Jaquandor posted the Top 100 Science Fiction Books, according to an NPR poll, and bolded the ones he’s read, italicized the ones he wants to read and commented on some of them. I don’t usually take the time to do these lists but I’m interested in this one. I’m just going to bold the ones I’ve read. Of the rest, while I am more interested in some than in others, I don’t really want to distinguish between “want to read” and “not interested.”

*1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien – I haven’t read the entire trilogy, only the first book. I didn’t care for it. Too much walking through the woods being mysterious and mystical.

*2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams – I’ve read at least part of it but I can’t remember if I finished it.

3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card – It seems everyone has a strong opinion about this book. Either it’s one of the greatest classics of science fiction or the author is too despicable to even consider reading one of his books. I read it and found it fairly interesting but nothing special.

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert – The original trilogy was fantastic beyond words but the later books were a waste of time.

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

6. 1984, by George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman – Okay but not really my cup of tea.

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

*12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan – Only the first book. It was okay but very slow moving. I don’t know if I’ll try to slog through any more or not.

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson – Didn’t care for it at all.

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

*17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein – Can’t remember if this is one I’ve read or not. Most of the few Heinlein novels I’ve read seem all alike to me.

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

*25. The Stand, by Stephen King – Not sure. I think I did read this one. There was one SK novel I read that I didn’t care for but I can’t remember the title for certain.

*26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson – not yet, but soon

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams – It surprises me a bit to see this on a sci-fi list but I suppose it is fantasy of a sort. Anyway, I liked it.

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey – Some of my favorite books ever! I’ve read the original trilogy and the Harper Hall Trilogy at least a dozen times. The later books in the series are not nearly as good and I’ve sort of lost interest in McCaffrey in general in the last decade.

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein – The only Heinlein book I’ve ever liked.

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 – Excellent.

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

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven – Mixed on this one. I like the idea of a ringworld much better than I like the story and characters.

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin – Interesting idea; dull story.

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 – Not one of my top favorites but definitely very original and thought provoking.

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson – I didn’t think of this one as science fiction but it was very entertaining. I enjoyed it a lot.

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 two (or maybe only one and half) of these books and found them dreary, dull and annoying.

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 – I liked this fairly well. I always like Niven and Pournelle better than Niven alone.

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

*68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard – I read a couple of these a long time ago. Liked it fairly well.

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 – I was disappointed in this, probably as a result of having seen too many “Journey to the Center of the Earth” cartoons as a kid. When I finally got around to reading the book I thought, “Huh. That’s all there is to it?”

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 – Very interesting.

77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin – Strangely, this was fairly interesting in spite of the fact that I did not care for any of the characters. I think I probably did not get out of it what the author was hoping readers would get out of it.

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 – Interesting and fun. For the most part I liked it.

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

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 – Awesome! Very original.

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson – Pretty interesting. Parts of it were too political/soap opera for my taste.

96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – one of the most interesting from this team

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville – Extremely weird. Loved it and immediately became a Mieville fan for life.

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis