Joe Carter has a list of his fifty favorite works of fiction. I can't think of fifty, as I sold most of my book collection when I moved a few years ago, and most of the rest is still packed away. So I'm largely working from memory. Like Joe:Unlike similar lists, though, you won't find anything as unreadable as Joyce's Ulysses or as faddish as the latest Salman Rushdie novel. In fact, on first glance the inclusion of children's books and graphic novels might give the impression that it is rather lowbrow, if not philistine. But each of the entries was carefully selected because they have what most modern fiction lacks: a compelling story.
1. Watership Down by Richard Adams
2. Shardik by Richard Adams
3. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
4. The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold.
5. Anthem by Ayn Rand.
2. Shardik by Richard Adams
3. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
4. The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold.
5. Anthem by Ayn Rand.
6. Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch
7. Battlestations by Diane Carey
8. Beowulf
9. When the Legends Die by Hal Borland
10. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
11. Shane by Jack Shaeffer
12. Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Lucy Tate
13. Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales by Asimov and Conklin (eds.)
14. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
15. The Epic of Gilgamesh
16. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. Rally Cry by William R. Forstchen
19. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
20. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
7. Battlestations by Diane Carey
8. Beowulf
9. When the Legends Die by Hal Borland
10. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
11. Shane by Jack Shaeffer
12. Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Lucy Tate
13. Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales by Asimov and Conklin (eds.)
14. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
15. The Epic of Gilgamesh
16. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. Rally Cry by William R. Forstchen
19. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
20. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
7 comments:
Good list. Among other titles that would merit inclusion, I would add The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Sincerely. Earl.
Love your list. One especially made me cry...A Day No Pigs Would Die.
Interesting list. Not familiar with many of them, though. I'll have to broaden my horizons some, perhaps.
I'd agree with the LOTR suggestion by Earl and would suggest, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Wendell Berry's Fidelity (or Come Watch With Me, or Jayber Crow, or Hannah Coulter - but that's me) and Moby Dick as all-time great reads.
You know, I never have gotten around to read LOTR. But I ought to. That, and Stranger in a Strange Land.
I would also add The Wizard of Oz - this book was the first book I ever read and created a love relationship that has lasted to this day.
If you liked Starship Troopers, read Armor by John Steakley. He read Starship Troopers and thought that he could make it better. Great read! His only other book, Vampires, was butchered on the big screen by John Carpenter. (a fun read as well)
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JD
Oh, and this one is also an interesting read. I found it in 7th grade at a truck stop while traveling cross country to Yellow Stone. Loaned it to someone and never got it back. One on the more unique twists on Atlantis that I have read.
Stranger from the Depths by Gerry Turner
PAX
JD
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