We interrupt your regularly scheduled journal for... a list!

[aesmael]

According to the Science Fiction Book Club, these are the 50 most significant SF & Fantasy Books of the last 50 Years, 1953-2002. Bold the ones you've read, strike the ones you hated, italicize the ones you couldn't get through, asterisks for the ones you loved (more asterisks, more love), underline for the ones you own.

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

Notice the relative disparity between owned and read? That mostly showed up more recently. No asterisks, I suck at ratings. Also, I consider myself someone not well read in the field - many of the ones I have not read are those considered better quality, more 'classics' than the ones I have read.

To say, forgot, from pazi_ashfeather and allieflowlight this list was glarfed.

Comments

[mantic-angel.livejournal.com]

Many awesome points for preferring Dirk Gently, or even knowing about it :)

You enjoyed the Silmarillion?! o.o

And you need to read that copy of Ender's Game someday :P

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I suppose I must have read about two thirds of the list over the years. How come they ALWAYS manage to leave out Eddison's: 'The worm Ouroboros'?