NPR book meme
Aug. 17th, 2011 02:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tardis_stowawayI finally fit that NPR Sci-Fi/Fantasy book list meme that's been doing the rounds into my busy schedule of ways to procrastinate on useful activities. This list includes a lot of damn good books, but it also has some huge problems. The most obvious is that it is disproportionately books by white men, even beyond the diversity problems in the genre as a whole. The way they lumped together some huge series as one entry while others are split up or only have one book on the list is somewhat mystifying. One of the rules was that young adult books aren't allowed, which I think is a rather artificial distinction given how many YA books appeal to adults and how many of the "adult" books on the list I read as a tween or teen.
I've completely read 36 of the 100 entries (using "read" loosely; two of those I only took in as audiobooks and one through hearing my dad read it aloud.) I also included sugestions of books I think should have been on the list at the end.
Rules: bold the ones you've read, italicise the ones you intend to read, underline the ones you've read parts of, and strike the ones you never intend to read.
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. My father read this aloud to me for the first time when I was about six; LotR is pretty much a foundation of my life. If a challenge feels too hard, I tell myself that if Frodo and Sam made it to Mt. Doom, I can damn well do whatever it is I need to do. I also have some major problems with the sexism and racism, but the offensive bits don't erase all that is iconic, exciting, beautiful, and profound.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. I once won a Vogon poetry slam. Be afraid. (In other words, I love this book wholeheartedly.)
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card Read it the first time when I was close to Ender's age and wasn't too fond of it. I think the militarism rubbed me the wrong way, even though it was undermined in the end. I read it again a few years ago and liked it much more. Why isn't the rest of the series included here? I think the sequel, Speaker for the Dead, was a better book.
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert I don't feel too urgent about reading this, but I'd sort of like to try it eventually.
5. A Song of Ice and Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin. Loved the Game of Thrones miniseries, now I want to experience the books.
6. 1984, by George Orwell. Read this for a high school English class. Disturbing how relevant parts still are, especially the way the Republicans seem to have taken the section on control of language as a how-to manual.
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury Read this quite a while ago, I think in middle school. I remember not much liking it, but not why.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov .
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley Also read for a high school English class. I liked it okay, but less than 1984.
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. My favorite book by arguably my favorite writers. Gaiman gets myth.
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman I have a t-shirt that says "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.."
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan I've read some mediocre reviews. Life is too short to read a series this long of mediocre books. (Apparently life was even too short for Robert Jordan to write the whole thing.)
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson . Interesting, though not my favorite cup of tea.
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore Damn good. Problematic and depressing as all get out, but also imaginative, moving, and thought-provoking.
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov.
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. Read this a few years ago. I knew some people read this in high school classes, so I was really surprised by the amount of free love. "Grok" is such a useful word.
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. One of the foundations of the genre (and a genuinely really good book) was written by a young woman. Take that, old boy's club image of SF.
21. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick. I've watched Bladerunner. Does that count? (Comment originally by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sylvansafekeepe , from whom I copied the list.)
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Read for a high school class. Frightening and beautifully written.
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. Aspects of this are amazing (he named the main character Hiro Protagonist! That takes balls. Awesome balls.) Parts needed a really harsh editor to make Stephenson quit the hell with the digressions.
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman. I finished this during senior week, between finals and college graduation. My emotional state partially explains why I cried buckets at "The Kindly Ones," but only partially. The series is uneven, but on the overall result is incredible.
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. From what I've heard, really not appealing to me.
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Reading this, you begin to understand Anya's fear of bunnies in BtVS. Surprisingly creepy.
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey. Damn, I loved this book (and the rest of the series) when I was in middle school. Then again, I was a sucker for any "soulbonding with a hyperintelligent animal" type of fantasy at that point in my life. I still have affection for it, although it's disturbingly kind of rapey when reread as an adult.
34. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein.
35. A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller. Listened to an audiobook of this. I'm counting it.
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. I sort of have the feeling I read this a long time ago, but I'm not sure, so I'm underlining it.
40. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. Read aloud by my dad, who really did a marvelous job of raising geeklings.
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings.
42. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Read this fully for the first time last month after an attempt when I was ~14 failed because it was too damn big to fit in my backpack with my school books and I got tired of only reading it at home. Parts of this were fantastic (most of the characterization, the scenes where stuff happens), but it's another one in need of a strong editor to fix the parts where the plot dragged and the characters had the same damn religious argument for the bazillionth time.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Cool concept!
45. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin. This sort of book that asks huge "what if" questions while also telling an exciting story is why SF is so important.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Much like reading the Bible, there are long stretches that are really dull (including WAY too much genealogy) interspersed with isolated bits of gorgeous and/or exciting story. Luthien may be my favorite of Tolkien's female characters. Still, this is only for the hardcore and patient Tolken fan.
47. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Yay Arthurian myth! Some sections of this book are very good, others drag a bit.
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman. Fun book with great sense of place, system of magic, memorable characters, etc. I love visiting London having read this, because it's like traveling through a magical landscape.
