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omg, naming top 10 is impossible. Aeryn Send a noteboard - 22/04/2010 03:57:24 AM
1. The Last Herald Mage Trilogy - Mercedes Lackey
2. The Years of Rice and Salt - Kim Stanley Robinson
3. Crime & Punishment - Dostoevsky
4. Mars Trilogy - Kim Stanley Ronbinson
5. Jude The Obscure - Thomas Hardy
6. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
7. Byzantium (3v) - John Julius Norwich
8. The Island At The Center of the World - Russell Shorto
9. 1491 - Charles C Mann
10. Natasha's Dance - Orlando Figes


Restricting it to SF/F (not hard, although I'd probably have something by Hardy on the list) and leaving Tolkien off the list, ordered by how many times I've re-read the book:

1. Catherine Asaro - Primary Inversion
2. Barbara Hambly - The Ladies of Mandrigyn
3. Catherynne M. Valente - Palimpsest
4. Nicola Griffith - Slow River
5. Tanith Lee - The Birth Grave
6. Vera Nazarian - Lords of Rainbow
7. China Mieville - Perdido Street Station
8. Kim Stanley Robinson - Red Mars
9. Samuel R. Delany - Tales of Neveryon
10. Storm Constantine - Calenture or Sign for the Sacred [can't choose, really can't]
11. Elizabeth Bear - By the Mountain Bound

