Lists
Today has been a day of lists. Like the list of books for June that I’m still sorting out. If the Fantasy Book Critic is anything to go by it could be quite mammoth so have I feeling that I might have to be quite brutal and cut out one or two um-and-ah books.
SF Signal has a list of Best American Fantasy 2008 and 2008 Locus Awards. From the Locus Awards I like the interesting selection of novels:
SF NOVEL: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
FANTASY NOVEL: Making Money by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK; HarperCollins)
YOUNG ADULT BOOK: Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (Ballantine Del Rey; Macmillan UK)
FIRST NOVEL: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Morrow; Gollancz)
I loved Un Lun Dun. I’m looking forward to finally reading Heart-Shaped Box after one if it’s characters made Neil Gaiman’s Top Ten Monsters. I’m not holding out much hope for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and I will read Pratchett, sometime.
Entertainment Weekly has 100 New Classics: Books from 1983 to 2008, so the last 25 years.I’ve selected some for comment.
1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006) Must read this one or watch the film.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000) Not actually the best Harry Potter…
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997) I want to read more Murakami… I’ve almost got the short story about a Giant Frog and Tokoyo in one of his short story collections.
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000) I can’t seem to find Dave Eggers that exciting…
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986) Loved this one. Everyone should read it.
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005) I bought it on a whim. In no rush.
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998) I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve read this. A genuinely funny book is very rare!
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000) one of the best books on writing ever!
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004) interesting choice. I liked it a lot but not sure if should make the 100
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) I hated the first book of this series! I really don’t get the appeal!!
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996) Not a novel but ok
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004) I found this one a real mess and didn’t do anything for me.
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003) A wonderful insight into the world.
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003) Pure escapism.
Aiden at A Dribble of Ink points me to SFX’s Top 100 Sci-Fi Authors…
Things like this are always a strange beast as they rarely line up with my idea of who to include and where to place them and how can you honestly place them if you haven’t read every thing author?
Right back to making a choice of books for June and maybe actually start Julys??
