(no subject)

The SF & Fantasy meme

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy
novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.

Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize
those you started but never finished, and put an asterisk beside the
ones you loved, and add a question mark if you can't remember for sure.
(R's note: That's not complicated at all!)

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien *
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
"Hated" is probably a bit unfair. I got through the whole book and a
couple of sequels back in high school, but it hasn't stuck with me and
I've never had any desire to reread it.
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury *
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. *
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
I used to love the Pern books but I've gone off them these days. They
seem so repetitive. I gave all mine away a few years ago.
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card *
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever,
Stephen R. Donaldson
I can't stand Thomas Covenant as a character. He's a whiner, and
he ( Spoiler )

s someone for no apparent reason.
After that I really didn't want to read the book anymore, but I finished
it because it was a gift from a friend.
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
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
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin *
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny *
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut *
Vonnegut inspires very ambivalent feelings.
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
The book's okay. The movie sucked.
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

But there's no symbol for "am actively avoiding" or for "I know I read
this but I can't remember how I felt about it" or for "never heard of
the book nor even the author" nor for "I keep meaning to read this".