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the SFF book meme
I've read a little over a third of them, I think?
Feel free to recommend any of the unread ones if you think they'd be up my alley, too.
Bold if you've read, italicize ones you fully intend to read, underline if it's a book/series you've read part but not all of.
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien - I didn't love it, but I read it so that I could see what the films left out. And also because my mother ADORES it. I think I would benefit from a reread some time next year.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams - I think I read the first two?
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert - As advised, I stopped after the third one. The original book is AMAZING but none of the others can live up to it, I think.
5. A Song of Ice and Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell - Creeeeeptastic. Another one I want to reread.
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - LOVE LOVE apart from the treatment of women. Which could probably be applied to a lot of these.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley - I really enjoyed ths, mostly. MOSTLY.
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman - For such a long book, I only remember little bits of this, but I know I liked it.
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman - FTW
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan - I actually got three books into this series in high school before I gave up due to Not Caring about any of the characters or storylines.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell - Read in school. Followed by watching movies about the Russian Revolution for the rest of the term.
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson - Didn't like it as much as some of his other stuff, but it's probably a good introduction to the way he writes.
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore - The first time I read this it made my mind explode. Right now I wish there were some sort of mishmash of the movie and the graphic novel available, because I prefer bits and pieces of both.
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss - <333 These reminded me that fantasy as a genre can be hugely enjoyable.
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - ...I know I've read it, but I can barely remember ANYTHING about it.
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood - Also need to reread, I read it maybe a decade ago.
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King - HELL TO THE YES
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
26. The Stand, by Stephen King
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman - One day I will actually own the rest of this series.
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess - I am never reading this again in my life but I'm very glad I read it once.
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey - Oh, Pern. So appealing when I was 12.
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 - This is an interesting idea executed fantastically well.
39. The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings - Hello, my tweenage years!
42. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Ditto above!
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin - It took me about a third of the book to actually get into this (The Dispossessed grabbed me earlier) but by the end I loved it.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White - I read this sooooo long ago. Primary school, I think. Add to the reread list!
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - Meh.
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 - I liked the movie a lot more than the book, actually, the movie has WAY more of a sense of humour about itself.
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson - READ THIS READ IT NOW. It's like fiendishly clever airport literature for people who like maths.
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks - The only thing wrong with this was the lack of Australia. Every other continent was represented, dammit!
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett - Not my favourite, but one of the first Discworlds I read.
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson - I read the first book, and was waaaay too depressed to keep going.
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett - Pratchett's direct satires of specific aspects of society are always entertaining.
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 - I am so glad this book was short.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - This one could have been SHORTER. Or at least made some effort to make me care about the characters. But the amount of imagination in it is impressive.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist - So many books! But my brother and I got obsessed with them and I think we got through them all.
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan the Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb - Again with the WAY TOO DEPRESSING.
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger - I loved this! I loved it so much I refuse to see the movie.
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 Neal Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey - I can't remember why I didn't read past the first one.
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin - Aaawesome.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire - This book disturbed the hell out of me, and I always admire books that can do that. I have it filed in my head in a completely different box to the MUSICAL, however.
81. The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde - This series gets a bit clunky in the later books, but it's still worthwhile for the sheer density of literature jokes, and the first two are FABULOUS.
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson - <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 forever
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
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 - Good, but make sure you are in a healthy emotional place when you start, and have something cheerful to read afterwards.
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
Feel free to recommend any of the unread ones if you think they'd be up my alley, too.
Bold if you've read, italicize ones you fully intend to read, underline if it's a book/series you've read part but not all of.
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien - I didn't love it, but I read it so that I could see what the films left out. And also because my mother ADORES it. I think I would benefit from a reread some time next year.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams - I think I read the first two?
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert - As advised, I stopped after the third one. The original book is AMAZING but none of the others can live up to it, I think.
5. A Song of Ice and Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell - Creeeeeptastic. Another one I want to reread.
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - LOVE LOVE apart from the treatment of women. Which could probably be applied to a lot of these.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley - I really enjoyed ths, mostly. MOSTLY.
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman - For such a long book, I only remember little bits of this, but I know I liked it.
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman - FTW
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan - I actually got three books into this series in high school before I gave up due to Not Caring about any of the characters or storylines.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell - Read in school. Followed by watching movies about the Russian Revolution for the rest of the term.
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson - Didn't like it as much as some of his other stuff, but it's probably a good introduction to the way he writes.
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore - The first time I read this it made my mind explode. Right now I wish there were some sort of mishmash of the movie and the graphic novel available, because I prefer bits and pieces of both.
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss - <333 These reminded me that fantasy as a genre can be hugely enjoyable.
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - ...I know I've read it, but I can barely remember ANYTHING about it.
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood - Also need to reread, I read it maybe a decade ago.
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King - HELL TO THE YES
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
26. The Stand, by Stephen King
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman - One day I will actually own the rest of this series.
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess - I am never reading this again in my life but I'm very glad I read it once.
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey - Oh, Pern. So appealing when I was 12.
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 - This is an interesting idea executed fantastically well.
39. The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings - Hello, my tweenage years!
42. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Ditto above!
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin - It took me about a third of the book to actually get into this (The Dispossessed grabbed me earlier) but by the end I loved it.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White - I read this sooooo long ago. Primary school, I think. Add to the reread list!
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - Meh.
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 - I liked the movie a lot more than the book, actually, the movie has WAY more of a sense of humour about itself.
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson - READ THIS READ IT NOW. It's like fiendishly clever airport literature for people who like maths.
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks - The only thing wrong with this was the lack of Australia. Every other continent was represented, dammit!
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett - Not my favourite, but one of the first Discworlds I read.
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson - I read the first book, and was waaaay too depressed to keep going.
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett - Pratchett's direct satires of specific aspects of society are always entertaining.
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 - I am so glad this book was short.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - This one could have been SHORTER. Or at least made some effort to make me care about the characters. But the amount of imagination in it is impressive.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist - So many books! But my brother and I got obsessed with them and I think we got through them all.
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan the Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb - Again with the WAY TOO DEPRESSING.
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger - I loved this! I loved it so much I refuse to see the movie.
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 Neal Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey - I can't remember why I didn't read past the first one.
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin - Aaawesome.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire - This book disturbed the hell out of me, and I always admire books that can do that. I have it filed in my head in a completely different box to the MUSICAL, however.
81. The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde - This series gets a bit clunky in the later books, but it's still worthwhile for the sheer density of literature jokes, and the first two are FABULOUS.
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson - <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 forever
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
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 - Good, but make sure you are in a healthy emotional place when you start, and have something cheerful to read afterwards.
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
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Also, high-five on the teenage Eddings (...if you were in alt.fan.eddings this just officially got too weird) and it's particularly hilarious since I just made a David Eddings joke in another comment else-journal. (Apparently people are portmanteau-ing Charles/Erik into Cherik? And I'm all, "No, Cherek, why are we writing fic about Vikings now?")
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My current lack of intention to read Martin is not because I've totally discarded the idea, and more because it's a long series of books and I've never heard anything about them that makes me think I, personally, would love them. Maybe one day!
Heh, I had NO IDEA online fandom existed when I was into Eddings.