Are we getting stupider?: An investigation: Part one: The Bestseller Lists
It's easy to make broad sweeping pronouncements like "We're all getting stupider," and I often do.
But these kind of things are hard to judge. After all, it doesn't feel like I'm getting stupider, and the past could always be stupid without my knowing. The fact that stupid books are all around you is no actual evidence; the past could have been full of stupid books everyone has forgotten about.
To avoid that final problem, I would like to take a look at bestseller lists to see how our (meaning, in this case, Americans') tastes have changed over the years. I should stress that, no matter what calumnies certain parties are spreading about me, me goal is not to punish the present or glorify the past; it is to identify a problem in the hope that we can fix it. I want to make the future smarter than the present is. I want us to keep getting smarter.
How to judge these bestseller lists? For ease of reference, I'm going to divide every book that has ever been published into one of two categories, A or B. For shorthand purposes, let us note that A refers to "serious" books of "literary merit" or at least "literary pretension" and B refers to "unserious" books that are not "literary." There are a lot of problematic words here, which I've put into quotes. Obviously we all know that Borges wrote A books and Robert E. Howard B books...
(Please note that this distinction is not a statement of actual merit, or how good a book is. I'd rather read P.C. Wren than Henry James any day, but I am aware that James is A and Wren is B. Many of my favorite writers, such as H. Rider Haggard or Jules Verne, are B; Edgar Rice Burroughs is as B as they come. It's possible to prefer B books to A books. Please do not be offended if your loved ones are Bs, as many of my loved ones are, too.)
...but the further you move away from the obvious cases the harder things get to measure. At a certain point it's going to become a judgment call. For our purposes, our dividing line will fall between Booth Tarkington and William Saroyan. imagine a list of authors organized from least serious to most, with Dan Brown and James Joyce assumed to be the termini (Sidney Shelton and Robert Musil could just as easily have been selected). Here's a partial sampling of the spectrum:
B
Dan Brown
Jackie Collins
Harold Robbins
.
.
.
Arthur Hailey
Fletcher Knebel
James Clavell
Frederick Forsythe
Michael Crichton
Steven King
James Michener
Agatha Christie
Louis L'Amour
Raymond Chandler
Lew Wallace
James Ellroy
Brett Easton Ellis
Mary Stewart
Booth Tarkington
-------------------------------
William Saroyan
Nordoff & Hall
Daphne du Maurier
James Hilton
Shirley Jackson
Harper Lee
Tom Wolfe
Robert Louis Stevenson
Maxine Hong Kingston
Ken Kesey
George Orwell
Mika Waltari
Evelyn Waugh
Norman Mailer
Gore Vidal
Carson McCullers
.
.
.
William Faulkner
Vladimir Nabokov
James Joyce
A
(Of course we are going to be judging books not authors, so some of these standings can be misleading. All his books are B, but Thomas Harris before Hannibal holds a different place than Thomas Harris after Hannibal (not just because he was better, but because he was trying) In practice, though, I am often driven to judging authors because I know things about authors even when I know nothing of their books.)
Contemporary writers who would fall on the serious side of this divide (and who I think have an outside chance of producing a bestseller), include Ian McEwan, Joan Didion, John Barth, Julian Barnes, Martin Amis, Edward Carey, Thomas Pynchon, and even Douglas Coupland or David Foster Wallace.
I could go nuts trying to figure out where certain flukes, like H.P. Lovecraft or Jerome K. Jerome, go, but let's not worry too much about these fellows, as they're not even bestsellers.
Is Daphne du Maurier placed too high? Do Steven King partisans want the man moved up? The somewhat arbitrary nature of some of these judgments is, I hope, offset by the total transparency of the data. And please note that the study is by no means wholly arbitrary. We are not judging texts based on merit or appealing to taste; although many authors are due for discussion, anybody who incorrectly assigns Musil and Sheldon, say, to categories simply does not understand what the categories mean, or is being willfully contrary.
To add some objective criteria to the mix: any Nobel Prize winner is going to be assumed to write A books; any Pulitzer prize winning book is going to be assumed to be A, although the possibility for a B book to spring from the same author's pen obtains. For example, I have always assumed Michener writes B books, but he did win a Pulitzer once, long ago. Have I misjudged him?
Now, it's always a problem that older bestseller lists are filled with strange names. To the extent that A texts can be assumed to survive better than B texts, it would be unfair to modern years to penalize them for the fact that I know who May Higgins Clark is. Therefore, we will only be counting A texts; any book not designated A is assumed to be B. This will inevitably favor recent years as it can be assumed I know almost every bestselling A book from 1995, something not true for 1945. But I guess we've got to favor something.
