Charlie Jane Anders
io9
July 30, 2015
Science fiction and fantasy offer a rich legacy of great books--but that abundant pile of reading material can also be daunting. So sometimes, it's easier to fake it. We asked some of our favorite writers, and they told us the 10 books that everyone pretends to have read. And why you should actually read them.
From Asimov to Pynchon, science fiction contains some fantastic, ambitious works of genre fiction. But a lot of us get overwhelmed. And it's not that hard to fake a first-hand knowledge of these books, because they're everywhere, and we've heard people talk about them so many times. We SF fans are good at pretending. But these books are classics for a reason -- and they're worth reading.
MoreCryptonomnicon - Never heard of it.
Dune - Read it and liked it but have no desire to read the sequels.
Gravity's Rainbow - Never heard of it.
Foundation - Couldn't get into it.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Never heard of it.
1984 - Read it and liked it.
First and Last Men and Starmaker - Heard of them but never read them. I found Stapledon difficult to read. I've finished only Odd John.
The Long Tomorrow - Heard of it but never read it.
Dhalgren - Heard of it but never read it.
Infinite Jest - Never heard of it.
