Big Nodder Update

 

Roughly one year ago the Worm formulated a new list of worthy authors who had entertained him since the birth of this blog back in 2009. The term given to those authors who had passed the combined 10-nod mark was that of “Big Nodders”. Back in December 2012 only seven authors had made the grade. Allow the Worm to refresh the mind of the reader:

1. William Shakespeare (7 books – 29 nods)
2. Alan Moore (3 books – 12 nods)
3. Bret Easton Ellis (4 books – 12 nods)
4. Niall Ferguson (3 books – 11 nods)
5. Bill Bryson (4 books – 11 nods)
6. David Starkey (4 books – 11 nods)
7. Thomas Paine (2 books – 10 nods)

It was an interesting table (well, for the Worm anyway… moderately so). Shakespeare was the clear frontrunner, benefitting from the Worm’s guilt at having avoided the old Bard for so many years. However, it was slightly worrying how the likes of David Starkey crept into the list (by sheer perseverance, it is assumed). Good old Tommy Paine was the only one with a 100% record: two books that both gained maximum noddage.

Let us fast-forward the list onwards into January 2014. The members of the Big Nodder club have expanded to eleven, taking in such illustrious names as Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the unforgettable George Orwell and rabble-rouser Frank Miller. (The nod and book count also includes upcoming reviews).

1. William Shakespeare (8 books – 32 nods)
2. Alan Moore (5 books – 20 nods)
3. Charles Dickens (3 books – 12 nods)
4. Bret Easton Ellis (4 books – 12 nods)
5. Frank Miller (4 books – 12 nods)
6. Niall Ferguson (4 books – 12 nods)
7. George Orwell (3 books – 11 nods)
8. Bill Bryson (4 books – 11 nods)
9. David Starkey (4 books – 11 nods)
10. Thomas Paine (2 books – 10 nods)
11. Arthur Conan Doyle (3 books – 10 nods)

The list remains exclusively male, whilst the leader clearly remains Bill Shakespeare. The big movers are comic book writer Alan Moore (with two reviews upcoming for your delight, dear readers), as well as George Orwell. There is a clear dominance of graphic novelists, historians and Victorian novels, and yes, four-hundred year-old plays.

Again, the point of all of this moving and tussling is… well… pointless. But the Worm likes a good table. At some other slow-point in his book-reading life he will update the table once more. Hooray for the Big Nodders and their authorial hi-jinks!