1984 in books
Who ruled 1984? Robert Ludlum was Author of the Year on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list. Every #1 bestseller of 1984, the biggest books and the top authors.
NYT Hardcover Fiction
| # | Author | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Ludlum | 354 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 | Stephen King | 312 | 8 | 26 |
| 3 | Helen Hooven Santmyer | 291 | 7 | 18 |
| 4 | Danielle Steel | 238 | 4 | 14 |
| 5 | Dr. Seuss | 231 | 0 | 12 |
| 6 | Gore Vidal | 223 | 0 | 15 |
| 7 | Frederick Forsyth | 215 | 8 | 15 |
| 8 | Leon Uris | 190 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | James A. Michener | 170 | 2 | 13 |
| 10 | Jeffrey Archer | 154 | 3 | 10 |
| First week at #1 | Title | Author | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1984 | Poland | James A. Michener | 2 |
| Jan 15, 1984 | Pet Sematary | Stephen King | 7 |
| Jan 29, 1984 | Who Killed the Robins Family? | Bill Adler & Thomas Chastain | 1 |
| Mar 11, 1984 | The Aquitaine Progression | Robert Ludlum | 13 |
| Jun 3, 1984 | Full Circle | Danielle Steel | 4 |
| Jul 8, 1984 | . . . and Ladies of the Club, | Helen Hooven Santmyer | 7 |
| Aug 26, 1984 | First Among Equals | Jeffrey Archer | 3 |
| Sep 16, 1984 | The Fourth Protocol | Frederick Forsyth | 6 |
| Oct 28, 1984 | The Talisman | Stephen King & Peter Straub | 10 |
| # | Title | Author | Peak | Weeks | Book Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Aquitaine Progression | Robert Ludlum | #1 | 34 | 353.7 |
| 2 | . . . and Ladies of the Club, | Helen Hooven Santmyer | #1 | 38 | 329.7 |
| 3 | The Talisman | Stephen King & Peter Straub | #1 | 23 | 266.9 |
| 4 | The Fourth Protocol | Frederick Forsyth | #1 | 29 | 261.6 |
| 5 | Lincoln | Gore Vidal | #2 | 33 | 241.8 |
| 6 | The Butter Battle Book | Dr. Seuss | #2 | 39 | 235.1 |
| 7 | The Sicilian | Mario Puzo | #1 | 23 | 223.5 |
| 8 | The Haj | Leon Uris | #2 | 24 | 190.4 |
| 9 | Love and War | John Jakes | #2 | 21 | 188.9 |
| 10 | Full Circle | Danielle Steel | #1 | 20 | 177.8 |
Author of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the author with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Author of the Week. How it works