h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nope, not Barbara either. It wasn't a 'romance' novel per se, but it took place (I think) in Ireland and was a story about a young independent woman and then . . . zzzzzzzzzz

az

Neither is the Queen, come to that...I wonder how many 80+ people are in the top 20 wealthiest in the UK?

Anyway, they're probably the two wealthiest women.

RF

If its an Irish name i can only think of Edna O'Brien or Maeve Binchy and I haven't read anything by either of them.

The only author I can think of who fits the bill is Catherine Cookson. She wrote over 90 books under a variety of names (Catherine Cookson, Catherine Marchant, Katie McMullen). Her first book was published when she was 44 years old. She was never a schoolteacher but her husband was. She was made a dame in 1993 and died in 1998. I don't think she was ever one of the richest women in the UK, but she did top the 'most borrowed' list for lending libraries for many years. She must have been worth a fair bit as her books were translated into numerous languages, so they must have sold well. Never read any of them, though.

Oh, she's not Irish, by the way. She was born in Co. Durham in the NE of England.

The last book I started to read and did´nt finish was Ulysses. I started more than one time, but never read more than 32 pages.

The last book I started to read and didn´t finish was Ulysses. I started more than one time, but never read more than 32 pages.

I started reading Noam Chomsky's "Hegemony and Survival" because I was given it as a present, but I gave up about half way through the first chapter. Once you've read one book by Chomsky you've read them all, and he does go on and on and on and on.

The only book I've repeatedly tried to read and always singularly failed at is "The Critique of Pure Reason" by Immanuel Kant. I feel he has something to say, but every time I try to read it I decide it can't possibly be worth the effort.

I usually seem to get through fictions though, I can't remember a single one I gave up on. Oh, actually just one: "The Aardvark is Ready for War" which is quite possibly the worst book ever written. I was given it as a present because of the title and fantastic front cover, but it was dire.

I always find it surprising that people have a hard time with the Russian novels. I reread crime and punishment recently and I couldn't put it down - finished it in three days.

Yes! It was Catherine Cookson, Cheerful.

I don't know where I got the idea about her being (or having been) one of the richest women in the UK, but then again I didn't know she was dead (though she may not have been when I was given the book, thinking back it was more than a couple of years ago).

Well, now I just hope I haven't made fun of anybody's favourite author here.

As for Ulysees, I'm not sure I know anyone who has finished it - leastways not without skimming here and there. My copy remains virtually untouched on the bookshelf.

az

I'm not sure what you can say about somebody who churned out 90+ books in less than 50 years. Most authors spend a year or more per book. Like I said, I've never read any of her books, but it sounds like she could have been favouring quantity over quality. Somebody must have liked them though.

If anybody out there just *loves* her work, I apologise if I've hurt your feelings or annoyed you. It's not that I don't enjoy popular fiction - I do. It's just that most of the authors I enjoy don't produce more than 1 book per year and I'm wary of those that do.

There must be some famous books - both fiction and non-fiction - that were churned out pretty quickly. Does anyone know an example?

Likewise there must be books that took a lifetime to write. Hmmm, me feels a list coming on.

Are there any authors who were 'one hit wonders'?

One Hit Wonders? I think Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) qualify for the title.

Someone will probably correct me in a minute, but I think Anne and Emily Bronte only finished one book each.

I don't know of any titles but Enid Blyton could churn out a book in less than a week. Mind you, her books were hardly great literature. It was probably one of the 'Noddy' books.

I never finished 'war and peace' or 'sense and sensibility',lotr,'titus alone''the mill on the floss','to the lighthouse'.But at the age of eleven I read abridged versions of all the 'classics'.It was a great surprise reading them later on to see how abridged they were!!

Dame Barbara Cartland produced over 500 books, so that's one every few weeks, by my reckoning. Mind you, all she ever had to do was change the names, locations and historical period. Otherwise the plot was exactly the same.

RF

Yep the 'Tenant of Wildfell Hall' and 'Wuthering Heights'.

I read somewhere that Barbara didn't even write her novels - she simply dictated them into a tapemachine.

az

Catherine Cookson did that, too. To be fair, in the early days Cookson used to write them longhand. I suppose that both women employed typists once they were able to afford them.

Re: The Emily and Anne Bronte question;

Emily only published one book (Wuthering Heights), but I think Anne published two, 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' and 'Agnes Grey'.

And I haven't read any of them

I've got a huge list of books that I want to read (recorded on a really nerdy spreadsheet ). I wonder if I will live long enough to read them all?