I am often in the position of judging books I have not read. This is not necessarily bad, as really literary reputation is as important as actual literary quality for measuring buying habits. (Daniel Pinkwater is America's greatest writer, but he can't be an A author because he writes for children; the same goes for most SF writers, no matter how good they are.) But commentary from experts (i.e. those who have read things) is welcome.
There are many objections that can easily be raised against what is, after all, a frankly non-scientific study. Perhaps A books have no relationship to intelligence. Perhaps in the past stupid or uneducated people didn't buy any books at all, and so bestseller lists were dominated by good books by default. Perhaps buying a book is not the same as reading it. To these I would argue that while there are many definitions of intelligence, the one I'm talking about right here is the one that makes people capable or even desirous of A texts, and if you don't like calling that intelligence, we can call it something else; I believe it is something important for society to maintain. A texts will, in any event, tend to be more complicated and difficult than B, and while long, convoluted sentences may not be necessarily a sign of esthetic quality, they will certainly test reading levels. To the idea that uneducated people didn't buy books in the past I would have no response if the past were the seventeenth century; I do not believe this to be the case in 1940, and I submit that the burden of proof is on the accuser. To the objection that people buy books they don't read, I can only say that a society in which people are enamored enough of literature to spend money just to have it near then is healthier than a society in which people do no such thing, as is a society in which people are willing to attempt books that are too difficult for them, even if they fail; and although certainly some best-sellers are not often read (Name of the Rose is a canonical example), it beggars the imagination that people would so often choose to throw money away on doorstops
I want to stress one last time, because I'd prefer to have a reasonable discussion than minister to a mile-parade of the puling offended, that I make no claims here that people should not read B books, nor am I even saying that you are stupid if you chose to read B books exclusively. But on the whole, a society that chooses to read A books over B books will most likely be a better-educated society.
Please, I ENCOURAGE disagreement over the categories in which these authors have been put. I ENCOURAGE those who know more to provide data on the unmarked. I ENCOURAGE people to discuss ways in which the A and B categories can be more rigorously defined. I DISCOURAGE the inevitable comment that runs more or less: "who thehell are u to juge wt i read lol i <3 [x writer] & u don't understadn u just r makin snap jugements bc u hate hte present and love the past why dont u mary it lol!! get a life u luuzer!!!!! lol ^.__.^"
Finally, I have tried to be charitable to the poor beleaguered authors; the line I drew between A & B permits plenty of middlebrow literature. We might not want to live in a country where everyone reads Musil nonstop; but there's probably a way to avoid reading Dan Brown nonstop, and I mean a way other than watching more TV.
I have chosen to start at 1940 because if I go back too far all the names get pretty alien. A authors have been marked with an asterisk. Nobel prize winners are also marked with an N.
