World’s Ten Bestselling Authors Since 2001

Photo Credit: The Telegraph

I first saw this story tweeted a few days ago. I tried to guess who would top the list before clicking through. My guess was JK Rowling. It took about half a second for me to come up with her. Even though so many authors have written more books during that time period than she has, I thought Mr. Potter and friends would be enough to catapult her to the top. I won’t tell you if I was right or not. You’ll just have to continue reading!

10. Jeff Kinney

Now you may not know him by name, I do, but he’s the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series. I’ve never read any of these, though the first in the series is on the Amazon list so I’ll be reading that one at some point. It’s very understandable that one of the bestselling children’s authors today would make the list.

9. Janet Evanovich

Another author that is understandably on the list. Her Stephanie Plum novels are as popular as any. Another author I haven’t read.

8. Nicholas Sparks

All of this guy’s books are seemingly made into movies. So obviously he’s selling A LOT of books, right? Haven’t read him.

7. Dan Brown

Honest question, what does he even write about? I know everything with his name on it becomes an instant bestseller, but I have no idea what his books are about. The Da Vinci Code and Inferno are the two that I know the names of. I just did a quick Amazon search and his books look like nothing I would be interested in. Author number four I haven’t read.

6. Stephenie Meyer

I just threw up in my mouth. I’m not going to say anything other than that I haven’t read any of her ‘books.’

5. John Grisham

Hey look, we have the same name. And last initial! I haven’t read any of his books, BUT I have A Time to Kill on my shelf waiting for my reading pleasure. It’s long. Like really long. I’ll read it eventually.

4. Dr. Seuss

No commentary needed. First author I’ve actually read on the list.

3. Nora Roberts

I know she writes A LOT of books but I haven’t read any. I’m sure they’re quite good.

2. JK Rowling

UH OH. Who the heck could pull the upset?! Think! Think! Think! Read the first book of Potter. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I was slightly surprised by her not holding down the top spot. All of these authors are great, all of them, but she’s one of those authors who will be remembered a hundred or two hundred years from now. Harry Potter will never be forgotten. I guess we can only continue on to the final name on the list.

1. James Patterson

Ahhhh of course. I was surprised by Patterson taking the top spot, but I wasn’t shocked by this. If you aren’t a fan of Patterson’s, you should know that he has several series ongoing. He utilizes the writing of ghostwriters whom he credits as co-authors and every one of the series is a bestseller. Every one. He has six of them. And standalone novels. He has nine books scheduled to be released in 2014.

Photo Credit: In Other Newz

So there you have the list of the world’s bestselling authors since 2001. Were you surprised by any of the names on the list? Or any of the names who didn’t make the cut? Let me know!

Read the original article here.