I found this list of the top 50 science fiction and fantasy books meme (according to the Science Fiction Book Club apparently). So I thought I’d join in. Bold is read and Italic is Reading.

Sorry for the fubarred footnotes, but I can’t be bothered with CSS just now.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien :”(I loved Lord of the Rings. Came to it quite late, but having spent all my youth in RPG, it felt like coming home.)”:
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert :”(I love most parts of Dune, though I never got around to reading the rest of the series. Why hasn’t anyone made a serious stab at making this into a movie franchise lately?)”:
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein :”(Currently listening to this on Audiobook. I hate Audible’s poor sound quality. I hate Apple for using Audible for their audiobooks on iTunes.)”:
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson :”(The rastafari part in space sucks. Otherwise it’s up there. The language is unmatched.)”:
7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick :”(Though not comparable, the film is better. That said, the book is a masterpiece.)”:
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury :”(Again, listening to this as an audiobook.)”:
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
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
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
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card :”(I liked this, though I’ve always found Orson Scott Card’s language to be a bit stiff…)”:
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams :”(Funniest. Thing. Ever.)”:
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
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 :”(I loved this. That it was short was probably the best part, which is an odd thing to say. But really too many scifi books don’t know their own limits.)”:
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven :”(Stiff and unweildy. I’m still trying to finish this audiobook, but it’s hard, as I’m bored most of the time.)”:
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien :”(Unbridled masterpiece. Lord of the Rings is a kids story next to this.)”:
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson :”(Bubblegum craziness. Almost too dumb for its own good, but it makes up for it with its energy. A bit on the long side, but then that’s Neal for you.)”:
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein :”(Way way too ‘military is good, yes’ for me. But well-written otherwise, and short, which I love. Funny how the movie comes at the subject from the exact opposite direction, politically)”:
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks²
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford

1. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

PS: Please tell us if any of these books are fantasy, and not science fiction. It’s very interesting.