Authors · NYT Hardcover Fiction

John Updike

Charting Feb 8, 1959 → Jul 16, 2006 · 205 weeks with chart power

Peak Power: 11.94%; week of Oct 6, 1968
Career Power: 1,193; share-weeks
Weeks at #1: 1; weeks as the top author

Peak Year: 394; December 1967 – December 1968
Peak Five Years: 565; November 1967 – November 1972
Top-five weeks: 52; weeks ranked 1–5
Longevity: 205; weeks with chart power
Dominance: 14.53%; week of Jun 30, 1968
Comebacks: 6; May 1962, April 1968, January 1972, May 1975, February 1979, January 1982

Comebacks (thresholds from `config/scoring.json`)
Kind	Trough began	Returned	Trough weeks	Longest absence	Prior peak	Return share
After decline	May 21, 1961	May 20, 1962	52	48	1.08%	1.01%
After absence	Aug 18, 1963	Apr 28, 1968	242	240	2.96%	1.94%
After decline	Feb 23, 1969	Jan 23, 1972	152	74	11.94%	4.48%
After absence	May 14, 1972	May 25, 1975	158	122	11.94%	4.46%
After decline	Aug 3, 1975	Feb 25, 1979	173	86	11.94%	4.33%
After absence	May 13, 1979	Jan 31, 1982	142	128	11.94%	4.55%

Ranked by weekly Power Share, part of the ChartReign Power model — not the list's own positions (config version 4, Sep 22, 2026). How it works →

Exponentially smoothed share of the week's total power (the primary metric).

Titles on the NYT Hardcover Fiction

20 books · 1,193 share-weeks of Career Power

Power contributed is what each book earned this author: their weekly Power Share, split across their books (a featured credit takes its reduced share). Book Power is the book's own figure, the same for every author on it. Bar length compares books within this list.

Title	Peak	Weeks	On chart	Power contributedPower	Book Power
Couples	#1June 1968	36	April 1968 – December 1968	394.0	394.0
Rabbit Redux	#4January 1972	17	December 1971 – March 1972	124.9	124.9
Rabbit Is Rich	#4January 1982	23	October 1981 – March 1982	112.1	112.1
A Month of Sundays	#5May 1975	15	March 1975 – June 1975	88.8	88.8
The Coup	#4January 1979	17	January 1979 – April 1979	84.4	84.4
Roger's Version	#4October 1986	15	September 1986 – February 1987	68.7	68.6
The Witches of Eastwick	#5June 1984	12	June 1984 – August 1984	66.7	66.7
The Centaur	#8May 1963	10	March 1963 – May 1963	44.3	44.3
Bech: a Book	#7August 1970	8	July 1970 – September 1970	41.5	41.5
Marry Me	#7December 1976	6	November 1976 – February 1977	30.5	30.5
Rabbit at Rest	#8November 1990	7	October 1990 – November 1990	28.4	28.1
Terrorist	#5July 2006	4	June 2006 – July 2006	23.8	23.8
Rabbit, Run	#14December 1960	10	November 1960 – March 1961	19.3	19.3
S.	#10April 1988	6	March 1988 – May 1988	18.5	18.5
In the Beauty of the Lilies	#9March 1996	5	February 1996 – March 1996	17.0	17.0
Pigeon Feathers	#13May 1962	7	April 1962 – June 1962	16.0	16.0
The Poorhouse Fair	#14February 1959	2	February 1959 – March 1959	4.8	4.8
Museums and Women	#10November 1972	1	November 1972	4.2	4.2
The Best American Short Stories of the Centurywith Katrina Kenison	#15May 1999	3	April 1999 – June 1999	3.0	6.0
Bech Is Back	#13November 1982	1	November 1982	2.8	2.8