It's a Meme!

Friday, August 12, 2011
Started by the superlative Random Michelle.

NPR’s Top 100 SF/F Books

I've read
Started and abandoned
* Made my top ten list

  1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. While I recognize that it was a seminal work, I think Tolkien was an extremely poor writer.
  2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
  3. *Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
  4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert. I read the first one, wasn't interested enough to read the rest.
  5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin. These are on my "to read" list.
  6. 1984, by George Orwell
  7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
  8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
  9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
  10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
  11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
  12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan. Just could not finish the thing, as I had too many "get to the point, dude" moments.
  13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
  14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
  15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
  16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
  17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
  18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss. On my "to read" list.
  19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
  20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
  21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
  22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
  23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
  24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
  25. The Stand, by Stephen King
  26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
  27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
  28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
  29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
  30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
  31. * Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
  32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
  33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
  34. * The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
  35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
  36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
  37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
  38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
  39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
  40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
  41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
  42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
  44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
  45. * The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
  46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
  47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
  48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
  49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
  50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
  51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
  52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
  53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
  54. World War Z, by Max Brooks. This is on my "to read" list.
  55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
  56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
  57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
  58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson – This book made me want to hit the main character in the face with a shovel. What a whiner.
  59. * The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
  60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
  61. * The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
  62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
  63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
  64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
  65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
  66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
  67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
  68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
  69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
  70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
  71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
  72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
  73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
  74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
  75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
  76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
  77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
  78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
  79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
  80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
  81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
  82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
  83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
  84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
  85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
  86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
  87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
  88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
  89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
  90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
  91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
  92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
  93. * A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
  94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
  95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
  96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
  97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
  98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. This is on my "to read" list.
  99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony. I read the first twelve (or whatever) then lost interest when he apparently did.
  100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
So I've read 31% of the list, and plan to read a few more. I do loves me some science fiction.

7 comments:

The Mechanicky Gal said...

I don't consider myself a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan at all, but I've read more on this list than I would have thought.
Ray Bradbury scares me and I can't stay away.

Karl said...

Nice! I'm glad to say I've read most of that list and branched off more than a few times from same authors or series. I had to start keeping track on goodreads.

I have a loaner pile of almost all the Moorcock books (Elric/Corum/Eternal Champion/etc.) when you get around to them, if you're interested.

Random Michelle K said...

Comments about what you haven't read.

You shouldn't read "The Handmaid's Tale" It will just make your head all asplodey.

You really really really should try Sandman. You could probably read "Dream Country" (Vol3) without any other background, to see what you think. It really is a tremendous series.

I am truly shocked that you have not read Small Gods or Going Postal. Because that must mean you haven't read any Discworld, which boggles my mind. Terry Pratchett is a genius. Enjoy him before he loses his mind to Alzheimers. :(

The Farseer Trilogy is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Robin Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm, if you're familar with her works.


Sunshine by Robin McKinley is also fantastic. I think she made my top heroines list.

David said...

Too good of an idea not to steal. :)

Thanks!

Anne C. said...

Cool! I'd like to do this too. When I have time, that is.

Stay tuned, dear reader...

I agree with Michelle about The Handmaid's Tale. It's well done, but will really make you stabby. Not worth the clean up bill, particularly when Small Gods is yet to be read. You will like that one.

WendyB_09 said...

I've read 47 of the books on the list. Whoa. And all of my top 10 made it!

Of course it helped that the parental units kept a wide variety of books of all sort around when we were kids, and there were very few restrictions on which of them we could read.

Lots of the classic sci-fi & fantasy. Think I started on LotR the first time in jr high. Had a 8' long Come to Middle Earth poster on my walls for years...probably still rolled up in the back of a closet somewhere.

Of course now this has added to my to read list. To be added to the 25+ already stacked up on my coffee table at the moment!

mom in northern said...

No Mercedes Lackey... ???