111 Science Fictions Books to Read Before a Supernova Kills Us All

And here are the results! Books with 7 or more votes made it to the list.

1984 by Orwell, George
Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, Ray
Dune by Herbert, Frank
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe by Adams, Douglas
Frankenstein by Shelly, Mary
I, Robot by Asimov, Isaac
Ender's Game by Card, Orson Scott
Brave New World by Huxley, Aldous
Foundation by Asimov, Isaac
The Time Machine by Wells, H. G.
The War of the Worlds by Wells, H. G.
2001: A Space Odyssey by Clarke, Arthur C.
Invisible Man by Wells, H. G.
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Verne, Jules
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Verne, Jules
The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, Margaret
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson, Robert Louis
A Clockwork Orange by Burgess, Anthony
Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut, Kurt
Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Martian Chronicles by Bradbury, Ray
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Dick, Philip K.
Childhood's End by Clarke, Arthur C.
Flowers for Algernon by Keyes, Daniel
The Caves of Steel by Asimov, Isaac
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Bradbury, Ray
Jurassic Park by Crichton, Michael
Neuromancer by Gibson, William
The Nine Billion Names of God by Clarke, Arthur C.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Miller, Walter M.
Nightfall by Asimov, Isaac
Starship Troopers by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Mote in God's Eye by Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry
Red Mars by Robinson, Kim Stanley
Ringworld by Niven, Larry
The Andromeda Strain by Crichton, Michael
Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, Kurt
Cyteen by Cherryh, C. J.
I Sing the Body Electric by Bradbury, Ray
Snow Crash by Stephenson, Neal
The Day of the Triffids by Wyndham, John
Contact by Sagan, Carl
On the Beach by Shute, Nevil
The Illustrated Man by Bradbury, Ray
The Lathe of Heaven by Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Ship Who Sang by McCaffrey, Anne
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harrison, Harry
The Stars My Destination by Bester, Alfie
Barrayar by Bujold, Lois McMaster
The Forever War by Haldeman, Joe
The Giver by Lowry, Lois
Cryptonomicon by Stephenson, Neal
Foreigner by Cherryh, C. J.
Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke, Arthur C.
The Dispossessed by Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Gods Themselves by Asimov, Isaac
The Time Traveler's Wife by Niffenegger, Audrey
Children of Men by James, P. D.
Dangerous Visions by Ellison, Harlon
Downbelow Station by Cherryh, C. J.
Old Man's War by Scalzi, John
Crystal Singer by McCaffrey, Anne
Doomsday Book by Willis, Connie
Lucifer's Hammer by Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry
The City and the Stars by Clarke, Arthur C.
The Demolished Man by Bester, Alfie
Blood Music by Bear, Greg
Footfall by Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry
Hyperion by Simmons, Dan
Solaris by Lem, Stanislaw
Songs of Distant Earth by Clarke, Arthur C.
Stand on Zanzibar by Brunner, John
Stars in my Pocket, Like Grains of Sand by Delany, Samuel
The Diamond Age by Stephenson, Neal
The Island of Doctor Moreau by Wells, H. G.
The Man in the High Castle by Dick, Philip K.
The Midwich Cuckoos by Wyndham, John
Time Enough for Love by Heinlein, Robert A.
To Ride Pegasus by McCaffrey, Anne
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Willis, Connie
To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Farmer, Philip Jose
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Wilhelm, Kate
A Princess of Mars by Burroughs, Edgar Rice
A Scanner Darkly by Dick, Philip K.
Anathem by Stephenson, Neal
Grass by Tepper, Sherri S.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Finney, Jack
Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory
Sphere by Crichton, Michael
Tau Zero by Anderson, Poul
The Best of Cordwainer Smith by Smith, Cordwainer
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge, Vernor
Alas, Babylon by Frank, Pat
At the Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft, H. P.
Babel-17 by Delany, Samuel
Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut, Kurt
Chrysalids by Wyndham, John
City by Simak, Clifford
Double Star by Heinlein, Robert A.
Earth by Brin, David
Gateway by Pohl, Frederik
Islands in the Sky by Clarke, Arthur C.
Kindred by Butler, Octavia
More Than Human by Sturgeon, Theodore
On Basilisk Station by Weber, David
The Coelura by McCaffrey, Anne
The Pride of Chanur by Cherryh, C. J.
The Speed of Dark by Moon, Elizabeth
The Ugly Little Boy by Asimov, Isaac and Silverberg, Robert
Uglies by Westerfeld, Scott

Morphy, you are the best! I'm going to print this and read my way through the list. I've read many of them already.

Great list! Thanks, Morphy.

When is that supernova scheduled, because I've got some reading to do!?

I think I voted for all of those. Thanks for doing this Morphy. Is this in a LT library where we can sort it?

Not yet. That's next on the to-do list.

That's a lot of work. Need help?

Oh, my. I've only read 24 of those 111. I'd best get some reading done! :)

merci mille fois, ma cherie

thank you a million time, good friend

Excellent, thank you.

Morphy, thanks so much. A tour de force.

Thanks very much for all your efforts, Morphy!

Yes, thanks

You are a wonder! I've read 12 of them, which is more than I thought I would have read.

>7 Thanks, Jasper. It's not too bad. I think I've got it.

Thanks Morph, I've only read 15 on the list though many of the others are unofficially on my TBR pile.

Thanks Morphy!

I've read 11. Got my work cut out for me.

I've read 15, all of them in the top half of the list. 2 more on the TBR pile for this year. I guess I'm not very adventurous about trying new writers.

A million thanks, Morphy!

