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