Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, FRSL (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British philosopher and author. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published "Essays in Love" (1993), which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include "How Proust Can Change Your Life" (1997), "Status Anxiety" (2004) and "The Architecture of Happiness" (2006).
A Song of Ice and Fire
Martin's publishers initially expected "A Game of Thrones" to be a best-seller, but the first installment did not even reach any lower positions in bestseller list. This left Martin unsurprised, as it is "a fool's game to think anything is going to be successful or to count on it". However, the book slowly won the passionate advocacy of independent booksellers and the book's popularity grew by word of mouth. The series' popularity skyrocketed in subsequent volumes, with the second and third volume making "The New York Times" Best Seller lists in 1999 and 2000, respectively. The series gained Martin's old writings new attention, and Martin's American publisher Bantam Spectra was to reprint his out-of-print solo novels.