that Doyle wasn't up there in the top 5. Either way, there are a lot of writers here who I'd also put in my own top 10 of all time.
Glad to see this list, Michael. I want to mention one improvement for this kind of video which I would offer to almost every booktube video: please put names and titles on the screen as you talk about the person or the book. It isn't always easy to understand what is being said and certainly spellings can vary. I enjoy your videos and would welcome this additional information.
That would be better, I admit, but that kind of thing can take some time. Not much, but more than I had. I generally have so little time that I do these in one take and hope for the best. I couldn’t do a video a day otherwise.
As a non native english speaker I find very difficult to understand the name those are new for me. Perhaps Michael could write the names below the video.
Ross McDonald is one I’ve never heard of. Do recommend I start with book 1 of the Archer series? Also, I read Lovecraft for the first time today. I read Dagon earlier and then The Rats in the Wall. I’m not sure how I feel yet but the guy can sure tell a story.
Thanks for your countdown. Predictable, but overdue, as a basic way of finally knowing how you would rank the ones you really love. And, here I go: P. G. Wodehouse (Humorous) Fredric Brown (Crime & Mystery; SF) Bob Shaw (SF) Ramsey Campbell (Horror; Dark Fantasy) Patricia Wentworth (Crime & Mystery; Romance) William Marshall (Crime & Mystery) Jo Nesbo (Crime & Mystery) Octavia E. Butler (SF; Horror) H. G. Wells (SF; Horror; English Lit) Eugene Sue (Horror; Crime & Mystery)
Nothing compares to P.G. Wodehouse. Outside of Wooster and Jeeeves, Blandings Castle, PSmith, and all, the two funniest books I've read are Three Men in a Boat (Jerome. K Jerome) and Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens). And all of Discworld (Terry Pratchett) of course.
@@farhad_s Loved Three Men in a Boat. Changing Places by David Lodge is pretty funny. A Canadian humourist named Donald Jack has some great entries in his Bartholomew Bandy series, especially a later one called Me Too. A writer named Ben Schott is daring to write Jeeves & Bertie novels...and doing very well. He's got nerve, I'll give him that - but Jeeves and the King of Clubs was amazing, so I put Jeeves and the Leap of Faith on order. I never thought he would have the audacity to try write in the Wodehouse tradition twice!
Great list, Michael. Hard to argue with any of it. My list: (10) Dennis Wheatley (9) Manly Wade Wellman (8) Arthur Machen (7) Neil Gaiman (6) Robert Anton Wilson (5) Algernon Blackwood (4) Katherine Kurtz (3) HP Lovecraft (2) JRR Tolkien (1) Robert E Howard
As an avid reader, I was drawn to your video about your favorite authors. Most of them I've read and liked. I wonder if you read books outside the two genres you seem to like the most? My favorite authors are all over the spectrum. Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien, GRR Martin, Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, Jodi Picoult, James Thurber, Mark Twain are my top ten, but not necessarily in that order. I think I'm drawn to any well-written humor, but George R R Martin and JRR Tolkien don't fit that category very well!
This is more like a list of favorite SciFi, Adventure, Detective and Horror novelists writing in English. And as such it is a good list. I certainly agree that H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. belong on just about anybody's top ten. But I think Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas pere, V. Hugo, Tolstoi, Dostoevski, Turgenev, Diderot, Dickens and Trollope would be on mine. In SciFi I would like to include Connie Willis, in mystery Agatha Christie and Mary Roberts Rinehart, G.Simenon; adventure Anthony Hope, H.Rider Haggard, in horror E.A. Poe. And where would we put Herman Melville, Walter Scott ,Henry James and Jane Austen ?
I know and have read most (not all) of the authors on your list and they are great writers. I have a question though, have you found any authors in the later half of the last century or in the last 20 years that meet the same standard you are applying to your top ten? Could you extend your list to a top twenty and if you did would it include any more recent authors?
My top 10 is similar. 1. Charles Willeford 2. Richard Matheson 3. Richard Stark/Donald Westlake 4. Arthur C. Clarke 5. Dashiell Hammett 6. Larry Niven 7. Edgar Rice Burroughs 8. Alfred Bester 9. Patricia Highsmith 10. H.G. Wells Arthur Conan Doyle is moving up fast. I've only read Challenger stories so far but they're terrific. Have been avoiding Sherlock Holmes for some reason.
That's a hard list to make. I thought I had a vague handle on it, but then got to wondering -- can someone hit the top ten on the basis of only one book? Are the authors of my ten favorite novels my ten favorite authors by default? Finally I just had to go lie down.