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. Great storytelling, like pretty much everything Gaiman writes. Lots of fun worldbuilding.
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. Part of me is convinced that I've read this, but I'm pretty sure it's just that I saw the animated version at least a dozen times as a child.
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is reliably fun, but this may be my favorite of the Discworld books (though I haven't finished the series)
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've only read one rather tangential volume (Ethan of Athos), but I've heard great things about this. Got Cordelia's Honor at Border's closing sale and looking forward to it.
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett. Haven't gotten around to this one yet. I love Discworld, but there's so many of them!
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. Saw the movie. Very good, but still unsettles me. I probably won't read this, but I'm not ruling it out entirely.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Massive Regency-era fantasy with a great imagination for the uncanniness of magic. It has footnotes! And a guest appearance by Lord Byron! Starts out slow, but builds into stay-up-all-night levels of excitement. This book is huge, but I didn't want it to end.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist.
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks. Read parts of this when I was pretty young, like 12-13. Enjoyed it, but not enough to look for it again. I feel like there were more than three books.
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. Another one in the "made me cry buckets" list. Really liked this one.
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. Futuristic steampunk! Female coming of age! I enjoyed this more than Snow Crash, though it was similarly prone to overlong digressions and didn't end quite as strongly as it began.
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke. I listened to the audiobook version on a family car trip as a kid. My only recollection is a vague positive feeling.
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin. LeGuin is always worthwhile.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. Started this as a teenager. Got bogged down, but I do mean to pick it up and try again someday.
81. The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. Loved this even though I've never read Jane Eyre. Beautifully bonkers.
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 Gabaldon. I'd had a very mild interest trying these some day, but Diana Gabaldson's attitude toward fanfic turned me off the idea of reading any of her work.
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock.
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. One of my favorite books. Vampires and baked goods: what's not to love?
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. I read this while sick with a nasty case of the flu, which was an intense experience. I really liked it, but I should read it again someday while more lucid.
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. Really impressive worldbuilding, exciting plot, ending was more upsetting than it needed to be.
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony. There was a time when I was around twelve or thirteen when I'd read all the Xanth books then extant. There's some very fun stuff in the earlier novels, but they started getting dreadfully formulaic.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
-The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
-Kindred and/or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
-Bold As Love series by Gwyneth Jones
-Beauty by Sheri Tepper. (Or possibly another of Tepper's books, like Grass)
-I know YA books weren't included, but what about collections of short stories? If those are allowed, I nominate Stranger Things Happen by Kelly link and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.
-the entire series for Hitchhiker's Guide, and possibly Ender's Game.
Books I might also include, though I'm not quite as mad they were left off as I am about the books in the first list:
-Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.
-Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
-The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
-since it's clear from some of what made the list that "top books" have more to do with being beloved than being high quality, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series.
So, flist, where do you agree or disagree with me? Which books that I haven't read should I prioritize?
I've completely read 36 of the 100 entries (using "read" loosely; two of those I only took in as audiobooks and one through hearing my dad read it aloud.) I also included sugestions of books I think should have been on the list at the end.
Rules: bold the ones you've read, italicise the ones you intend to read, underline the ones you've read parts of, and strike the ones you never intend to read.
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. My father read this aloud to me for the first time when I was about six; LotR is pretty much a foundation of my life. If a challenge feels too hard, I tell myself that if Frodo and Sam made it to Mt. Doom, I can damn well do whatever it is I need to do. I also have some major problems with the sexism and racism, but the offensive bits don't erase all that is iconic, exciting, beautiful, and profound.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. I once won a Vogon poetry slam. Be afraid. (In other words, I love this book wholeheartedly.)
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card Read it the first time when I was close to Ender's age and wasn't too fond of it. I think the militarism rubbed me the wrong way, even though it was undermined in the end. I read it again a few years ago and liked it much more. Why isn't the rest of the series included here? I think the sequel, Speaker for the Dead, was a better book.
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert I don't feel too urgent about reading this, but I'd sort of like to try it eventually.
5. A Song of Ice and Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin. Loved the Game of Thrones miniseries, now I want to experience the books.
6. 1984, by George Orwell. Read this for a high school English class. Disturbing how relevant parts still are, especially the way the Republicans seem to have taken the section on control of language as a how-to manual.
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury Read this quite a while ago, I think in middle school. I remember not much liking it, but not why.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov .
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley Also read for a high school English class. I liked it okay, but less than 1984.
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. My favorite book by arguably my favorite writers. Gaiman gets myth.
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman I have a t-shirt that says "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.."
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson . Interesting, though not my favorite cup of tea.
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore Damn good. Problematic and depressing as all get out, but also imaginative, moving, and thought-provoking.
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov.
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. Read this a few years ago. I knew some people read this in high school classes, so I was really surprised by the amount of free love. "Grok" is such a useful word.
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. One of the foundations of the genre (and a genuinely really good book) was written by a young woman. Take that, old boy's club image of SF.
21. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick. I've watched Bladerunner. Does that count? (Comment originally by
sylvansafekeepe , from whom I copied the list.)22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Read for a high school class. Frightening and beautifully written.
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. Aspects of this are amazing (he named the main character Hiro Protagonist! That takes balls. Awesome balls.) Parts needed a really harsh editor to make Stephenson quit the hell with the digressions.
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman. I finished this during senior week, between finals and college graduation. My emotional state partially explains why I cried buckets at "The Kindly Ones," but only partially. The series is uneven, but on the overall result is incredible.
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Reading this, you begin to understand Anya's fear of bunnies in BtVS. Surprisingly creepy.
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey. Damn, I loved this book (and the rest of the series) when I was in middle school. Then again, I was a sucker for any "soulbonding with a hyperintelligent animal" type of fantasy at that point in my life. I still have affection for it, although it's disturbingly kind of rapey when reread as an adult.
34. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein.
35. A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller. Listened to an audiobook of this. I'm counting it.
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. I sort of have the feeling I read this a long time ago, but I'm not sure, so I'm underlining it.
40. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. Read aloud by my dad, who really did a marvelous job of raising geeklings.
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings.
42. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Read this fully for the first time last month after an attempt when I was ~14 failed because it was too damn big to fit in my backpack with my school books and I got tired of only reading it at home. Parts of this were fantastic (most of the characterization, the scenes where stuff happens), but it's another one in need of a strong editor to fix the parts where the plot dragged and the characters had the same damn religious argument for the bazillionth time.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Cool concept!
45. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin. This sort of book that asks huge "what if" questions while also telling an exciting story is why SF is so important.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Much like reading the Bible, there are long stretches that are really dull (including WAY too much genealogy) interspersed with isolated bits of gorgeous and/or exciting story. Luthien may be my favorite of Tolkien's female characters. Still, this is only for the hardcore and patient Tolken fan.
47. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Yay Arthurian myth! Some sections of this book are very good, others drag a bit.
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman. Fun book with great sense of place, system of magic, memorable characters, etc. I love visiting London having read this, because it's like traveling through a magical landscape.
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. Great storytelling, like pretty much everything Gaiman writes. Lots of fun worldbuilding.
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. Part of me is convinced that I've read this, but I'm pretty sure it's just that I saw the animated version at least a dozen times as a child.
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is reliably fun, but this may be my favorite of the Discworld books (though I haven't finished the series)
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've only read one rather tangential volume (Ethan of Athos), but I've heard great things about this. Got Cordelia's Honor at Border's closing sale and looking forward to it.
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett. Haven't gotten around to this one yet. I love Discworld, but there's so many of them!
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. Saw the movie. Very good, but still unsettles me. I probably won't read this, but I'm not ruling it out entirely.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Massive Regency-era fantasy with a great imagination for the uncanniness of magic. It has footnotes! And a guest appearance by Lord Byron! Starts out slow, but builds into stay-up-all-night levels of excitement. This book is huge, but I didn't want it to end.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist.
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks. Read parts of this when I was pretty young, like 12-13. Enjoyed it, but not enough to look for it again. I feel like there were more than three books.
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. Another one in the "made me cry buckets" list. Really liked this one.
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. Futuristic steampunk! Female coming of age! I enjoyed this more than Snow Crash, though it was similarly prone to overlong digressions and didn't end quite as strongly as it began.
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke. I listened to the audiobook version on a family car trip as a kid. My only recollection is a vague positive feeling.
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin. LeGuin is always worthwhile.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. Started this as a teenager. Got bogged down, but I do mean to pick it up and try again someday.
81. The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. Loved this even though I've never read Jane Eyre. Beautifully bonkers.
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.
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock.
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. One of my favorite books. Vampires and baked goods: what's not to love?
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. I read this while sick with a nasty case of the flu, which was an intense experience. I really liked it, but I should read it again someday while more lucid.
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. Really impressive worldbuilding, exciting plot, ending was more upsetting than it needed to be.
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony. There was a time when I was around twelve or thirteen when I'd read all the Xanth books then extant. There's some very fun stuff in the earlier novels, but they started getting dreadfully formulaic.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
Books that REALLY should have been on the list:
-The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
-Kindred and/or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
-Bold As Love series by Gwyneth Jones
-Beauty by Sheri Tepper. (Or possibly another of Tepper's books, like Grass)
-I know YA books weren't included, but what about collections of short stories? If those are allowed, I nominate Stranger Things Happen by Kelly link and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter.
-the entire series for Hitchhiker's Guide, and possibly Ender's Game.
Books I might also include, though I'm not quite as mad they were left off as I am about the books in the first list:
-Temeraire series by Naomi Novik.
-Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
-The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
-since it's clear from some of what made the list that "top books" have more to do with being beloved than being high quality, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series.
So, flist, where do you agree or disagree with me? Which books that I haven't read should I prioritize?
