Daily puzzles/problems.

[billl]

REMINDER OF THE PUZZLE

The first letters of the last names of these two authors (one Brit, and one American) provide two letters for the solution to the puzzle:




The first letters of the last names of these three U.S. authors provide three letters for the solution to the puzzle:




The first letters of the last names of these two authors (one American, and one Brit) provide two letters for the solution to the puzzle:




The first letters of the last names of these two British authors provide two letters for the solution to the puzzle:




The first letters of the album titles for these four album covers provide four letters for the solution to the puzzle:




SO, that's 13 letters total. These thirteen letters can be arranged to create the title of what hit pop song?

Neither Poe nor Twain (edit: nor Stephen King) feature in any of the images.

So, we have:

(first image, two authors to go)
1 author (second image, two authors to go): Hemingway
(third image, two authors to go)
2 authors (fourth image, completed): Orwell, Woolf
3 albums (fifth image, one album to go): Abraxas, Thriller, Nevermind

Letters so far: O, W, A, H, T, N

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The problem here, for me, is that I don't actually know what most authors look like. I'd say that if they appeared on the TV, I'd recognise about one in eight of the authors whose books are on the shelf closest to where I'm now sitting.

Yeah--I was wondering if some people around here might have this or that favorite or whatever, and if the problem might be overcome by a group effort. Even still, I think some clues are in order, in order to at least narrow things down.

SOME CLUES
(round one?)
Pic One (bluish one): As an example of my ignorance of things literary, I was slightly surprised to learn (while researching this puzzle) that the Brit was, in fact, a Brit. (I did read one of his books, years ago, though.)

Pic Two (three-in-one Americans): all three are deceased.

Pic Three (the one with the warping): both living.

Pic Four (the one that we've already gotten):.

Pic Five (four albums): no clues yet, just a mention that a bit of it is legible.

[MarkBastable]

REMINDER OF THE PUZZLE

Pic Five (four albums): no clues yet, just a mention that a bit of it is legible.

I've been working on the bit of it that's legible for about three hours.

The font puts the album somewhere between 67 and 74, I'd say - and that's supported by the snippets you can see that advise you it's a stereo recording but it won't destroy your mono equipment.

There's a pink bit of writing and a green bit of writing, which are the album title and artist, or vice versa. On the pink bit you can only see the bottom of the letters, which isn't much use. But you can see quite a lot of the green bit, and even some full letters. I'd let you in on what I think legible bits are, but that might prejudice others' perception. However, I am prepared to pool resources on this, because it's bugging the ******* **** out of me.

Hang on.... Got it.

[billl]

Nicely done, that's a terrific relief for me.


Letters so far: O, W, A, H, T, N, I

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

The Brit in pic 3 is MarkBastable (?)
Looks like his avatar picture.


I gotta say billl, very creative idea.

.

[MarkBastable]

The Brit in pic 3 is MarkBastable (?)
Looks like his avatar picture.


I gotta say billl, very creative idea.

.

Yeah, it's me. Which I saw immediately, which in turn says something about how quickly the human brain can separate the familiar from the unfamiliar, even on so little information.

So who's the literary chick with the big glasses and the red lipstick, with whom I'm mixed up?

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Beyond the matching shade of gray, it was the tail of hair coming out of or from behind your left ear and the arcing eyebrow that gave it away.

.

[MarkBastable]

As an example of my ignorance of things literary, I was slightly surprised to learn (while researching this puzzle) that the Brit was, in fact, a Brit.


Is that really as maddeningly unhelpful a clue as it appears, or is there something cunning and cryptic going on?

[billl]

Well, he certainly hadn't always been British--that much was quite clear to me.

[prendrelemick]

^kazuo ishiguro

[Scheherazade]

Is the one with cigarette Salinger? Though smile looks too big for him...

[billl]

^kazuo ishiguro

Sorry, it isn't him.

Is the one with cigarette Salinger? Though smile looks too big for him...

Nor him, I'm afraid.


For the record, the letters so far: O, W, A, H, T, N, I, B (out of 13 total letters).

[MarkBastable]

Well, he certainly hadn't always been British--that much was quite clear to me.

T S Eliot?

[billl]

T S Eliot?

More recent, not so high on the "famous" scale, and wrong birth country.

[billl]

IN CASE YOU WANT A CLUE
(chapter 2)

PIC ONE: TWO AUTHORS, one American, one British
One of them has gotten some really, really top rate literary awards. The other might very well have sold more books than all the rest of these guys combined (if we leave "required school texts" out of the equation). I haven't actually done the math, and I might be completely wrong, but that's the idea with him anyhow, moreso than the "literary awards" angle.

PIC TWO: Hemingway...

...and TWO MORE AUTHORS (Americans, all three deceased).
Both of these remaining two guys are pretty big deals in literary circles, although one's position among America's 20th-Century greats is probably yet to solidify. And the other guy, I'm a little surprised here, no clues, seriously, how are you all not seeing his face?

PIC THREE: Mark...
...and ONE MORE AUTHOR. I really needed the first letter in her last name to complete the puzzle... Still, I think a lot of people would recognize her once they are given the name. Looking at awards, reputation, etc., she's a moderately big deal, at least. She's still around, and has published something notable in the last 10 years (have to admit, though, I hadn't heard of it before just now checking her Wikipedia page).

EDIT: Finally, I should mention that all "original" images used for this puzzle (e.g. the Hemingway up there) appeared very early on in image searches for these authors (using bing.com).

[Basil]

So who's the literary chick with the big glasses and the red lipstick, with whom I'm mixed up?

Joyce Carol Oates