I love your list and if I had 20 picks, three of your choices would also be on my list. But just for 10 picks it would have to be these.....in no particular order: . CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Dorothy L Sayers, GK Chesterton, Evelyn Waugh JK Rowling, Dennis Wheatley, Ellis Peters, Daphne Du Maurier, Edgar Allen Poe,
@@knittingbooksetc.2810 Oh my! You must give him a try! He wrote horror, thrillers, historical fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the world's best selling authors of the mid-20th century. Some of books were made into films. The hero in his thrillers was one of Ian Fleming's inspiration for James Bond. Wheatley worked for intelligence operations in WW2 and lived in the world he wrote about. Many of his fans believe (as I do) that his character Gregory Sallust was more credible and believable than James Bond.
0:58 - as a living white guy, my blood is boiling right now! 😄 I enjoy all of these writers as well, incidentally, although Ross MacDonald is hit or miss for me - The Zebra-Striped Hearse is probably one of my favorite detective novels, though. Highly recommend some John Dickson Carr if you haven't read him! The Three Coffins, The Burning Court, He Who Whispers... all nice horror/mystery hybrids.
1. Terry Pratchett 2. P.G. Wodehouse 3. Arthur Conan Doyle 4. J.R.R. Tolkien 5. Agatha Christie 6. Stephen King 7. Jules Verne 8. H.P. Lovecraft 9. Tom Sharpe 10. Bernard Cornwell Honourable mentions - Lewis Carroll, H.G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Forsyth, Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman, and, growing up, Enid Blyton.
Any person is limited by their language(s), cultural background and just dealing with being finite beings with restrictions on time, so to have a list of Top 10 "dead white guys" as your favorites is very understandable. Obviously, they are all English language authors as well. If I were to compile such a list, I'd only have 1 (possibly 2) authors who are non-English writers. Of course, I'm limited to the quality of the translations as well in these cases. Detective fiction is one area I've not gained a great affinity for, but I do like cinematic adaptations of a lot of these books. Maybe I should try some Chandler/Hammett novels. The only living author I'd have on my list is also the one that is non-English. The Japanese author Haruki Murakami has captured my imagination in so many of his works that he quickly shot up in my internal rankings. Not all his works are superlative, but he has a number of them that are. He is sort of a magical realist author in the most basic categorization, but it's just a blunt way to describe the subtle touches of fantasy in his best fiction. Thanks for sharing your list! ---Edit--- Oh heck, here would be my list as it now stands: Mark Twain F. Scott Fitzgerald J.R.R. Tolkien Philip K. Dick Haruki Murakami Michael Moorcock Ernest Hemingway H.P. Lovecraft Sharon Kay Penman Edgar Allan Poe
I agree with the whole list except for 2 of those detective writers...,and would exchange them for David Gemmell, and Brian Lumley. Great Video, and List.👍😁👍
The more Lumley I read the higher I’m sure he will go. I would read him this month but I really can’t think of his stuff as Garbaugust material. I think he is underrated as it is.
My ten favourites, saving the best authors to the last, go something like this -- 10. Arthur Machen 09. Stanley G. Weinbaum 08. J.R.R. Tolkien 07. Edgar Rice Burroughs 06. Jules Verne 05. Edgar A. Poe 04. Rudyard Kipling 03. H.P. Lovecraft 02. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 01. Sir H. Rider Haggard Honourable mentions: Lord Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, H.G. Wells, Voltaire, Jerome K. Jerome, Yann Martel, Mary Shelley, Robert Bloch, M.R. James, and Dame Agatha Christie. I still need to get round to Homer, Herodotus, Virgil, A. Merritt, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, Sax Rohmer, Talbot Mundy, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Thomas Kent Miller, and so on. My list will probably change slightly once I read these. My top two (Conan Doyle and Rider Haggard) are somewhat interchangeable, depending as they say on what day of the week it is. Haggard might just be favourite, though -- he is the greatest adventure writer ever, and his works are as underrated as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. However, Doyle's The Lost World is my single favourite book of all time, challenged in this regard only by its sequel and several of Haggard's works.
I’m always surprised, given your love for the pulps, that Clark Ashton Smith doesn’t seem to show up much on your lists. Personally, I prefer him to Lovecraft, though Howard was always my favorite of the three.
Most of my favorite authors would not be considered to be the best, either. For instance, one of my all-time favorites is Dennis Wheatley. He was criticized in his life for his lack of writing style, yet he sold like crazy (well, not as much here in the U.S.). However, I have read so many of his books and found them to quite enjoyable. A few are not that great, of course. I would have to agree with Lovecraft and Howard. For some reason, they really seem in their element with the short fiction. Of course, short fiction works quite well for horror, in general, and they both wrote some really good horror. I am currently reading a volume of Howard’s Conan stories. Then there is Jack Ketchum. His first novel, Off Season, is one of my absolute favorite books and I have read it three times so far (with me reading a different edition each time, like a damn nerd). The Lost, The Girl Next Door, Cover, and the list goes on. His writing is pretty much lean and mean. It is typically also pretty brutal. He wrote some great short fiction too. I guess Stephen King would be in there, too. He has written some great stuff and he has written some absolute clunkers (Insomnia comes to mind), but like Wheatley, I have read so many of his books and generally enjoyed them. I am honestly not really sure who else I would include in a top ten list. I rather enjoy Sax Rohmer, but I don’t know if he would quite make it to top ten. Same for James Herbert. I mainly like his early work.
