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[njordsifusansoo]

ganked from davetheinverted

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert*
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (had to read it for a class)
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling*
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams** (I have the collector's edition that is bound like a bible)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer


Something about being born in 1982 sort of makes some of these before my time but not quite scifi classics when I was going through school (aka, I have not heard of some of these or their authors because of that). If it was a list from say 1980-present, I would have a lot more marked.

As a side note, if my secret santa sees one of these that I have not read yet and thinks I might enjoy (like Ender's Game), you do know most paperbacks can be found for under $10 (and some hardbacks used or on sale).

Comments

[davetheinverted]

Hmmm...you need to fill in some of those gaps. What sort of stuff do you normally read and like?

Dav2.718

[njordsifusansoo.livejournal.com]

well besides the ones listed in the meme (which I have read the series that they all belong to), I liked most of the Dragonlance series, The Wheel of Time Series, Sphere (I like the mind games in it), Kirk Vonnegut's writings, Douglas Adams' writings (even though I've read just about everything from him), Jurassic Park and Lost World (though I'm not too big of a fan of some of Crichton other writings), Jules Vernes (read just about everything written by him), and some others I can't think of at the moment. I know I don't really like Stephen King with the exception of Misery.

Of the meme list, I am pretty sure I will like Ender's Game, but most of the others I don't know enough about them to make that judgement (for example, I have never read anything by Asimov, so I don't know if I will like his writing style).