These lists are from: http://www.caderbooks.com/bestintro.html
1940
1. How Green Was My Valley, Richard Llewellyn
2. Kitty Foyle, Christopher Morley*
3. Mrs. Miniver, Jan Struther
4. For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway*N
5. The Nazarene, Sholem Asch*
6. Stars on the Sea, F. van Wyck Mason
7. Oliver Wiswell, Kenneth Roberts
8. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck*N
9. Night in Bombay, Louis Bromfield
10. The Family, Nina Fedorova
1941
1. The Keys of the Kingdom, A. J. Cronin
2. Random Harvest, James Hilton*
3. This Above All, Eric Knight
4. The Sun Is My Undoing, Marguerite Steen
5. For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway*N
6. Oliver Wiswell, Kenneth Roberts
7. H. M. Pulham, Esquire, John P. Marquand*
8. Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, Isabel Scott Rorick
9. Saratoga Trunk, Edna Ferber
10. Windswept, Mary Ellen Chase
1942
1. The Song of Bernadette, Franz Werfel
2. The Moon Is Down, John Steinbeck*N
3. Dragon Seed, Pearl S. Buck*N
4. And Now Tomorrow, Rachel Field
5. Drivin' Woman, Elizabeth Pickett
6. Windswept, Mary Ellen Chase
7. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
8. The Sun Is My Undoing, Marguerite Steen
9. Kings Row, Henry Bellamann
10. The Keys of the Kingdom, A. J. Cronin
1943
1. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
2. The Valley of Decision, Marcia Davenport
3. So Little Time, John P. Marquand*
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
5. The Human Comedy, William Saroyan*
6. Mrs. Parkington, Louis Bromfield
7. The Apostle, Sholem Asch*
8. Hungry Hill, Daphne du Maurier*
9. The Forest and the Fort, Hervey Allen
10. The Song of Bernadette, Franz Werfel
1944
1. Strange Fruit, Lillian Smith
2. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
4. Forever Amber, Kathleen Winsor
5. The Razor's Edge, W. Somerset Maugham*
6. The Green Years, A. J. Cronin
7. Leave Her to Heaven, Ben Ames Williams
8. Green Dolphin Street, Elizabeth Goudge
9. A Bell for Adano, John Hersey*
10. The Apostle, Sholem Asch*
1945
1. Forever Amber, Kathleen Winsor
2. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
3. The Black Rose, Thomas B. Costain
4. The White Tower, James Ramsey Ullman
5. Cass Timberlane, Sinclair Lewis*
6. A Lion Is in the Streets, Adria Locke Langley
7. So Well Remembered, James Hilton*
8. Captain from Castile, Samuel Shellabarger
9. Earth and High Heaven, Adria Locke Langley
10. Immortal Wife, Irving Stone
1946
1. The King's General, Daphne du Maurier*
2. This Side of Innocence, Taylor Caldwell*
3. The River Road, Frances Parkinson Keyes
4. The Miracle of the Bells, Russell Janney
5. The Hucksters, Frederic Wakeman
6. The Foxes of Harrow, Frank Yerby
7. Arch of Triumph, Erich Maria Remarque*
8. The Black Rose, Thomas B. Costain
9. B. F.'s Daughter, John P. Marquand*
10. The Snake Pit, Mary Jane Ward
1947
1. The Miracle of the Bells, Russell Janney
2. The Moneyman, Thomas B. Costain
3. Gentleman's Agreement, Laura Z. Hobson
4. Lydia Bailey, Kenneth Roberts
5. The Vixens, Frank Yerby
6. The Wayward Bus, John Steinbeck*N
7. House Divided, Ben Ames Williams
8. Kingsblood Royal, Sinclair Lewis*N
9. East Side, West Side, Marcia Davenport
10. Prince of Foxes, Samuel Shellabarger
1948
1. The Big Fisherman, Lloyd C. Douglas
2. The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer*
3. Dinner at Antoine's, Frances Parkinson Keyes
4. The Bishop's Mantle, Agnes Sligh Turnbull
5. Tomorrow Will Be Better, Betty Smith
6. The Golden Hawk, Frank Yerby
7. Raintree County, Ross Lockridge Jr.
8. Shannon's Way, A. J. Cronin
9. Pilgrim's Inn, Elizabeth Goudge
10. The Young Lions, Irwin Shaw
1949
1. The Egyptian, Mika Waltari*
2. The Big Fisherman, Lloyd C. Douglas
3. Mary, Sholem Asch*
4. A Rage to Live, John O'Hara*
5. Point of No Return, John P. Marquand*
6. Dinner at Antoine's, Frances Parkinson Keyes
7. High Towers, Thomas B. Costain
8. Cutlass Empire, Van Wyck Mason
9. Pride's Castle, Frank Yerby
10. Father of the Bride, Edward Streeter
1950
1. The Cardinal, Henry Morton Robinson
2. Joy Street, Frances Parkinson Keyes
3. Across the River and into the Trees, Ernest Hemingway*N
4. The Wall, John Hersey*
5. Star Money, Kathleen Winsor
6. The Parasites, Daphne du Maurier*
7. Floodtide, Frank Yerby
8. Jubilee Trail, Gwen Bristow
9. The Adventurer, Mika Waltari*
10. The Disenchanted, Budd Schulberg
1951
1. From Here to Eternity, James Jones
2. The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk*
3. Moses, Sholem Asch*
4. The Cardinal, Henry Morton Robinson
5. A Woman Called Fancy, Frank Yerby
6. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
7. Melville Goodwin, U.S.A., John P. Marquand*
8. Return to Paradise, James A. Michener
9. The Foundling, Cardinal Spellman
10. The Wanderer, Mika Waltari*
1952
1. The Silver Chalice, Thomas B. Costain