Great respect for this list, we have the same #1 and much overlap. I'd have Mundy and Haggard on my list though, in place of the mystery authors. I have little to no experience with them yet. Absolutely love The Nine Unknown and She, especially. And Mundy's Athelstan King, i think i actually like him more than Jimgrim.
Machen and Blackwood deserve a decent, fine/private press edition. The only decent Machen volume is the Oxford one, and the quality is very poor: glued binding, acidic paper(which means it will degrade), thin boards, thin cloth fabric, no illustrations, no typesetting... Hopefully a mainstream press will give us something with heavy boards, some good illustrations, ph neutral rag paper, Smyth sewn binding etc. Something these guys deserve to have. Maybe Folio Society? Their MR James volumes were solid.
Robert E Howard is the only author from your list that would make mine. Since finishing high school I've sadly kept to my comfort authors, for the most part. Stephen King, Kathe Koja, Neil Gaiman, David Morrell, Caitlin R Kiernan are examples of some that would make my list. That is why I turned to book tube in the first place because I realized I shouldn't be treating novels like comics (lots of rereading while sticking to characters, artists, writers) and more like movies.
A good choice! Of the Three Greats of Weird Tales Howard was the best narrator and story-teller (while HPL was the best at myth/mythography, and Klarkshton the best (prose-)poet).
Starting out the video, I just know Blake Crouch is going to be #1, right, right... awww, LOL. Now I'm wondering how my current top ten list would turn out... hmmmmm...
Howards Conan was way better than of all the Autors that copied him over the years. So vibrant and brimming with live. I find all of his "pulp" way better than what modern fantasy writers bring to the table nowadays.
I like J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, CS Lewis, Alexandre Dumas, John Steinbeck, Jane Austen, Michelle Moran, JK Rowling, Stephen King, and B.A. Paris, in sort of that order, but not necessarily. :)
what''s the problem of white guys? My favorite wrtiers are all white (although one woman is there haha)... it doesn't matter the race or sex.. what matters in books is the content :D that's my take... you've got several of my favorite. thank you for this list
Sir, we share a lot of favorite writers in common! And I have to give you a high-five for having Robert E. Howard as Number One! Most people put as as Number 2 to H.P. Lovecraft, but I have a strong love for Howard's work! I've been reading his boxing fiction recently and it is so much FUN! What most people would think sounds boring on the outside is just exciting and a good time when you get into it. Maybe it's because I share a lot of the slang with Sailor Steve, but I always get a good laugh out of those! And while his stories are formulaic, I never get tired of the formula!
There are a few dead (and living) white men and women, who'd make my top 10: Armistead Maupin and Marion Bradley to name two. You describe one author as being "a man of his time." Quite, we are increasingly living in a world where such (and there are many of them) authors are being derided and looked at through the lenses of our attitudes today. But, I'm not in favour of "cancelling" such works. Hopefully, we're still able to enjoy them, while being aware (while not approving) of the attitudes of the authors. Otherwise, what's left to read, or in the case of films, watch, or in the case of music, listen to?
Cheater. Where are the Greek historians? Also, is it just a coincidence that they’re all dead, or have you been up to something? I’m a big fan of Hammett Chandler, and McDonald (and his brothers John D. and Philip). Surprised not to see James Cain here. He often goes along with the hard-boiled guys. Also, have you read Lawrence Block or Elmore Leonard. I think they are in the same league.
Ten extra credits for being so impeccably dressed, and for mentioning Burroughs and Doyle, both of whom wrote westerns when Zane Grey was the literary big dog of that genre. Sadly, a demerit for not making at least a passing mention of O. Henry, one of the best popular writers of the early twentieth century. Please do better next time. Now stop reading the comments and get back to your books. :)
I've read most of these authors. Great list! Dickens, Poe, Solzhenitzyn, Michener, Updike, the Brontes, M. M. Kaye, Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Dumas, Hugo, Follett, and many,many, many.......... more. Just to name a few.
You mean your favorite authors DON'T include Colleen Hoover, Ottessa Moshfeg, or N'deta Magwengway??? By all that the Bronte sisters held dear, HOW DARE YOU???!!!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 No apologies necessary. Funny thing, none of these women are on my list either. John D. Macdonald is, IMO, superior to Ross, but it's just a question of taste. HGW, Conrad, and your two detective fiction stars, Hammett and Chandler are MY go-to pleasure reads.
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You got me excited to read H.G. Wells books again. Haven't read them since my youth. I will read The Time Machine again now this summer.
