So: yesterday I was 50. One of the presents I got was a lovely metal bookmark with a list of ’50 Books to Read Before You Die’. Nice idea, even if the sentiment was misplaced!
But there were only about 4 genre books on there. Which got me thinking: what would be the fifty genre books I would want to keep, or at least the fifty I’ve kept coming back to after reading the stuff for over 40 years?
The upshot: here’s my list.
As they have been written in an almost-stream of consciousness, I make no assumptions on quality, or a balance between the genres, or gender or anything else OTHER than these are the ones I’ve enjoyed most, remembered most or keep coming back to. They are in no order other than alphabetical.
I know there will be gaps, obvious omissions and good books that others might think should be in there. (For example: No Iain M Banks, no Joe Abercrombie, which will upset some readers…) There’s some I’ve cheated with because I’ve included Series rather than individual books. There’s some collected story collections in there, there’s even an anthology or two which cover breadth rather than just depth. And some are definitely dated, yet hold a certain charm for me.
I know people at SFFWorld like lists: thought you might be interested in mine, even if nothing more than to show what awful taste I have!
Mark
1. ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
2. 1984 by George Orwell
3. 2001 by Arthur C Clarke
4. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
5. Ash by Mary Gentle
6. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
7. City by Clifford D Simak
8. Collected Short Stories by Arthur C Clarke
9. Collected Stories by M R James
10. Conan by Robert E Howard
11. Dracula by Bram Stoker
12. Dune by Frank Herbert
13. Elric Series by Michael Moorcock
14. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Fevre Dream by George RR Martin
16. Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
17. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
18. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
19. I, Robot Stories by Isaac Asimov
20. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
21. Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg
22. Lovecraft Collected Stories by HP Lovecraft
23. Magician by Raymond Feist
24. Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
25. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
26. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
27. Runestaff Series by Michael Moorcock
28. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
29. Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein
30. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
31. The Best of Ray Bradbury (Collected Stories) by Ray Bradbury
32. The City and the Stars by Arthur C Clarke
33. The Dark Descent edited by David Hartwell
34. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
35. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
36. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
37. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
38. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
39. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
40. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick
41. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
42. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
43. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
44. The Once and Future King by TH White
45. The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A Heinlein
46. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton
47. The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge
48. The Stand by Stephen King
49. The Time Machine by HG Wells
50. The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
Mark – a belated Happy Birthday, I hope you had a most excellent time!
I’ve read 10 of those on your list, which means that there are a fair few that I can now add to my to-read list to track down and get around to. I have no idea what my list would look like!
A wonderful list, and happy 50th to you sir.
Thanks Mark and MJ. The birthday was good, thank you. I’m now trying to get used to the idea…
But I’m always happy to suggest other books to try!
I could have kept going past 50, but was trying to limit it to that. And I know I’ve missed out some old favourites in that list too.
M.
Congrats Mark.
A very nice list. In some cases I wonder why you only picked the first book of a series. If you read the first I can’t imagine you would stop there.
I’ve read 26 out of these 50, with 2 somewhere on the bottom of my read pile and others I’ve been thinking about picking up some day. Not too shabby in comparison.
Hi, Essord: many thanks.
Yes, I noticed that about the single book/series too after I typed. The most obvious one was the Harry Potter. At the time I was thinking that if you liked it, you’d probably continue, but yes, perhaps it should be ‘the series’.
But there are a couple, like Harry Potter, I’m afraid, that I enjoyed less after the first book or two: Harry Potter after Book 5 for me, The Golden Compass after Book One. Doesn’t mean that they’re bad books, just I enjoyed them less.
There were also some where I put the first book thinking that you would continue: I don’t think Storm Front’s the best Dresden, for example, but I still think you need to start there.
I guess the randomness (in most cases) derives from the fact that the list includes the book/s that I enjoyed most, even if part of a series.
And there were other Mike Moorcock’s that I might have included (The Warlord of the Air is my most obvious omission for me, for example) but I didn’t want to swamp the list too much.
26 is a great score, by the way: well done! I hope you enjoy the remaining 24 as much as I have… 🙂
Mark
Hi, Mark.
A much belated Happy Birthday. I didn’t see this when first posted.
In a way, for a stream-of-consciousness list, it seems pretty well-balanced between the entertaining and the thought-provoking and the various mixes between. I’ve read 23 and pretty much agree with roughly 22 of them, and portions of 5 others and agree with all of them.
Randy M.
Many thanks, Randy.
Me: well balanced? Not something I’m usually commented on, but thank you very much.
Of course, since this was first written, I’m now thinking of those that nearly made it: and I suspect that you might think there’s not enough Horror on that list! I did try to keep Stephen King to one book, not easy: and I did have to cheat a little by including complete collections at times (eg: Lovecraft). But it was created mainly by just streaming out the books I pick up most because I just ‘want a read’. The Dark Descent is still one of my favourite collections, just for the range and the quality.
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke is definitely a must have for all Clarke fans and people new to him as it truly is his most comprehensive story collection.
However, be careful when buying the paperback edition cause this book has almost a thousand pages. It will not get wrecked during a reading only if you read it solely on a table and with gloves 😉
Check out my photos of the aftermath after reading through the entire Collected stories of Arthur C. Clarke.
The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
I’d suggest you also put some humor on the list, like the Myth Series by Robert Asprin or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Hi Ixian. If it helps, I have 3 editions of the Collected ACC: a hardback with a signed bookplate, a paperback copy and a Kindle version. The Kindle is the easiest to hold, surprisingly enough. I am very careful with my paperbacks, but totally get what you say. (And much sympathy with your paperback edition – got some of those!)
Humour… hmm. Yes, I did realise that there wasn’t a lot of humour in there, which I guess tells you something about me (!) I do find humour tricky, and what one reader will love with a passion, others will hate. Hitchhiker nearly made that list, but in the end there were other books that I’d rather reread. Loved Hitchiker when I was 15, less so now.