2. The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk*
3. East of Eden, John Steinbeck*N
4. My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier*
5. Steamboat Gothic, Frances Parkinson Keyes
6. Giant, Edna Ferber
7. The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway*N
8. The Gown of Glory, Agnes Sligh Turnbull
9. The Saracen Blade, Frank Yerby
10. The Houses in Between, Howard Spring
1953
1. The Robe, Lloyd C. Douglas
2. The Silver Chalice, Thomas B. Costain
3. Désirée, Annemarie Selinko
4. Battle Cry, Leon M. Uris*
5. From Here to Eternity, James Jones
6. The High and the Mighty, Ernest K. Gann
7. Beyond This Place, A. J. Cronin
8. Time and Time Again, James Hilton*
9. Lord Vanity, Samuel Shellabarger
10. The Unconquered, Ben Ames Williams
1954
1. Not as a Stranger, Morton Thompson
2. Mary Anne, Daphne du Maurier*
3. Love Is Eternal, Irving Stone
4. The Royal Box, Frances Parkinson Keyes
5. The Egyptian, Mika Waltari*
6. No Time for Sergeants, Mac Hyman
7. Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck*N
8. The View from Pompey's Head, Hamilton Basso
9. Never Victorious, Never Defeated, Taylor Caldwell*
10. Benton's Row, Frank Yerby
1955
1. Marjorie Morningstar, Herman Wouk
2. Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis
3. Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor
4. Bonjour Tristesse, Françoise Sagan
5. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson*
6. Something of Value, Robert Ruark
7. Not As a Stranger, Morton Thompson
8. No Time for Sergeants, Mac Hyman
9. The Tontine, Thomas B. Costain
10. Ten North Frederick, John O'Hara*
1956
1. Don't Go Near the Water, William Brinkley
2. The Last Hurrah, Edwin O'Connor*
3. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious
4. Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis
5. Eloise, Kay Thompson
6. Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor
7. A Certain Smile, Françoise Sagan
8. The Tribe That Lost Its Head, Nicholas Monsarrat
9. The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir*
10. Boon Island, Kenneth Roberts
1957
1. By Love Possessed, James Gould Cozzens
2. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious
3. Compulsion, Meyer Levin*
4. Rally Round the Flag, Boys!, Max Shulman
5. Blue Camellia, Frances Parkinson Keyes
6. Eloise in Paris, Kay Thompson
7. The Scapegoat, Daphne du Maurier*
8. On the Beach, Nevil Shute*
9. Below the Salt, Thomas B. Costain
10. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand*
1958
1. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak*
2. Anatomy of a Murder, Robert Traver
3. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov*
4. Around the World with Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis
5. From the Terrace, John O'Hara*
6. Eloise at Christmastime, Kay Thompson
7. Ice Palace, Edna Ferber*
8. The Winthrop Woman, Anya Seton
9. The Enemy Camp, Jerome Weidman
10. Victorine, Frances Parkinson Keyes
1959
1. Exodus, Leon Uris*
2. Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak*
3. Hawaii, James Michener
4. Advise and Consent, Allen Drury
5. Lady Chatterley's Lover, D. H. Lawrence*
6. The Ugly American, William J. Lederer and Eugene L. Burdick
7. Dear and Glorious Physician, Taylor Caldwell*
8. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov*
9. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, Paul Gallico
10. Poor No More, Robert Ruark
1960
1. Advise and Consent, Allen Drury
2. Hawaii, James A. Michener
3. The Leopard, Giuseppe di Lampedusa*
4. The Chapman Report, Irving Wallace
5. Ourselves To Know, John O'Hara*
6. The Constant Image, Marcia Davenport
7. The Lovely Ambition, Mary Ellen Chase
8. The Listener, Taylor Caldwell*
9. Trustee from the Toolroom, Nevil Shute*
10. Sermons and Soda-Water, John O'Hara*
1961
1. The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
2. Franny and Zooey, J. D. Salinger*
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee*
4. Mila 18, Leon Uris*
5. The Carpetbaggers, Harold Robbins
6. Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller*
7. Winnie Ille Pu, Alexander Lenard, trans.
8. Daughter of Silence, Morris West
9. The Edge of Sadness, Edwin O'Connor*
10. The Winter of Our Discontent, John Steinbeck*N
1962
1. Ship of Fools, Katherine Anne Porter
2. Dearly Beloved, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
3. A Shade of Difference, Allen Drury
4. Youngblood Hawke, Herman Wouk
5. Franny and Zooey, J. D. Salinger*
6. Fail-Safe, Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
7. Seven Days in May, Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
8. The Prize, Irving Wallace
9. The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
10. The Reivers, William Faulkner*N
1963
1. The Shoes of the Fisherman, Morris L. West
2. The Group, Mary McCarthy*
3. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour--An Introduction, J. D. Salinger*
4. Caravans, James A. Michener
5. Elizabeth Appleton, John O'Hara*
6. Grandmother and the Priests, Taylor Caldwell*
7. City of Night, John Rechy
8. The Glass-Blowers, Daphne du Maurier*
9. The Sand Pebbles, Richard McKenna
10. The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, Rumer Godden
1964
1. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carré
2. Candy, Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg
3. Herzog, Saul Bellow*
4. Armageddon, Leon Uris*
5. The Man, Irving Wallace
6. The Rector of Justin, Louis Auchincloss
7. The Martyred, Richard E. Kim
8. You Only Live Twice, Ian Fleming
9. This Rough Magic, Mary Stewart
10. Convention, Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
1965
1. The Source, James A. Michener
2. Up the Down Staircase, Bel Kaufman
3. Herzog, Saul Bellow*
4. The Looking Glass War, John Le Carré
5. The Green Berets, Robin Moore
6. Those Who Love, Irving Stone
7. The Man with the Golden Gun, Ian Fleming
8. Hotel, Arthur Hailey
9. The Ambassador, Morris West
10. Don't Stop the Carnival, Herman Wouk
1966
1. Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
2. The Adventurers, Harold Robbins
3. The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Robert Crichton
4. Capable of Honor, Allen Drury
5. The Double Image, Helen MacInnes
6. The Fixer, Bernard Malamud
7. Tell No Man, Adela Rogers St. Johns
8. Tai-Pan, James Clavell
9. The Embezzler, Louis Auchincloss
10. All in the Family, Edwin O'Connor*
1967
1. The Arrangement, Elia Kazan*
2. The Confessions of Nat Turner, William Styron (tie)*
2. The Chosen, Chaim Potok (tie)*
4. Topaz, Leon Uris*
5. Christy, Catherine Marshall
6. The Eighth Day, Thornton Wilder*
7. Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin
8. The Plot, Irving Wallace
9. The Gabriel Hounds, Mary Stewart
10. The Exhibitionist, Henry Sutton
1968
1. Airport, Arthur Hailey
2. Couples, John Updike*
3. The Salzburg Connection, Helen MacInnes
4. A Small Town in Germany, John Le Carré
5. Testimony of Two Men, Taylor Caldwell*
6. Preserve and Protect, Allen Drury
7. Myra Breckinridge, Gore Vidal*
8. Vanished, Fletcher Knebel
9. Christy, Catherine Marshall
10. The Tower of Babel, Morris L. West
1969
1. Portnoy's Complaint, Philip Roth*
2. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
3. The Love Machine, Jacqueline Susann
4. The Inheritors, Harold Robbins
5. The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton
6. The Seven Minutes, Irving Wallace
7. Naked Came the Stranger, Penelope Ashe
8. The Promise, Chaim Potok*
9. The Pretenders, Gwen Davis
10. The House on the Strand, Daphne du Maurier*
1970
1. Love Story, Erich Segal
2. The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles*
3. Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway*N
4. The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart
5. Great Lion of God, Taylor Caldwell*
6. QB VII, Leon Uris*
7. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, Jimmy Breslin
8. The Secret Woman, Victoria Holt
9. Travels with My Aunt, Graham Greene*
10. Rich Man, Poor Man, Irwin Shaw
1971
1. Wheels, Arthur Hailey
2. The Exorcist, William P. Blatty
3. The Passions of the Mind, Irving Stone
4. The Day of the Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
5. The Betsy, Harold Robbins
6. Message from Malaga, Helen MacInnes
7. The Winds of War, Herman Wouk
8. The Drifters, James A. Michener
9. The Other, Thomas Tryon
10. Rabbit Redux, John Updike*
1972
1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
2. August, 1914, Alexander Solzhenitsyn*N
3. The Odessa File, Frederick Forsyth
4. The Day of the Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
5. The Word, Irving Wallace
6. The Winds of War, Herman Wouk
7. Captains and the Kings, Taylor Caldwell*
8. Two from Galilee, Marjorie Holmes
9. My Name Is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok*
10. Semi-Tough, Dan Jenkins
1973
1. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
2. August, 1914, Alexander Solzhenitsyn*N
3. The Odessa File, Frederick Forsyth
4. The Day of the Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
5. The Word, Irving Wallace
6. The Winds of War, Herman Wouk
7. Captains and the Kings, Taylor Caldwell*
8. Two from Galilee, Marjorie Holmes
9. My Name Is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok*
10. Semi-Tough, Dan Jenkins
1974
1. Centennial, James A. Michener
2. Watership Down, Richard Adams*
3. Jaws, Peter Benchley
4. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, John Le Carré
5. Something Happened, Joseph Heller*
6. The Dogs of War, Frederick Forsyth
7. The Pirate, Harold J. Robbins
8. I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Margaret Craven
9. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, John H. Watson, M.D., Nicholas Meyer, editor