Please don’t ever feel you have to apologize for being honest about your opinions or preferences, in writers, books, anything! I come here to hear about books, ideas, writing and reading. It’s so good to get away from the PC world and what it dictates to us. I’m a woman and not one bit offended that these were all men. In fact, I celebrate you being true to yourself.
Facts
I tried to think of my choices before watching this video. My choices were close to yours and most one of these authors crossed my mind. I did forget about Hammett and Chandler , but the instant you brought up one I agreed with both. I have never read Ross McDonald, but I must resolve this omission. I went in with the thought that "who are the writers who inspire me to read all of their works?" So I guess it is my conclusion that ten is too few. I would add Clark Ashton Smith, William Hope Hodgson, Mark Twain, and Robert Louis Stevenson, and certainly P. G. Wodehouse. I have never read a book by Wodehouse I have not enjoyed and i believe I have a good 70 more to go.
Thanks for a great share.
I appreciate your honesty. Don't let the W. Horde tell you what to enjoy. How can people really learn if they are not getting the real scoop. Keep it up buddy your videos are really good.
Thank you for the list (though I did keep checking to see if the title wasn’t ‘favorite horror and adventure authors’).
I use to love and re-read Chandler repeatedly in the 80’s, but I found it much more difficult to engage with recently.
I loved Hanmet too, though it’s been awhile since I’ve tried rereading him (Red Harvest👍).
I’m happy I’ve discovered your channel and look forward to checking more of your recommendations and thoughts.
As a girl, I am not drawn into men's adventure. But you are making me develop an appreciation for it. HG Wells is an author that we all need to read. But the stories of Robert E Howard stir me the most. I am all ears when you share about the characters and the stories, and I am going to find them and read some.
Thank you! Robert E. Howard was so good. I’m sure you will enjoy his work.
highly recommend REH, he lived a short life, but whatever he did write was always entertaining, love his horror stories.
Talbot Mundy has a couple shorter books you could start with too. Especially The Nine Unknown.
that makes no sense but ok
Try Daphne du Maurier. I read Edna Ferber's Giant, but I failed to see what the big deal was. Going back some, you might want to see about Edith Wharton as well.
I'm still relatively new to the reading hobby so I haven't read much more than 1 book from most authors I've read yet. However I can say that Dostoevsky is my favorite. I've read all his 4 major novels this year and loved them all. I also like Dumas a lot, especially The Count of Monte Cristo. My favorite sci-fi/fantasy author atm would be Dan Abnett, primarily for his Eisenhorn series. Very fun!
I have not read Dan Abnett yet. I will have to pick up some of his books.
Here to give Dostoyevsky additional praise. Brothers Karamazov was so deep and such a brilliant study of the variety of human beliefs and values. One of those books that crossed centuries and oceans to teach me about myself
Great video! I'm currently reading Hammett's Red Harvest. The Continental Op does not mess around. What a fantastic badass character.
Thank you for your great list, and this very illuminating video. I learn so much from you. In particular, my father was right to encourage me to read Herbert George Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P . Lovecraft, Robert E. Howards and many of the authors mentioned.
Thanks Super Nova! Your father was obviously a man with great taste in literature.
While I love Howard, Wells, Lovecraft and Burroughs I was waiting for Jack London, Kipling, and Jules Verne. I haven't read any of the crime writers mentioned except Doyle but all together a great list.
Steinbeck. "BOY! That Mickey Spillane sure could write." Line from Marty, 1955.
You should read some of Twain's later stories and essays. Some very cynical and dark stuff. Twain and Howard could probably have had a good conversation about life over a few drinks or a fine cigar. Very different from his earlier whimsical writings, though they are enjoyable as well. :)
Great video! Really enjoyed it. Chandler has been one of my favourites for a long time but I only recently read hammett, the Maltese Falcon is masterful indeed!!
Hi Mike! I just wanted to congratulate for this video. I mean, it's hard to single out a favourite author, at least for me ... Maybe I would go with HPL ... but there are so many, mainstream and not... What really makes me appreciate your discussion is that you actually nailed it down, you got to the point of what is literature and what is not. Howard wrote fantastic stories, but what makes him a "serious writer" is the fact that, as you said, put himself into his stories, his own philosophy, his worldview. He was not a hack, he was an artist.
I want to thank you for putting me on to H.P. Lovecraft
I purchased a complete fiction of his and am loving it
I just read “old bugs” and “the transition of Juan Romero”
Awesome
Thanks again
You know you meet a bookworm when they watch a YT video about books and authors with maximum volume at a restaurant
Good line up. I totally agree with your mystery entries.
I have to try Hammett and Mathessen. I probably misspelled their names, and I apologize. Could you maybe talk about that Black Leather Star Trek book I see in the background? Like your Flat cap by the way.
People really need to stop being so conscious about liking stuff "dead white guys" did. You like what you like. Dont be ashamed of it.
I’m not. I just know the kind of comments I often get.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 that's why I tend to avoid comments sections everywhere. They're all trash.
