50 SciFi Books That Are a Must!

I am a big fan of book lists. Part of this stems from previously working in a bookstore and the other part is my love of reading. I have trolled several of the Award Lists on Library Thing to see how my library and reading list have measured up to my bibliophile peers.    Justin Jordan (author of the comic book series of Luther Strode  and fried to cats) posted a book list that he had stumbled upon concerning how many different books a character was seen reading in Gilmore Girls. I was intrigued  I am not a fan of Gilmore Girls, mostly because I don’t’ think I have ever seen a single episode, but because I am a fan of reading and books in general, I checked it out, and then I had my fellow Twitter pal and blogger HaveYouReadIt check it out also.  

Wow.  There were a lot books on the list and a lot that I had not completely read, or read excerpts of and other that I really didn’t have any interest in reading. I couldn’t be the only one in the world that could get to sleep at night without having read the entirety of Crime & Punishment. The amount that I had not read made me a little crazy, and thinking that perhaps I should expand my horizons. But, why should read a book that I am not interested in and am not being forced to read for any sort of class? And this is how my pal at HaveYouReadIt came to my mental rescue. We would come up with our own book list of something that we would be interested in reading.    Thus began the compiling of Science Fiction Fantasy books began.  We didn’t want to go crazy with hundreds of books; we kept it simple with 50 Science Fiction Fantasy books that will knock your socks off.  Please enjoy the BAT List and figure out where your measure up, or give either of us feedback as to what you feel should have made the list!

BAT List

1. I, Robot– Isaac Asimov
2. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein
3. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
4. Hyperion – Dan Simmons
5. A Canticle for Lebowitz – Walter M. Miller
6. The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth, and Other Stories – Roger Zelazny
7. Carlucci – Richard Paul Russo
8. Accelerando – Charles Stross
9. Time Enough for Love – Robert Heinlein
10. Ship of Fools – Richard Paul Russo
11. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
12. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
13. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
14. The Once and Future King – T. H. White
15. A Spell for Chameleon (and all subsequent Xanth books) – Piers Anthony
16. The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
17. Enchantment – Orson Scott Card
18. Dune – Frank Herbert
19. The Great Book of Amber – Roger Zelazny
20. The Scions of Shannara – Terry Brooks
21. The Black Unicorn – Tanith Lee
22. The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley
23. Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkein
24. The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
25. Across the Nightingale Floor – Lian Hearn
26. American Gods – Neil Gaimen
27. Small Gods- Terry Pratchett
28. 2001 Space Odyssey- Arthur C Clark
29. War of the Worlds- Orson Wells
30. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
31. The Hobbit- J.R. R. Tolken
32. Howls Moving Castle- Diana
33. Wizard of Oz- Frank Baum
34. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
35. The Last Unicorn- Peter S. Beagle
36. Interview with a Vampire- Anne Rice
37. Harry Potter Series- J.K. Rowling
38. Summon the Keeper- Tanya Huff
39. Quozl- Alan Dean Foster
40. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne
41. Beauty: A Retelling – Robin McKinely
42. The Good Fairies of New York – Mark Millar
43. The Cat Who Walked Through Walls – Robert Heinlein
44. The Chocolate Hollow Bunnies of the Apocalypse – Robert Rankin
45. Resenting the Hero – Moira Moore
46. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich - Philip K. Dick
47. Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
48. Watchmen - Alan Moore
49. Sandman - Neil Gaiman
50. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke

Wonder Woman Volume1: Blood

Wonder Woman. Just the name of it makes me think of lassos and golden underwear. I honestly did not have a lot of pre conceived notions as to who I thought Wonder Woman is, other then perhaps a kick butt Amazon with a take charge attitude. I was unexpectedly surprised that I enjoyed the relaunch of Wonder Woman Volume 1: Blood in the DC's New 52.

The story starts out with a bang and continues to deliver with an upper cut of awesomeness that continues through the entire graphic novel. The history of Wonder Woman is executed beautifully, because the reader completely understand why it is relevant to what is happening in the present. In addition the colorful characters of mythology live up to everything you would think they would do, which makes the plot line even more interesting. 

I am very much excited to see what is going to happen next and can't wait to read the next graphic novel in this new series. It is good to see that there is a strong female lead that comes from a very human back ground and is trying to do their best to cope with the uncertainty of the future.  Not only does Wonder Woman sparkle in her own right, they supporting characters have enough substance to them to leave a person intrigued and begging for more. 

If you are looking for something to read, that is as visually pleasing to the eye as it is to the mind, try Wonder Woman, it is more then just another pretty face with anger issues. 

The Uncommon Bride

Weddings. They are a common, and yet wholly unique at the same time. Every persons wedding is different. Every bride is different. Not every bride wants to what fluffy movies that are geared to a wedding audience.   Not every girl wants to sit down and watch every wedding show out there, choose bridesmaid dresses for hours or argue over seating arrangements. Sometimes you just want to watch something that has a wedding, but isn't in your face about it.

Here are 10 movie recommends for the uncommon bride.

1.  Kill Bill
2. Rocky Horror Picture Show
3. Beetlejuice
4. Robin Hood (For those with a funny, make that Robin Hood- Men in Tights)
5. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. Nutty Professor II
8. Flubber
9. Bride of Frankenstein
10. Corpse Bride

Sometimes you want to watch a movie that stuff blows up in, but you also watch something that has to do with a wedding that isn't your own.  Enjoy. 

Tuning into Darwin's Radio

Last year for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I wrote about books that influenced my life in one way or another. I had near a hundred books that I talked about in my mini novella. I came to a realization that not only do I use books to escape from reality, but I use books as a way to connect with other people, most particularly I use books to be able to communicate with my parents.

I don't communicate well. I am at best passive aggressive. I don't like to rock the boat.  I  am not one to enjoy larges amounts of drama.  I don't think I have ever seen a family that hasn't rocked the boat, that isn't aggressive and that has mastered the avoidance of drama. My family is unconventional and full of anxiety and mood swings. The thing that we can do and do very well is read. My mother is a huge reader and so is my father, and when we need to find something to fill silence, we resort to one thing.

"What are you reading?"

My dad lives in California. I do not. I don't keep up on California politics. I don't read the LA Times and I don't really miss the air quality warnings, and the 9% sales tax. I sometimes miss the excitement of an earthquake, but not the chaos of the aftermath of a big quake. I do miss my dad. We don't get to see each other that often, but when we do we try to make the most of it, which is why it is so important to me that we talk on the phone often.

" The flat afternoon sky spread over the black and gray mountains like a stage backdrop, the color of a dog's pale crazy eye."

My dad recommended this book to me, Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear.  He went on about this book for months. I honestly have never read anything by Greg Bear, so it was foreign territory for me, but it sounded interesting.  Then one day it showed up in the mail. It was a hardback book, that had a library code on the jacket cover, and then another library stamp on the inside.  I love getting books in the mail, but for a small moment, I had to wonder if my father was a book thief. Did he steal this book from the library, because he thought I would like it? It was an autographed copy of the book that was in pretty good condition for being in a library. After a little bit of research I discovered, it was just a library book sale that my dad took advantage of to get one of his favorite books.  I did not dive into the book right away. I had other stuff on the night stand to read and that I was in the middle of.

"Bacteria made us. They take us back in the end. Welcome  home."

I am on vacation. It is beautiful  on vacation, and I have time to read.  I brought the book with me. I don't know if I am going to like it. I don't think that I will hate it, but it isn't my usual cup of tea. I just started it and am not more then two dozen pages in, but is makes me think and not in a bad way.  I can't wait to finish it, just so that I have yet one more thing to talk to my dad about, and in a small way feel a little bit closer to him despite our distance apart.