Fifty important SF books list compiled by the Science Fiction Book Club, and the ones I've read...

[derien]

I snagged this from beowabbit, but I have to agree with people who were questioning the inclusion of some of the books in the list.  Maybe the following were the ones the Science Fiction Book Club could get the rights to publish. 

Anyhow, without further ado...



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 - My Aunt was totally mindblown by this book.  I... wasn't.  I couldn't, and still can't, believe that this was suggested reading for kids of the age I actually was when I read it, because I found it pretty dull.
6) Neuromancer, William Gibson
7) Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke - I think I read this one, but it was so long ago I'm not quite sure.
8) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick 
9) The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10) Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (Required in high school English.)
11) The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12) A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.  - Available on Amazon, but there's no reviews! 
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 - again, I think so?  I read a bunch of them.
22) Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23) The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson - started to read it.  Hated it.  It's hard to read a book where you just feel the main character is a complete asshole and you can easily see the direct knockoffs from Tolkien in the first few chapters.  What the hell are they thinking putting this on this list?
24) The Forever War, Joe Haldeman - Such a nagging feeling that I might have read this, but when I try to find something solid in my memory all I can come up with is the cover for "Study War No More," a collection of short stories.
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
28) I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29) Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice - yeah, but it sucked.  Again, what the hell are they thinking?
30) The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31) Little, Big, John Crowley
32) Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny - Honestly I'm not sure if I might have read this, because I've read a ton of Zelazny since meeting Eor, and I like him a lot. :)
33) The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick - Saw this around a million times, I think.
34) Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35) More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36) The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith - Read a bunch of Cordwainer Smith one fall, but he's damned hard to find, usually.
37) On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38) Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke - umm...  Maybe?  I'm not sure if I'm thinking of The Mote In God's Eye.
39) Ringworld, Larry Niven
40) Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41) The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien  - Started it.  Possibly finished it.  It's dull.
42) Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut - another one of those "I'm sure I did, but it was so long ago" ones.
43) Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44) Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45) The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46) Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein - Saw the movie.  I suspect it's better than the book.
47) Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock - I haven't been really fond of the Michael Moorcock I've read, so I'm not sure I'd read this one even if it presented itself.
48) The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks - Yeah.  Again, it's not that great.  Okay, I mean - it was light entertainment.  I'm not saying I could write better or anything.  But Daegaer or Bravecows can.
49) Timescape, Gregory Benford
50) To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer


So, I think I've already read 22 of them.  Not too bad, I guess. 

I think I'll make my own list of what I think is really cool and what I really want to read.  Or, no, wait... I know you all have favorite books you feel are amazingly cool.  bravecows has mentioned "Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrel" a few times (more than a few times), and that would definitely go on the very top of my pile of 'to read' books.  Recommend things to me!

Comments

[phoenikoi.livejournal.com]

I remember reading a Terry Brooks book, but it was the Elfstones of Shannara, or something like that. Probably a later book in the series. Light entertainment's a good way of putting it, yeah. I liked it well enough; the one I read had a hot gypsy girl stalking the main character. :)