I am a big fan of Howard, Lovecraft and Burroughs. Also started getting into Machen, Hammett.
Excellent!
The depth of your reading of individual authors is impressive! And it probably enables you to come up with a list of favorites. By contrast, I have read quite broadly but not in depth--which probably makes me something of a dilettante--so I am really unable to make a list of favorite writers. Some of my favorite books are by writers on your list (Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett and Burroughs).
My reading only has this much depth because I’m old and I’ve read every day since I was quite little.
Raymond Chandler also wrote the screenplay to The Blue Dalia. I was expecting to find H Rider Haggard on your list.
Ahhh Richard Matheson. You know I relate to that one! I’d love to do a Wells video before the end of the year if I can….I’m amazed that you chose Machen above Doyle. Have you done a video on Machen yet? I can’t remember seeing one…..? I like the way you describe Lovecraft’s style….a difficult thing to articulate in some ways. Love this video.
I did talk about Machen, but it’s been a while. I should do that. You’ve convinced me! Also, I look forward to that Wells video.
Great list Michael. I think the only major surprise here for me was that Doyle wasn't up there in the top 5. Either way, there are a lot of writers here who I'd also put in my own top 10 of all time.
I would love to see your list!
Glad to see this list, Michael. I want to mention one improvement for this kind of video which I would offer to almost every booktube video: please put names and titles on the screen as you talk about the person or the book. It isn't always easy to understand what is being said and certainly spellings can vary. I enjoy your videos and would welcome this additional information.
That would be better, I admit, but that kind of thing can take some time. Not much, but more than I had. I generally have so little time that I do these in one take and hope for the best. I couldn’t do a video a day otherwise.
An alternative could be to physically hold up a book with the name on it or a piece of paper?
As a non native english speaker I find very difficult to understand the name those are new for me. Perhaps Michael could write the names below the video.
Great list! Nice to see some of those noir writers like Chandler and Hammet.
Thanks!
Ross McDonald is one I’ve never heard of. Do recommend I start with book 1 of the Archer series? Also, I read Lovecraft for the first time today. I read Dagon earlier and then The Rats in the Wall. I’m not sure how I feel yet but the guy can sure tell a story.
Can’t forget Herman Melville.. just finished Typee.. great story
Thanks for your countdown. Predictable, but overdue, as a basic way of finally knowing how you would rank the ones you really love. And, here I go:
P. G. Wodehouse (Humorous)
Fredric Brown (Crime & Mystery; SF)
Bob Shaw (SF)
Ramsey Campbell (Horror; Dark Fantasy)
Patricia Wentworth (Crime & Mystery; Romance)
William Marshall (Crime & Mystery)
Jo Nesbo (Crime & Mystery)
Octavia E. Butler (SF; Horror)
H. G. Wells (SF; Horror; English Lit)
Eugene Sue (Horror; Crime & Mystery)
Nothing compares to P.G. Wodehouse. Outside of Wooster and Jeeeves, Blandings Castle, PSmith, and all, the two funniest books I've read are Three Men in a Boat (Jerome. K Jerome) and Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens). And all of Discworld (Terry Pratchett) of course.
@@farhad_s Loved Three Men in a Boat. Changing Places by David Lodge is pretty funny. A Canadian humourist named Donald Jack has some great entries in his Bartholomew Bandy series, especially a later one called Me Too. A writer named Ben Schott is daring to write Jeeves & Bertie novels...and doing very well. He's got nerve, I'll give him that - but Jeeves and the King of Clubs was amazing, so I put Jeeves and the Leap of Faith on order. I never thought he would have the audacity to try write in the Wodehouse tradition twice!
Excellent! Great list!
Great list, Michael. Hard to argue with any of it.
My list: (10) Dennis Wheatley (9) Manly Wade Wellman (8) Arthur Machen (7) Neil Gaiman (6) Robert Anton Wilson (5) Algernon Blackwood (4) Katherine Kurtz (3) HP Lovecraft (2) JRR Tolkien (1) Robert E Howard
Excellent! I’m in the process of hunting down some Dennis Wheatley now.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I'm jealous. I started reading Wheatley as a child. Would love to revisit him with fresh eyes.
Great List
As an avid reader, I was drawn to your video about your favorite authors. Most of them I've read and liked. I wonder if you read books outside the two genres you seem to like the most? My favorite authors are all over the spectrum. Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien, GRR Martin, Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, Jodi Picoult, James Thurber, Mark Twain are my top ten, but not necessarily in that order. I think I'm drawn to any well-written humor, but George R R Martin and JRR Tolkien don't fit that category very well!
That is an excellent list!
