Book meme

Specifically, sci-fi book meme.

Taken from starcat_jewel, my alterations in italics...

The top fifty SF books.

Bold the ones you've read, strike the ones you hated or which you refuse to ever read, italicize the ones you couldn't get through. Asterisks for the ones you loved - more asterisks, more love. Added via griffen: Use a + to indicate the ones you own. Added via glinda_w: Use a - to indicate ones you used to own, but no longer have.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien ** + (a lot less love than when I was younger)
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov (to me Asimov was a master short story writer, but incompetent at longer forms)
3. Dune, Frank Herbert (blech.)
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Leguin (Read the first three Earthsea novels, have mostly blotted them from my mind.)
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke (can't remember a damn thing from it anymore, though- except that I liked The Songs of Distant Earth better)
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 **** (a novel composed of three short stories, and brilliant.)
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett ** + (this is by no means Pratchett's best work, merely the starting point. I recommend Night Watch, or for the firsttime reader, perhaps The Truth.)
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, loved it much more when younger. These days I have trouble re-reading McCaffrey because of her apparent insistence upon inserting a rape-fantasy scene into most of her stories.)
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card * - (It's a good book, I admit it; very moving, especially for young people bullied in school. The author, on the other hand, deserves to be shunned.)
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson (DEPRESSING.)
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl (Having read two of Pohl's other works, you couldn't pay me to read a third.)
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling - (Meh. Can take or leave this one.)
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams **** + (But I'll never forgive him for dying before writing a book to undo Mostly Harmless...)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson (Seen the trailers for the movies. BLECH.)
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice * - (Not rereadable, though. Of Rice's works, the only one I keep anymore is The Mummy.)
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (My mother loved Zelazny's works. Me, not so much. The Chronicles of Amber seemed like a lot of treadmill plot to me...)
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement ***** - (Lost my copy, alas. The ONLY non-humanoid alien story that seemed credible to me, and the hardest science fiction I've ever enjoyed.)
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 * - (First read when I was six. My father's copy.)
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien *** + (I have a thing for world-building, and Tolkien's mythology is very attractive.)
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut (Or much of anything else Vonnegut wrote, either.)
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein (Once I found better sources of porn than Heinlein books, his works all fell solidly into my Dorothy Parker zone.)
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock (DEPRESSING BEYOND BELIEF.)
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (Enjoyed it in high school; have no desire to reread, or to catch up on the series.)
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer (Read the last Riverworld novel first, and it STILL hurts my head.)

Book meme

Specifically, sci-fi book meme.

Taken from starcat_jewel, my alterations in italics...

The top fifty SF books.

Bold the ones you've read, strike the ones you hated or which you refuse to ever read, italicize the ones you couldn't get through. Asterisks for the ones you loved - more asterisks, more love. Added via griffen: Use a + to indicate the ones you own. Added via glinda_w: Use a - to indicate ones you used to own, but no longer have.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien ** + (a lot less love than when I was younger)
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov (to me Asimov was a master short story writer, but incompetent at longer forms)
3. Dune, Frank Herbert (blech.)
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Leguin (Read the first three Earthsea novels, have mostly blotted them from my mind.)
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke (can't remember a damn thing from it anymore, though- except that I liked The Songs of Distant Earth better)
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 **** (a novel composed of three short stories, and brilliant.)
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett ** + (this is by no means Pratchett's best work, merely the starting point. I recommend Night Watch, or for the firsttime reader, perhaps The Truth.)
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, loved it much more when younger. These days I have trouble re-reading McCaffrey because of her apparent insistence upon inserting a rape-fantasy scene into most of her stories.)
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card * - (It's a good book, I admit it; very moving, especially for young people bullied in school. The author, on the other hand, deserves to be shunned.)
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson (DEPRESSING.)
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl (Having read two of Pohl's other works, you couldn't pay me to read a third.)
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling - (Meh. Can take or leave this one.)
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams **** + (But I'll never forgive him for dying before writing a book to undo Mostly Harmless...)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson (Seen the trailers for the movies. BLECH.)
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice * - (Not rereadable, though. Of Rice's works, the only one I keep anymore is The Mummy.)
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (My mother loved Zelazny's works. Me, not so much. The Chronicles of Amber seemed like a lot of treadmill plot to me...)
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement ***** - (Lost my copy, alas. The ONLY non-humanoid alien story that seemed credible to me, and the hardest science fiction I've ever enjoyed.)
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 * - (First read when I was six. My father's copy.)
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien *** + (I have a thing for world-building, and Tolkien's mythology is very attractive.)
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut (Or much of anything else Vonnegut wrote, either.)
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein (Once I found better sources of porn than Heinlein books, his works all fell solidly into my Dorothy Parker zone.)
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock (DEPRESSING BEYOND BELIEF.)
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (Enjoyed it in high school; have no desire to reread, or to catch up on the series.)
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer (Read the last Riverworld novel first, and it STILL hurts my head.)