10. The Fan Club, Irving Wallace
1975
1. Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow*
2. The Moneychangers, Arthur Hailey
3. Curtain, Agatha Christie
4. Looking for Mister Goodbar, Judith Rossner
5. The Choirboys, Joseph Wambaugh
6. The Eagle Has Landed, Jack Higgins
7. The Greek Treasure: A Biographical Novel of Henry and Sophia Schliemann, Irving Stone
8. The Great Train Robbery, Michael Crichton
9. Shogun, James Clavell
10. Humboldt's Gift, Saul Bellow*
1976
1. Trinity, Leon Uris*
2. Sleeping Murder, Agatha Christie
3. Dolores, Jacqueline Susann
4. Storm Warning, Jack Higgins
5. The Deep, Peter Benchley
6. 1876, Gore Vidal*
7. Slapstick: or, Lonesome No More!, Kurt Vonnegut*
8. The Lonely Lady, Harold Robbins
9. Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart
10. A Stranger in the Mirror, Sidney Sheldon
1977
1. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien; Christopher Tolkien*
2. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
3. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Richard Bach
4. The Honourable Schoolboy, John Le Carré
5. Oliver's Story, Erich Segal
6. Dreams Die First, Harold Robbins
7. Beggarman, Thief, Irwin Shaw
8. How To Save Your Own Life, Erica Jong
9. Delta of Venus: Erotica, Anaïs Nin*
10. Daniel Martin, John Fowles*
1978
1. Chesapeake, James A. Michener
2. War and Remembrance, Herman Wouk
3. Fools Die, Mario Puzo
4. Bloodlines, Sidney Sheldon
5. Scruples, Judith Krantz
6. Evergreen, Belva Plain
7. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Richard Bach
8. The Holcroft Covenant, Robert Ludlum
9. Second Generation, Howard Fast
10. Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett
1979
1. The Matarese Circle, Robert Ludlum
2. Sophie's Choice, William Styron*
3. Overload, Arthur Hailey
4. Memories of Another Day, Harold Robbins
5. Jailbird, Kurt Vonnegut*
6. The Dead Zone, Stephen King
7. The Last Enchantment, Mary Stewart
8. The Establishment, Howard Fast
9. The Third World War: August 1985, Gen. Sir John Hackett, et al.
10. Smiley's People, John Le Carré
1980
1. The Covenant, James A. Michener
2. The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum
3. Rage of Angels, Sidney Sheldon
4. Princess Daisy, Judith Krantz
5. Firestarter, Stephen King
6. The Key to Rebecca, Ken Follett
7. Random Winds, Belva Plain
8. The Devil's Alternative, Frederick Forsyth
9. The Fifth Horseman, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
10. The Spike, Arnaud de Borchgrave and Robert Moss
1981
1. Noble House, James Clavell
2. The Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving*
3. Cujo, Stephen King
4. An Indecent Obsession, Colleen McCullough
5. Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith
6. Masquerade, Kit Williams
7. Goodbye, Janette, Harold Robbins
8. The Third Deadly Sin, Lawrence Sanders
9. The Glitter Dome, Joseph Wambaugh
10. No Time for Tears, Cynthia Freeman
1982
1. E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial Storybook, William Kotzwinkle
2. Space, James A. Michener
3. The Parsifal Mosaic, Robert Ludlum
4. Master of the Game, Sidney Sheldon
5. Mistral's Daughter, Judith Krantz
6. The Valley of Horses, Jean M. Auel
7. Different Seasons, Stephen King
8. North and South, John Jakes
9. 2010: Odyssey Two, Arthur C. Clarke
10. The Man from St. Petersburg, Ken Follett
1983
1. Return of the Jedi Storybook, Joan D. Vinge, adapt.
2. Poland, James A. Michener
3. Pet Sematary, Stephen King
4. The Little Drummer Girl, John Le Carré
5. Christine, Stephen King
6. Changes, Danielle Steel
7. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco*
8. White Gold Wielder: Book Three of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson
9. Hollywood Wives, Jackie Collins
10. The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour
1984
1. The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub
2. The Aquitaine Progression, Robert Ludlum
3. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
4. Love and War, John Jakes
5. The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss
6. ". . . And the Ladies of the Club," Helen Hooven Santmyer
7. The Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth
8. Full Circle, Danielle Steel
9. The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz, Joan Rivers
10. Lincoln: A Novel, Gore Vidal*
1985
1. The Mammoth Hunters, Jean M. Auel
2. Texas, James A. Michener
3. Lake Wobegon Days, Garrison Keillor
4. If Tomorrow Comes, Sidney Sheldon
5. Skeleton Crew, Stephen King
6. Secrets, Danielle Steel
7. Contact, Carl Sagan
8. Lucky, Jackie Collins
9. Family Album, Danielle Steel
10. Jubal Sackett, Louis L'Amour
1986
1. It, Stephen King
2. Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy
3. Whirlwind, James Clavell
4. The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum
5. Hollywood Husbands, Jackie Collins
6. Wanderlust, Danielle Steel
7. I'll Take Manhattan, Judith Krantz
8. Last of the Breed, Louis L'Amour