Had a feeling Howard and Lovecraft would be at the top. Good to see Matheson in there too. 👍
This is more like a list of favorite SciFi, Adventure, Detective and Horror novelists writing in English. And as such it is a good list. I certainly agree that H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. belong on just about anybody's top ten. But I think Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas pere, V. Hugo, Tolstoi, Dostoevski, Turgenev, Diderot, Dickens and Trollope would be on mine. In SciFi I would like to include Connie Willis, in mystery Agatha Christie and Mary Roberts Rinehart, G.Simenon; adventure Anthony Hope, H.Rider Haggard, in horror E.A. Poe.
And where would we put Herman Melville, Walter Scott ,Henry James and Jane Austen ?
Yeah, my favorite kind of stuff is pretty obvious from this list. Dumas came very close, as did Dostoevsky.
Interesting list. I've read a couple of them. I'll most likely skip the mystery writers, but the others I need to check out at some point.
You might like the detective stuff. They are about guys almost as tough as you!
I know and have read most (not all) of the authors on your list and they are great writers. I have a question though, have you found any authors in the later half of the last century or in the last 20 years that meet the same standard you are applying to your top ten? Could you extend your list to a top twenty and if you did would it include any more recent authors?
To be honest, most of my favorites are pretty old. There are exceptions, like Joe Abercrombie, but not many.
My favorite writers:
1. Robert E. Howard
2. H.P. Lovecraft
3. J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Andrzej Sapkowski
5. Stanislav Lem
My top 10 is similar.
1. Charles Willeford
2. Richard Matheson
3. Richard Stark/Donald Westlake
4. Arthur C. Clarke
5. Dashiell Hammett
6. Larry Niven
7. Edgar Rice Burroughs
8. Alfred Bester
9. Patricia Highsmith
10. H.G. Wells
Arthur Conan Doyle is moving up fast. I've only read Challenger stories so far but they're terrific. Have been avoiding Sherlock Holmes for some reason.
Great video! The only ones I would have guessed were Lovecraft and Howard
That's a hard list to make. I thought I had a vague handle on it, but then got to wondering -- can someone hit the top ten on the basis of only one book? Are the authors of my ten favorite novels my ten favorite authors by default? Finally I just had to go lie down.
I love your list and if I had 20 picks, three of your choices would also be on my list. But just for 10 picks it would have to be these.....in no particular order: .
CS Lewis,
JRR Tolkien,
Dorothy L Sayers,
GK Chesterton,
Evelyn Waugh
JK Rowling,
Dennis Wheatley,
Ellis Peters,
Daphne Du Maurier,
Edgar Allen Poe,
Many of these are in my list. But I have no idea who Dennis Wheatley is.
Excellent!
@@knittingbooksetc.2810 Oh my! You must give him a try! He wrote horror, thrillers, historical fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the world's best selling authors of the mid-20th century. Some of books were made into films. The hero in his thrillers was one of Ian Fleming's inspiration for James Bond. Wheatley worked for intelligence operations in WW2 and lived in the world he wrote about. Many of his fans believe (as I do) that his character Gregory Sallust was more credible and believable than James Bond.
0:58 - as a living white guy, my blood is boiling right now! 😄
I enjoy all of these writers as well, incidentally, although Ross MacDonald is hit or miss for me - The Zebra-Striped Hearse is probably one of my favorite detective novels, though. Highly recommend some John Dickson Carr if you haven't read him! The Three Coffins, The Burning Court, He Who Whispers... all nice horror/mystery hybrids.
The only surprise on this list is that Doyle squeaked in at number ten. I haven’t yet read Macdonald or Hammett. I should fix that soon.
1. Terry Pratchett
2. P.G. Wodehouse
3. Arthur Conan Doyle
4. J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Agatha Christie
6. Stephen King
7. Jules Verne
8. H.P. Lovecraft
9. Tom Sharpe
10. Bernard Cornwell
Honourable mentions - Lewis Carroll, H.G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Forsyth, Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman, and, growing up, Enid Blyton.
Any person is limited by their language(s), cultural background and just dealing with being finite beings with restrictions on time, so to have a list of Top 10 "dead white guys" as your favorites is very understandable. Obviously, they are all English language authors as well. If I were to compile such a list, I'd only have 1 (possibly 2) authors who are non-English writers. Of course, I'm limited to the quality of the translations as well in these cases. Detective fiction is one area I've not gained a great affinity for, but I do like cinematic adaptations of a lot of these books. Maybe I should try some Chandler/Hammett novels.
The only living author I'd have on my list is also the one that is non-English. The Japanese author Haruki Murakami has captured my imagination in so many of his works that he quickly shot up in my internal rankings. Not all his works are superlative, but he has a number of them that are. He is sort of a magical realist author in the most basic categorization, but it's just a blunt way to describe the subtle touches of fantasy in his best fiction.
Thanks for sharing your list!
