Score

"One novel" is not the same as "one book" e.g. Oscar Wilde. I deleted Dorian Gray, The Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye, since their authors all published other books in their own lifetimes.

Also removed Boris Pasternak, as he likewise published SEVERAL books besides "Doctor Zhivago," and "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, as she published at least one other book.

Boris Pasternak only has one book he wrote that is not poetry. I have added him back.

I have looked at several bookstores and there is no evidence that Kathryn Stockett has any other book of any kind. I have added her back also.

Dorian Gray, The Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye have all been added back also. Oscar Wilde only has one book that is not poetry or plays or short stories. Same goes for Sylvia Plath and J.D. Salinger.

Guernsey was written by two authors. One of them it is their only book, but the other has written more books. I am going to leave it on the list, I just wanted everyone to be aware of this.

John Kennedy O'Toole has written more than one book. But I don't know how to delete him.

Same goes for Austin Ratner.

So "poetry" "plays" and "short stories" are non-books? That's ridiculous. If you mean "one novel authors" you should call the list that.

Lori (BNPL) wrote: "John Kennedy O'Toole has written more than one book. But I don't know how to delete him.

If you are librarian, you click on "edit" at the top of the list, and look down to the bottom of the page where it says "delete books." click on that and hack away.

I see you have added a new header. It's your list, so you can do what you want, I guess. But consider this: by your criteria William Shakespeare never wrote a book. Walt Whitman, Homer, Vergil, Chaucer, Robert Frost and pretty much any western author from before Cervantes never wrote books either. Doesn't that strike you as messed up? You could have a whole list called "authors who never wrote any books at all."

Amen ...

Actually, Antoine, what you describe is pretty much what the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list already is - as neither poetry or plays seem to "count." Can count the stuff before 1600 pretty much on one's fingers, the last time I checked.

Susanna wrote: "Actually, Antoine, what you describe is pretty much what the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list already is - as neither poetry or plays seem to "count." Can count the stuff before 1600 pretty ..."

I think our reading culture is largely a culture of novels—and to the extent that we move beyond that, we move to non-fiction prose narratives before we go anywhere else. For most of us "Book"=story. Goodreads reflects this mindset pretty well.

I can sort of see excluding plays, because a play in book form is (by nature) not fully itself. But poetry is another matter: Leaves of Grass is a BOOK; North of Boston is a BOOK. Short stories also deserve more respect: who would question that Dubliners is a BOOK and not just a collection?

Just out of curiousity, are poetry and plays actively excluded from the 1001 list? Or are they just passively uncounted because not voted for? The latter is sad, but OK (though I say lets get them on there and vote 'em up), but the former would just be perverse.

The Listopia list has no plays or poetry, because the list that is being chosen from has none on it to begin with. No Homer, Virgil, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Whitman, Frost, etc. There are some short story collections on it (Poe, but not Dubliners, I think).

The full list of what the author (a professor in England, I think), considers worth reading is here: http://www.listology.com/list/1001-bo... . I think there's an update as of March 2010, but I don't believe it goes further than including some Asian works, such as the Tale of Genji. The list is, to my mind, weird and recent-past centric.

The oldest things on the list are, I think, The Golden Ass and The Arabian Nights.

Susanna wrote: "I think there's an update as of March 2010, but I don't believe it goes further than including some Asian works, such as the Tale of Genji. The list is, to my mind, weird and recent-past centric.

The oldest things on the list are, I think, The Golden Ass and The Arabian Nights. ."

So in other words, it's all novels. Friends, I think it is time for new list.

What about And The Ladies of the Club? I don't know if she wrote another one or not.

Helen Hooven Santmyer is listed here with several novels.

Susanna wrote: "Helen Hooven Santmyer is listed here with several novels."

Thanks, I must have somehow overlooked her.
Alice

Removed Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -- it's a nonfiction work, not a novel.

Madame La Fayette wrote several novels, not only The Princess of Cleves.

A couple of these are the first part of a series which now have more books. Hex Hall, The Body Finder, The Mark. There are plenty of others that should be removed like Brightly Woven, Bleeding Violet, Guardian of the Dead, The Weight of Silence, The Last Samurai...and a few more.

I am removing Lauren Oliver because she has written a number of novels. I'm not at all sure how she ended up on this list.

My opinion: it's silly to vote for new authors because they will most likely write and publish new novels in the near future, rendering this list completely obsolete. Of course, I can't remove books by new authors because technically they have only one published work... for now.

Laurence Sterne is in this list with 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' but he also wrote 'A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy'. Doesn't that one count? If so, then Sterne should not be in this list.

I also fully agree with Kirsten when she said "it's silly to vote for new authors because they will most likely write and publish new novels in the near future". In my opinion, there is only one way to make sure an author has not written more than one book and that's when they are already deceased... :-)

Yeah, I especially don't see why people people are voting for new books with sequels clearly planned.

All of these need to be removed
Daimones (Daimones Trilogy, #1) by Massimo Marino
Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) by Rachel Hawkins
The Mark (The Mark, #1) by Jen Nadol
Claire de Lune (Claire de Lune, #1) by Christine Johnson
13 to Life (13 to Life, #1) by Shannon Delany
The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1) by Kimberly Derting
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

I added Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, although I'm not count 100% sure he should count, it is the only novel he wrote and not just only translated one, unless you count graphic novels that is, as he is credited as writing the manga/graphic novel adaption.

The life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman has been removed, as the author wrote more than one book (see also message above).