9. The Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy
10. A Perfect Spy, John Le Carré
1987
1. The Tommyknockers, Stephen King
2. Patriot Games, Tom Clancy
3. Kaleidoscope, Danielle Steel
4. Misery, Stephen King
5. Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories, Garrison Keillor
6. Windmills of the Gods, Sidney Sheldon
7. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
8. Fine Things, Danielle Steel
9. Heaven and Hell, John Jakes
10. The Eyes of the Dragon, Stephen King
1988
1. The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
2. The Sands of Time, Sidney Sheldon
3. Zoya, Danielle Steel
4. The Icarus Agenda, Robert Ludlum
5. Alaska, James A. Michener
6. Till We Meet Again, Judith Krantz
7. The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice
8. To Be the Best, Barbara Taylor Bradford
9. One: A Novel, Richard Bach
10. Mitla Pass, Leon Uris *
1989
1. Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy
2. The Dark Half, Stephen King
3. Daddy, Danielle Steel
4. Star, Danielle Steel
5. Caribbean, James A. Michener
6. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie*
7. The Russia House, John Le Carré
8. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet
9. California Gold, John Jakes
10. While My Pretty One Sleeps, Mary Higgins Clark
1990
1. The Plains of Passage, Jean M. Auel
2. Four Past Midnight, Stephen King
3. The Burden of Proof, Scott Turow
4. Memories of Midnight, Sidney Sheldon
5. Message from Nam, Danielle Steel
6. The Bourne Ultimatum, Robert Ludlum
7. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition, Stephen King
8. Lady Boss, Jackie Collins
9. The Witching Hour, Anne Rice
10. September, Rosamunde Pilcher
1991
1. Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind," Alexandra Ripley
2. The Sum of All Fears, Tom Clancy
3. Needful Things, Stephen King
4. No Greater Love, Danielle Steel
5. Heartbeat, Danielle Steel
6. The Doomsday Conspiracy, Sidney Sheldon
7. The Firm, John Grisham
8. Night Over Water, Ken Follet
9. Remember, Barbara Taylor Bradford
10. Loves Music, Loves to Dance, Mary Higgins Clark
1992
1. Dolores Claiborne, Stephen King
2. The Pelican Brief, John Grisham
3. Gerald's Game, Stephen King
4. Mixed Blessings, Danielle Steel
5. Jewels, Danielle Steel
6. The Stars Shine Down, Sidney Sheldon
7. Tale of the Body Thief, Anne Rice
8. Mexico, James A. Michener
9. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan
10. All Around the Town, Mary Higgins Clark
1993
1. The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller
2. The Client, John Grisham
3. Slow Waltz at Cedar Bend, Robert James Waller
4. Without Remorse, Tom Clancy
5. Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Stephen King
6. Vanished, Danielle Steel
7. Lasher, Anne Rice
8. Pleading Guilty, Scott Turow
9. Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
10. The Scorpio Illusion, Robert Ludlum
1994
1. The Chamber, John Grisham
2. Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy
3. The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield
4. The Gift, Danielle Steel
5. Insomnia, Steven King
6. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, James Finn Garner
7. Wings, Danielle Steel
8. Accident, Danielle Steel
9. The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller
10. Disclosure, Michael Crichton
1995
1. The Rainmaker, John Grisham
2. The Lost World, Michael Crichton
3. Five Days in Paris, Danielle Steel
4. The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans
5. Lightning, Danielle Steel
6. The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield
7. Rose Madder, Stephen King
8. Silent Night, Mary Higgins Clark
9. Politically Correct Holiday Stories, James Finn Garner
10. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
1996
1. The Runaway Jury, John Grisham
2. Executive Orders, Tom Clancy
3. Desperation, Stephen King
4. Airframe, Michael Crichton
5. The Regulators, Richard Bachman
6. Malice, Danielle Steele
7. Silent Honor, Danielle Steel
8. Primary Colors, Anonymous*
9. Cause of Death, Patricia Cornwell
10. The Tenth Insight, James Redfield
1997
1. The Partner, John Grisham
2. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
3. The Ghost, Danielle Steel
4. The Ranch, Danielle Steel
5. Special Delivery, Danielle Steel
6. Unnatural Exposure, Patricia Cornwell
7. The Best Laid Plans, Sidney Sheldon
8. Pretend You Don't See Her, Mary Higgins Clark
9. Cat & Mouse, James Patterson
10. Hornet's Nest, Patricia Cornwell
1998
1. The Street Lawyer, John Grisham
2. Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy
3. Bag of Bones, Stephen King
4. A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe*
5. Mirror Image, Danielle Steel
6. The Long Road Home, Danielle Steel
7. The Klone and I, Danielle Steel
8. Point of Origin, Patricia Cornwell
9. Paradise, Toni Morrison*N
10. All Through the Night, Mary Higgins Clark
I couldn't find a 1999 list.