---Edit---
Oh heck, here would be my list as it now stands:
Mark Twain
F. Scott Fitzgerald
J.R.R. Tolkien
Philip K. Dick
Haruki Murakami
Michael Moorcock
Ernest Hemingway
H.P. Lovecraft
Sharon Kay Penman
Edgar Allan Poe
I agree with the whole list except for 2 of those detective writers...,and would exchange them for David Gemmell, and Brian Lumley. Great Video, and List.👍😁👍
The more Lumley I read the higher I’m sure he will go. I would read him this month but I really can’t think of his stuff as Garbaugust material. I think he is underrated as it is.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 👍
My ten favourites, saving the best authors to the last, go something like this --
10. Arthur Machen
09. Stanley G. Weinbaum
08. J.R.R. Tolkien
07. Edgar Rice Burroughs
06. Jules Verne
05. Edgar A. Poe
04. Rudyard Kipling
03. H.P. Lovecraft
02. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
01. Sir H. Rider Haggard
Honourable mentions: Lord Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, H.G. Wells, Voltaire, Jerome K. Jerome, Yann Martel, Mary Shelley, Robert Bloch, M.R. James, and Dame Agatha Christie.
I still need to get round to Homer, Herodotus, Virgil, A. Merritt, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, Sax Rohmer, Talbot Mundy, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Thomas Kent Miller, and so on. My list will probably change slightly once I read these.
My top two (Conan Doyle and Rider Haggard) are somewhat interchangeable, depending as they say on what day of the week it is. Haggard might just be favourite, though -- he is the greatest adventure writer ever, and his works are as underrated as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. However, Doyle's The Lost World is my single favourite book of all time, challenged in this regard only by its sequel and several of Haggard's works.
I’m always surprised, given your love for the pulps, that Clark Ashton Smith doesn’t seem to show up much on your lists. Personally, I prefer him to Lovecraft, though Howard was always my favorite of the three.
Most of my favorite authors would not be considered to be the best, either. For instance, one of my all-time favorites is Dennis Wheatley. He was criticized in his life for his lack of writing style, yet he sold like crazy (well, not as much here in the U.S.). However, I have read so many of his books and found them to quite enjoyable. A few are not that great, of course.
I would have to agree with Lovecraft and Howard. For some reason, they really seem in their element with the short fiction. Of course, short fiction works quite well for horror, in general, and they both wrote some really good horror. I am currently reading a volume of Howard’s Conan stories.
Then there is Jack Ketchum. His first novel, Off Season, is one of my absolute favorite books and I have read it three times so far (with me reading a different edition each time, like a damn nerd). The Lost, The Girl Next Door, Cover, and the list goes on. His writing is pretty much lean and mean. It is typically also pretty brutal. He wrote some great short fiction too.
I guess Stephen King would be in there, too. He has written some great stuff and he has written some absolute clunkers (Insomnia comes to mind), but like Wheatley, I have read so many of his books and generally enjoyed them.
I am honestly not really sure who else I would include in a top ten list. I rather enjoy Sax Rohmer, but I don’t know if he would quite make it to top ten. Same for James Herbert. I mainly like his early work.
Great respect for this list, we have the same #1 and much overlap. I'd have Mundy and Haggard on my list though, in place of the mystery authors. I have little to no experience with them yet.
Absolutely love The Nine Unknown and She, especially. And Mundy's Athelstan King, i think i actually like him more than Jimgrim.
Machen and Blackwood deserve a decent, fine/private press edition. The only decent Machen volume is the Oxford one, and the quality is very poor: glued binding, acidic paper(which means it will degrade), thin boards, thin cloth fabric, no illustrations, no typesetting... Hopefully a mainstream press will give us something with heavy boards, some good illustrations, ph neutral rag paper, Smyth sewn binding etc. Something these guys deserve to have. Maybe Folio Society? Their MR James volumes were solid.
I agree completely. Machen deserves better.
try Marlon James, he is very alive black man and he is pretty good too!
My top 7
1. Lester Dent (Kenneth Robeson)
2 Jules Verne
3. Ernest Hemingway
4 Agatha Christie
5. Arthur Conan Doyle
6.Rex Stout
7. Ian Fleming
Have you ever read Clark Ashton Smith’s works?
I have. He’s great.
Robert E Howard is the only author from your list that would make mine. Since finishing high school I've sadly kept to my comfort authors, for the most part. Stephen King, Kathe Koja, Neil Gaiman, David Morrell, Caitlin R Kiernan are examples of some that would make my list.
That is why I turned to book tube in the first place because I realized I shouldn't be treating novels like comics (lots of rereading while sticking to characters, artists, writers) and more like movies.
A good choice! Of the Three Greats of Weird Tales Howard was the best narrator and story-teller (while HPL was the best at myth/mythography, and Klarkshton the best (prose-)poet).
Yes! I agree.
If you love Lovecraft and Howard then you got to get to Clark Ashton Smith. The third guy doing this stuff who was a friend of both.
Starting out the video, I just know Blake Crouch is going to be #1, right, right... awww, LOL. Now I'm wondering how my current top ten list would turn out... hmmmmm...