19> I guess I'm not very adventurous about trying new writers.

Not to worry; most of them are actually pretty old!

Wow, what a great list! Thanks!

I'm looking forward to adding the library to my interesting libraries.

That's a great list and thanks so much for all the work you put in to make it happen

Thanks for the list!

hmmmmmm, I've read 43 for sure, a couple other possibles that I'm not sure of as it'd have been MANY years ago if I did

I've read 43 as well. Though some were so long ago all I remember is the title and author.

Hmmm...your Doomsday Book touchstone is linking to Any Given Doomsday, which I'm pretty sure isn't meant to be included on this list. :-)

I've read 59 for sure, some of the others I have on my TBR shelf.

Hmmm...I can only remember reading twenty-three of these.

#27 - Ack! That book shouldn't be on any list. ;) Just a personal opinion after reading it.

30> I concur wholeheartedly! I think it's a good thing they gave away so many free copies, otherwise noone would want to read it of their own free will. Actually, its probably not a good thing, considering all of the bad reviews it has gotten on LT.

Oh man, only 10 when all is said and done. Arg- I thought it would be more.

Thanks for doing this Morphy!

I've read 51 for sure, and there are a few possibles that I might have read but I don't remember for sure. Been a loooong time since I read some of them though.

Yikes, my husband has read about 73 of those. I've got some catching up to do, I've only read about 30 and some of those I don't remember at all.

Thanks Morphy! My husband has been on a multi-year reading slump. Nothing's been holding his attention, except for the odd book here and there. Normally he reads more and faster than I do. Actually, he still reads faster than I do, when he does read. I just showed him this list and the 1001 Fantasy Books list and he asked me to print out both for him. YES!

Yay! Morphidae - Savior of Slumped Readers Extraordinaire

edit for fixing misspelling

All Hail the Mighty Morphy!

Many thanks for doing this.

Mighty Morphy the Power Ranger!

I've read 53 of them plus two I threw against a wall in utter disgust.

Thanks for putting together this list, Morphy! I'm currently at 41 and in the process of making it 42 after a trip to the library yesterday. (Something Wicked This Way Comes)

I've actually read 35 of those. More than I thought. Thanks Morphy, lots for the TBR here.

I've only read 9 of these, but I'll read Neuromancer sometime soon, bringing it up to 10.

I've read 46, and I'll be working toward the rest of the list.

The Guardian makes its own list. Not sure those all qualify for fantasy/scifi, plus understandably UK-centric, but interesting.

Great list, Morphy - thanks for putting it up here.

I've only read 30. I own quite a few of them and just haven't managed to read them yet.

Wow, I've only read 12 of them! And I consider myself a sci-fi geek. Tut tut. Just not good enough!

I read 73-is that impressive? Seriously, these might have won the votes but a couple...well, I've read better-or, at least, more seminal stories than some chosen. But it is still a pretty good list-must have taken some serious work to assemble. Thumbs up!

#47 - We did it together, here, by vote, so it reflects what we here at the GD thinks. Morphidae organised it all, and did all the manual work.

I've read 76, but largely because the list tends toward older works I read long ago.

Just counted. I'm at 43 and a half, plus one more in my TBR pile. That and-a-half is likely to stay that way, as I have no intention of finishing it.

#50 - What is it? Do tell!

It's Anathem. I think there is a really interesting story in there, somewhere, buried under deliberate obfuscation.

Oh, I loved Anathem, it's his most accessible and well-written book to date!
Well, well - we can't all be alike. Luckily. :D

Actually I've LOVED all Stephenson's other books-- just not that one. A rare miss.

I only own one of his, and keep putting off attempting it.

Yeah, I'm not sure you want to start with Cryptonomicon. Really at all.

The Diamond Age is the most accessible and one of the shortest-- also one of my favorites of his. (-:,

Hard not to enjoy Snow Crash, as cliche as that recommendation has become...

I gave Cryptonomicon to my dad the Yule it was released - it was a decision based on my own enjoyment of it. He promptly went on to scour the market for books on the history of cryptanalysis and cryptography. Just saying that SOME weird minds find it a great and inspiring book, for all its shortcomings ;-)

(It was his first Stephenson. But he bought all three Baroque Cycle books as they were published, so...)

I took Cryptonomicon on a cruise for pleasure reading - LOL. I got about halfway through and accidentally left it on the ship, bumming me out until I could get a replacement copy. I also enjoy any book about cyrptanalysis and cryptography (fiction and non-fiction).

I'm not saying it's not GOOD, just... weighty. Those of you who've dropped it on your foot know what I mean.

FWIW, I loved the Baroque Cycle. Slow going, though.

I too loved the Baroque Cycle. But often enough it feels like I'm the only one. Nice to find some people who actually agree with me ;D

>60 yep it could make a nice doorstop - paperback or hardback :)

And more attractive than a brick!

yeah, never finished the Baroque Cycle for multiple reasons (will go back at some point). One of those reasons was the size: the books are really hard to read on the metro while standing and carrying them in my bags was causing pain in my shoulder and back.

11 down, 100 more to go! Great list...thanks for putting it together!

just found this list, even though I've been a group member since February, sigh. :) I have read a few and a few I really want to read. I'll have to print the list and read through it. Thanks for putting it together!

I was just going through this list to see what I might want to read. Trying to pick one I haven't read is tough. I want to read them all now!

I recently finished A Princess of Mars which is actually pretty decent. Next up is Downbelow Station.

I just bought Kindred for my Kindle. Last week, Amazon had several of these books for 99 cents.