That NPR book meme
There have been much more eloquent critiques of this list than I am prepared to make right now, but I agree that this list sort of sucks. Nevertheless, I've read many of the books on it.
This shows that I didn't do much between grade 5 and grade 12 but read science fiction. And then promptly forgot what I read. Seriously, I have no idea what half these books are about, even though I know I read them at some point. If I went back and read them now, I'd probably hate a lot of them. Having an instant forgetter is the best revenge.
books I read
books I read part of
books which I saw the movie version of
* = books I would recommend to people who read genre fiction
# = books I would recommend to people who don't usually read genre fiction
+ = books I never even heard of before seeing this list
$ = books I would OPPOSITE of recommend to anyone, even if they expressed no interest in my opinion.
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. #The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert - technically, I read the first book in the series and none of the others.
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell - depressed me so much I couldn't finish
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - I'm pretty sure this was assigned somewhere along the way. Ray Bradbury was very popular in the 60s and early 70s among those who liked to say they read sf that was really art. Meh.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. *#Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. *#Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. $Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. +The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. *#Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - I just reread this over the weekend. One of my favorite books ever.
20. *#Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
26. #The Stand, by Stephen King - I would recommend the early part of the book to anyone. The spread of Captain Trips scared the hell out of me. After that, not so much.
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury - Christ, more Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey - I'm assuming this is one of the ones I read in the series. I read maybe three or four before I got bored with them.
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 - I read the Reader's Digest Condensed Version the summer after seventh grade, because that's what my grandmother had on her bookshelf.
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. $The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - an astonishly dumb book.
43. +The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. *The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan - what a terrible movie.
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons - I think I made it through all four of these, if four is all there were.
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. +World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson - I read the first three when they came out and them lost interest. I think there were more in the series? Honestly, I forgot them as soon as I read them, and so was unable to whip up any of the popular indignation about the rapes in the book or whatever it is that pisses people off.
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
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
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - I read maybe thirty pages and lost the will to continue. Man, it was boring.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. +The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist - I'm familiar with the author's name, but that's it
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
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
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
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke - I'm pretty sure I gave this one a shot, might even have finished it, but don't remember a thing about it. So that counts as reading part of it, to my mind.
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. *The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin - I really love this book.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. +The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. #The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
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 - I am only vaguely aware of the fact that a non-Harry Dresden series exists. I couldn't have named it if offered a big wad of cash.
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. +The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn - Again, familiar with the name, but know nothing else about him.
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldon - Oh God I read more of these than I like to admit, but even I got sick of reading them before she finished writing them.
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
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony - I read some of these when I was ten or so. They were too stupid to continue with.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis - I don't think I got all the way through all of them. I was drinking heavily at the time. No, really.
This shows that I didn't do much between grade 5 and grade 12 but read science fiction. And then promptly forgot what I read. Seriously, I have no idea what half these books are about, even though I know I read them at some point. If I went back and read them now, I'd probably hate a lot of them. Having an instant forgetter is the best revenge.
books I read
books I read part of
books which I saw the movie version of
* = books I would recommend to people who read genre fiction
# = books I would recommend to people who don't usually read genre fiction
+ = books I never even heard of before seeing this list
$ = books I would OPPOSITE of recommend to anyone, even if they expressed no interest in my opinion.
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. #The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert - technically, I read the first book in the series and none of the others.
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell - depressed me so much I couldn't finish
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - I'm pretty sure this was assigned somewhere along the way. Ray Bradbury was very popular in the 60s and early 70s among those who liked to say they read sf that was really art. Meh.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. *#Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. *#Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. $Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. +The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. *#Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - I just reread this over the weekend. One of my favorite books ever.
20. *#Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
26. #The Stand, by Stephen King - I would recommend the early part of the book to anyone. The spread of Captain Trips scared the hell out of me. After that, not so much.
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury - Christ, more Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey - I'm assuming this is one of the ones I read in the series. I read maybe three or four before I got bored with them.
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 - I read the Reader's Digest Condensed Version the summer after seventh grade, because that's what my grandmother had on her bookshelf.
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. $The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - an astonishly dumb book.
43. +The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. *The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan - what a terrible movie.
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons - I think I made it through all four of these, if four is all there were.
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. +World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson - I read the first three when they came out and them lost interest. I think there were more in the series? Honestly, I forgot them as soon as I read them, and so was unable to whip up any of the popular indignation about the rapes in the book or whatever it is that pisses people off.
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
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
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - I read maybe thirty pages and lost the will to continue. Man, it was boring.
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. +The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist - I'm familiar with the author's name, but that's it
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
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
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
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke - I'm pretty sure I gave this one a shot, might even have finished it, but don't remember a thing about it. So that counts as reading part of it, to my mind.
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. *The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin - I really love this book.
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. +The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. #The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
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 - I am only vaguely aware of the fact that a non-Harry Dresden series exists. I couldn't have named it if offered a big wad of cash.
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. +The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn - Again, familiar with the name, but know nothing else about him.
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldon - Oh God I read more of these than I like to admit, but even I got sick of reading them before she finished writing them.
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
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony - I read some of these when I was ten or so. They were too stupid to continue with.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis - I don't think I got all the way through all of them. I was drinking heavily at the time. No, really.