Howards Conan was way better than of all the Autors that copied him over the years. So vibrant and brimming with live. I find all of his "pulp" way better than what modern fantasy writers bring to the table nowadays.
Fantastic list
With your love of detective mysteries, I'm surprised that Agatha Christy isn't on your list.
Even more surprising is that I’ve barely read Christy. I’m planning on changing that.
I like J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, CS Lewis, Alexandre Dumas, John Steinbeck, Jane Austen, Michelle Moran, JK Rowling, Stephen King, and B.A. Paris, in sort of that order, but not necessarily. :)
When you said " nothing nefarious".....I thought someone had accused you of bumping off these old white guys!!😅
Best discussion of HPL's racism I've read - he hated everyone.
what''s the problem of white guys? My favorite wrtiers are all white (although one woman is there haha)... it doesn't matter the race or sex.. what matters in books is the content :D that's my take... you've got several of my favorite. thank you for this list
Great list but, no Rudyard Kipling? No Jules Verne? Not even Walter B Gibson?...
Well, it’s a top ten list. I love all those authors. I just like these ten more.
The thin Man is a all time great
I am surprised no Jules Verne! Would he be number 11 on your list, or do you not really care for him?
I like Jules Verne a lot. I’m not sure where I would place him on a list. I’ll have to think about that.
Wonderful choices but no Haggard oh dear oh dear 🤣
Is Haggard in your top ten? See, now you have to do this!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 he is indeed and yes I'll give it a go though I do appreciate narrowing it down to ten is a challenge 😁
I didn't realize Arthur Conan Doyle had such an impressive moustache.
It is pretty epic!
Sir, we share a lot of favorite writers in common! And I have to give you a high-five for having Robert E. Howard as Number One! Most people put as as Number 2 to H.P. Lovecraft, but I have a strong love for Howard's work! I've been reading his boxing fiction recently and it is so much FUN! What most people would think sounds boring on the outside is just exciting and a good time when you get into it. Maybe it's because I share a lot of the slang with Sailor Steve, but I always get a good laugh out of those! And while his stories are formulaic, I never get tired of the formula!
You need to apologise for the race of your favourite authors? Really? You like classic western literature, gee, what a crime.
I wasn’t apologizing. I just know I’ll get pointed comments about it.
Ursula ??? what no Ursula ??? Oh no !!!
To be honest, I don’t feel I’ve read enough of her yet. When I get around to doing this again she might rate a lot higher.
Didn’t I recently hear a 28-year-old influencer suggest that Howard was a trash writer? Kids these days.
Oh, I know that kid! He doesn’t like good comic books either.
😊
👍
Interesting - most of these dead white guys I’ve not seen pictures of before, I just know them by name.
One of my favorite authors, Machado de Assis, is a black dead guy. So I guess I'm safe.
Hemingway Twain Nabokov Stendahl Chandler Hammett Didion St Matthew Spillane Kerouac Burroughs Jim Davis
There are a few dead (and living) white men and women, who'd make my top 10: Armistead Maupin and Marion Bradley to name two.
You describe one author as being "a man of his time." Quite, we are increasingly living in a world where such (and there are many of them) authors are being derided and looked at through the lenses of our attitudes today. But, I'm not in favour of "cancelling" such works.
Hopefully, we're still able to enjoy them, while being aware (while not approving) of the attitudes of the authors.
Otherwise, what's left to read, or in the case of films, watch, or in the case of music, listen to?
Cheater. Where are the Greek historians?
Also, is it just a coincidence that they’re all dead, or have you been up to something?
I’m a big fan of Hammett Chandler, and McDonald (and his brothers John D. and Philip). Surprised not to see James Cain here. He often goes along with the hard-boiled guys. Also, have you read Lawrence Block or Elmore Leonard. I think they are in the same league.
Ten extra credits for being so impeccably dressed, and for mentioning Burroughs and Doyle, both of whom wrote westerns when Zane Grey was the literary big dog of that genre. Sadly, a demerit for not making at least a passing mention of O. Henry, one of the best popular writers of the early twentieth century. Please do better next time.
Now stop reading the comments and get back to your books. :)
I've read most of these authors. Great list! Dickens, Poe, Solzhenitzyn, Michener, Updike, the Brontes, M. M. Kaye, Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Dumas, Hugo, Follett, and many,many, many.......... more. Just to name a few.
My top 5 favorite authors at this moment are Ray Bradbury, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Astrid Lindgren, Dashiell Hammett, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.
You mean your favorite authors DON'T include Colleen Hoover, Ottessa Moshfeg, or N'deta Magwengway???
By all that the Bronte sisters held dear, HOW DARE YOU???!!!
Sorry!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 No apologies necessary. Funny thing, none of these women are on my list either.
John D. Macdonald is, IMO, superior to Ross, but it's just a question of taste. HGW, Conrad, and your two detective fiction stars, Hammett and Chandler are MY go-to pleasure reads.