I can't get it down to 10. No way. If I had to save 10 books from a fire, I guess I'd let Barbara Hambly go because I've read it enough times. And I'd choose Calenture over Sign for the Sacred, perhaps irrationally. If you made me put Tolkien on the list, I would take off By the Mountain Bound, since it was a recent read and I'm not as attached to it yet.
This message last edited by Aeryn on 22/04/2010 at 03:59:44 AM
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5 best books of British Authorship you've ever read lyringlas - 21/04/2010 08:10:56 PM 1229 Views
Hmmm. Difficult. Rebekah - 21/04/2010 08:15:31 PM 729 Views
Re: Hmmm. Difficult. lyringlas - 21/04/2010 08:35:03 PM 669 Views
Okay. Replace P&P with Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Rebekah - 21/04/2010 09:15:59 PM 627 Views
It is a book... Jacob - 23/04/2010 06:22:05 PM 741 Views
Hm. Maybe. Rebekah - 26/04/2010 03:08:12 PM 773 Views
Harumph. Ghavrel - 21/04/2010 08:51:25 PM 797 Views
And of course Huxley's Brave New World. Ghavrel - 21/04/2010 08:52:49 PM 654 Views
So now, if you would, edit it down to just five. The Shrike - 21/04/2010 09:13:13 PM 808 Views
No. I do enough editing as is. Ghavrel - 21/04/2010 10:17:56 PM 691 Views
Thanks lyringlas - 21/04/2010 09:21:15 PM 859 Views
It is very good. Ghavrel - 21/04/2010 10:18:08 PM 791 Views
I've read a bit about it... LadyLorraine - 21/04/2010 11:04:52 PM 815 Views
Interesting. The Shrike - 21/04/2010 09:08:35 PM 831 Views
Re: Interesting. lyringlas - 21/04/2010 09:19:41 PM 823 Views
Without rules, peoples' best "5" becomes meaningless. Hard decisions need to be made. The Shrike - 21/04/2010 10:00:08 PM 689 Views
Yes, but then the number was arbitrary to begin with... Legolas - 21/04/2010 10:26:02 PM 673 Views
I disagree for the above stated reasons. The Shrike - 21/04/2010 10:30:13 PM 763 Views
I agree, #1 problem people had in composition classes... LadyLorraine - 22/04/2010 12:00:19 AM 810 Views
I was forced to read JUDE the OBSCURE in high school. Jacob - 21/04/2010 09:50:37 PM 858 Views
It's in my top ten books of all time. The Shrike - 21/04/2010 10:02:01 PM 764 Views
what are the others in your Top 10 of All Time? lyringlas - 21/04/2010 10:11:29 PM 659 Views
Here goes, The Shrike - 21/04/2010 10:36:21 PM 928 Views
...I think that's the first time I've noticed Lackey on anyone's top books list. <3 LadyLorraine - 22/04/2010 12:13:26 AM 823 Views
As a gay teenager, albeit a happy one in NYC, her books were still powerful for me. The Shrike - 22/04/2010 01:00:21 AM 676 Views
I think I might just reread some of them sometime soon. LadyLorraine - 22/04/2010 01:10:30 AM 813 Views
omg, naming top 10 is impossible. Aeryn - 22/04/2010 03:57:24 AM 868 Views
I enjoyed it as well Larry - 21/04/2010 10:45:53 PM 763 Views
It's a powerful and shocking beginning to any book. The Shrike - 22/04/2010 01:01:03 AM 746 Views
Indeed Larry - 22/04/2010 03:07:48 AM 724 Views
Well, I was 16 Jacob - 23/04/2010 06:14:15 PM 762 Views
It might be worth at least trying to re-read LadyLorraine - 22/04/2010 12:01:47 AM 630 Views
I seem to recall that it was actual dislike. Jacob - 23/04/2010 06:15:37 PM 763 Views
The movie version of Jude the Obscure is bad. Really bad. And doesn't make me want to read the book. Legolas - 21/04/2010 10:28:44 PM 726 Views
I'm old and frequently forget nationalities Mossman - 21/04/2010 09:25:07 PM 829 Views
I loved Watership Down when I first read it! *NM* lyringlas - 21/04/2010 10:10:45 PM 354 Views
Difficult Beqi - 21/04/2010 10:00:09 PM 696 Views
Let's see... Legolas - 21/04/2010 10:37:07 PM 641 Views
Leaving aside the usual suspects (Shakespeare, Milton, Dickens, Chaucer, Hardy, Austen) Larry - 21/04/2010 10:49:35 PM 746 Views
Hm.... A Deathwatch Guard - 22/04/2010 12:44:20 AM 840 Views
This is a very difficult task. Tom - 22/04/2010 02:16:07 AM 690 Views
I love your number one. I love that book The Shrike - 22/04/2010 02:51:15 AM 664 Views
It was the book I had in mind when talking about Island at the Center of the World. Tom - 22/04/2010 02:57:32 AM 787 Views
Definitely agree with Greg about the Wedgwood book. LiterateDog - 22/04/2010 04:06:49 PM 735 Views
I suppose it depends on definitions... jh - 22/04/2010 04:34:40 PM 677 Views
I'd count him as both The Shrike - 22/04/2010 07:11:58 PM 771 Views
Irish by accident of birth, English to the depths of his soul by the grace of God. *NM* Tom - 22/04/2010 10:12:28 PM 378 Views
I think you mean snoopcester - 22/04/2010 11:09:22 PM 668 Views
Oh wow. nossy - 22/04/2010 02:29:38 AM 727 Views
just remembered the Herriot books. nossy - 24/04/2010 03:48:18 PM 637 Views
James Herriot has a special place in my heart. LadyLorraine - 25/04/2010 01:45:50 AM 648 Views
Mine also snoopcester - 26/04/2010 11:02:19 AM 678 Views
Begone, you! *NM* nossy - 26/04/2010 02:54:07 PM 303 Views
What did I do? *NM* snoopcester - 26/04/2010 02:56:37 PM 331 Views
You might try The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. *NM* heartbreak - 22/04/2010 04:08:30 AM 331 Views
I'm going to cheat and give you two different lists Brian - 22/04/2010 06:54:18 AM 770 Views
Ooo nossy - 22/04/2010 06:54:21 PM 722 Views
If I wanted to be really specific I could say book 1: The Sword in the Stone Brian - 23/04/2010 02:37:24 AM 847 Views
Only 5? snoopcester - 22/04/2010 11:43:32 AM 665 Views
Never delved much into British literature, but here are my five. Vodalus - 22/04/2010 07:43:24 PM 718 Views
Tricky. Camilla - 23/04/2010 11:12:36 AM 956 Views
Re: 5 best books of British Authorship you've ever read BlackAdder - 23/04/2010 08:43:46 PM 810 Views
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