The remainder are from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934974.html
2000
1. The Brethren, John Grisham
2. The Mark: The Beast Rules the World, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
3. The Bear and the Dragon, Tom Clancy
4. The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
5. The Last Precinct, Patricia Cornwell
6. Journey, Danielle Steel
7. The Rescue, Nicholas Sparks
8. Roses Are Red, James Patterson
9. Cradle and All, James Patterson
10. The House on Hope Street, Danielle Steel
2001
1. Desecration, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
2. Skipping Christmas, John Grisham
3. A Painted House, John Grisham
4. Dreamcatcher, Stephen King
5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
6. Black House, Stephen King and Peter Straub
7. The Kiss, Danielle Steel
8. Valhalla Rising, Clive Cussler
9. A Day Late and a Dollar Short, Terry McMillan
10. Violets Are Blue, James Patterson
2002
1. The Summons, John Grisham
2. Red Rabbit, Tom Clancy
3. Remnant, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
4. The Lovely Bones, Alice Seybold
5. Prey, Michael Crichton
6. Skipping Christmas, John Grisham
7. The Shelters of Stone, Jean M. Auel
8. Four Blind Mice, James Patterson
9. Everything's Eventual, Stephen King
10. The Nanny Diaries, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
2003
1. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
3. The King of Torts, John Grisham
4. Bleachers, John Grisham
5. Armageddon, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
6. The Teeth of the Tiger, Tom Clancy
7. The Big Bad Wolf, James Patterson
8. Blow Fly, Patricia Cornwell
9. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
10. The Wedding, Nicholas Sparks
2004
1. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
3. The Last Juror, John Grisham
4. Glorious Appearing, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
5. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
6. State of Fear, Michael Crichton
7. London Bridges, James Patterson
8. Trace, Patricia Cornwell
9. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
10. The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Collector's Edition, Dan Brown
2005
1. The Broker, John Grisham
2. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
3. Mary, Mary, James Patterson
4. At First Sight, Nicholas Sparks
5. Predator, Patricia Cornwell
6. True Believer, Nicholas Sparks
7. Light from Heaven, Jan Karon
8. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
9. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
10. Eleven on Top, Janet Evanovich
2006
1. For One More Day, Mitch Albom
2. Cross, James Patterson
3. Dear John, Nicholas Sparks
4. Next, Michael Crichton
5. Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris
6. Lisey's Story, Stephen King
7. Twelve Sharp, Janet Evanovich
8. Cell, Stephen King
9. Beach Road, James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
10. The 5th Horseman, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Resultant averages per decade:
1940s: 2.9 A books (0.7 books by Nobel Laureates)
1950s: 3.5 (0.4 Nobel)
1960s: 3.3 (0.2 Nobel)
1970s: 2.4 (0.3 Nobel)
1980s: 0.5 (0.0 Nobel)
1990s: 0.3 (0.1 Nobel)
2000s: 0.0 (0.0 Nobel)
The drop off here is abrupt and staggering. I'm interested to know if anyone disputes it, or if people believe that 2006's crop is a rival for 1946's.
Of course, there is also the question of what is to be done, but before we can even work on a solution we must establish that there is a problem. Is there a problem? Are we getting stupider? What say ye?
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halifax_slasher) wrote,
