As you know, I am sucker for a reading challenge. I’ll admit that I haven’t always been the most diligent in finishing these challenges — I’m four books away from finishing my “Reading List for the Apocalypse” and am only halfway through my “YA Dystopian Books” list. And don’t even get me started on my attempt to read all 100 books on “Time’s 100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present” list.
I’ve been busy. What can I say?
I suspect that a lot of progress will be made over my sabbatical. When I write and research, I find that I have to read non-school stuff before I go to bed — or else, I dream about my work. And, seriously, who wants to dream about their jobs when they are on a break? Not me.
Thanks to TQE, there is now a new entry in the “Finish Reading All the Books on This Damned List” competition. {Okay, it’s a competition with myself, but still … } You see, TQE sent me a link to this awesome flowchart based on NPR’s Top 110 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books. I played around with the flowchart for a while, then realized that I have already read several of the books on the list — as in over 30 of them, some of which were full series!
Just call me Dr. Nerd.
Let’s see how far I get with this challenge, shall we?
NPR’s Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
August 11, 2011 — More than 60,000 ballots were cast in our annual summer reader’s survey — click here to see the full list of 100 books, complete with links and descriptions. Below is a printable list of the top 100 winners. And for even more great reads, check out the complete list of 237 finalists.
- The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
- Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
- The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
- A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
- 1984, by George Orwell
- Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
- The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
- Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
- American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
- The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
- The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
- Animal Farm, by George Orwell
- Neuromancer, by William Gibson
- Watchmen, by Alan Moore
- I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
- Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
- The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
- Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
- Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
- Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
- The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
- The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
- 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
- The Stand, by Stephen King
- Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
- The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
- Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
- A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
- Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
- Watership Down, by Richard Adams
- Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
- The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
- A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
- The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
- Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
- The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
- The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
- The Belgariad, by David Eddings
- The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
- Ringworld, by Larry Niven
- The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
- The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
- Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
- Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
- Contact, by Carl Sagan
- The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
- Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
- Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
- World War Z, by Max Brooks
- The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
- The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
- Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
- The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
- The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
- Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
- The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
- The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
- The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
- I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
- The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
- The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
- The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
- The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
- The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
- The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
- A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
- The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
- Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
- The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
- Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
- The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
- The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
- Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
- Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
- The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
- The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
- The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
- The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
- Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
- The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
- The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
- The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
- The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
- The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
- The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
- Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
- A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
- The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
- The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
- Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
- Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
- Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
- The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
- The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
Tags: Books