That NPR book meme

[lolaraincoat]

So, here's my version of that meme that's going around based on the NPR listeners' list of favorite SF/F books. It's a dumb list for several reasons, such as failure to include many books I like, inclusion of many books I don't like one bit, overemphasis on dead white male authors of questionable politics and prose style, and inconsistency in

Comments

[goseaward]

Oooh, I liked the recommendation thing, that was a very interesting commentary on the books (especially the ones I haven't read)!

18. +The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

Haven't read these but they've been getting good reviews from lots of people I really respect (like Jo Walton). And when tor.com did something similar recently (for the most recent decade) the first book came in...somewhere near the top...not on the strength of a fan base showing up one day and putting in lots of votes, which happened to e.g. Brandon Sanderson, but just a slow and steady accumulation of votes, so it might be worth checking out? I plan to...sometime...

30. *The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

...there's a movie version of this??

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold Do you plan on reading them sometime? *g* They're space opera but so much incredible fun, and Miles (the main character) is pretty awesome. Also, they started off as Star Trek fanfic and turned into something amazing, so there's that! (The planet the main

[lolaraincoat]

The Sandman thing was a typo - I can't figure out how that happened!

I actually tried about five pages of the Vorkosigan books once, standing up in a bookstore, and just bounced right off of them. People whose judgement I trust love them, some of my favorite writers write fic for them, but ... yeah, I just couldn't. Maybe I'll try again sometime. If you were going to read just one from the series, which would it be?

I'll put the Rothfuss on the bottom of the read-eventually pile, then, shall I?

And that's funny about the Dispossessed - probably true! It suits me as a historian, too, because it's so smart about how social and political structures do and don't shape individual lives, and how individuals do and don't create and change social and political structures. Which is unusual in novels...

[goseaward]

Ah, the bouncing off thing happens sometimes (and you were totally right about the Kushiel series--I ignored my better judgment and it took me like two months to get through the first one, despite appreciating some of its qualities). For the Vorkosigan books, I'd start either with the first Miles book (The Warrior's Apprentice) or with Mirror Dance, which is one of the best and stands alone all right. I don't like the first two books chronologically, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, although Barrayar won the Hugo so what do I know? :D Or, there's the novella Mountains of Mourning, which is great and free online from Baen, plus a shorter investment than the full book. (Actually, we got a CD with all the books in ebook form packaged with the last Vorkosigan book, and we're explicitly allowed to share, if you would like a copy of any of them

[goseaward]

okay, looking back, I'm changing my mind: don't start with Mirror Dance. Mountains of Mourning is great, though (I, uh, just read the entire thing again...) so there or the Warrior's Apprentice, I think! :)

[ellid]

There's been talk about a Sandman movie for decades now, but it hasn't happened and isn't currently on the horizon.

[elgoose]

So when do we get to see your 100-best-SF-ever list? Or even top 25? I'd be very curious. For some reason I don't think of you as a reader of SF, at least that's not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of lolaraincoat.

Also: This is a very strange list. Perhaps later I'll do the meme, but I don't have time now.

[lolaraincoat]

I would love to see your version of this meme! And, oh, OK, I'll do something like a top-100. Or a top-40. Or something. (I really do read quite a lot of SF.)

[pir8fancier]

Ditto. I'd love to see your list.

[lolaraincoat]

Your wish = my command ...