No fiction works unless there is a comprehensive and comprehendible story with a solid plot at its heart. Science Fiction goes farther in demanding that novel ideas be a driving factor in the story.

I would go further to state that, for me, when reading any literature, I can put up with pretty clunky style, and cardboard characters if the story is interesting. If the story doesn’t hold me, however, no amount of style and theme can make up for it.

Too many writers try to cover their plot holes with the spackle of style, and while I like character driven stories, there has to be a story or its just author onanation.

IMHO, Asimov’s Foundation Series is a classic because of Psychohistory. His robot stories because he championed the robot that follows rational rules. That his style is non-existent and his characters are a nanometer thick is irrelevant from an SF perspective. In the same way that the fact that Joyce couldn’t write himself out of a paper bag seems to be irrelevant in his genre.

I get these books from Audible.com - although MP3 and other digital sources for books are becoming widely available. Most libraries now offer digital downloadable audio books. Audible and MP3 work with iPods. Library services require a Windows PlayForSure compatible player.

I don’t like parallel universe stories either, and was disappointed when Old Man’s War used that gimmick. When absolutely anything can happen it ruins the story. I’m currently listening to The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Heinlein, a book in his multiverse series, and it annoys me no end. Characters facing believable problems is what makes for a good story.

The reason why I loved Timescape so much was because of its subtle nature. It felt real and scientific. Too often, especially in the movies, science fiction has to have super heroes for characters.

I like going into books with no or low expectations and being surprised. I like books where I start reading and get enchanted. I want the line by line story to mesmerize me.

Jim

What intrigues me is the idea that there might be thousands of books out there that aren’t bestsellers, that I might love. Books that got no attention but would be perfect just for my tastes.

One thing I have discovered is to chase after the non science fiction bestsellers. When I was young I focused on science fiction, but in the last ten years I’ve discovered reading outside of the genre. And although it might sound lowbrow, I have found sales is a good indicator. Statistically, the more people that like a book the higher the chance I will too.

By the way, were your three all time favorites the books you mentioned, 1984, Hyperion and The Man Who Fell to Earth? That is a rather unique bunch. I’ve been wishing that Hyperion would come out on unabridged audio. I love listening to my favorite books read by a great reader.

I wished I had started out being a slow careful reader like yourself. It’s only until I started listening to audio books that I saw the value of that kind of reading. I have to force myself to slow down and enjoy the trip now when I read. I’m learning.

Jim

Most people do not reread books. Some booksworms like myself do, but they don’t spend a lot of time rereading book. However, it is a fun experiment. There are a number of experiments you can try.

First, read a book and wait a month and read it again. This can show you how well you read and how well you remember. Speed readers tend to skip over a lot, and when they reread they discover surprising tidbits which make them think, wow, I didn’t remember reading this, why don’t I remember.

Second, and better experiment is to reread a favorite book from teen years when you are in your twenties and then thirties, forties, fifties, etc. This will show how you have changed, if you do change. And like I said, some people don’t. However, most people mature and so you will still learn from the experiment. I radically changed, so I now often reject books I onced loved. I’d like to think this is because I’ve gotten smarter, and I’ve read many more books which happened to be better books, but it might be because I’ve changed a lot.

Third, wait 25 or 50 years and reread favorite books from adolescent years and see just how much you remember and whether you remembered things right. The mind can be very tricky.

When I was young I used to buy books by the bag and got thousands ahead. I’m still about a thousand ahead now. I wished I didn’t do this, but it’s a consistent habit of mine. I’m not a collector, but I might have a bit of that gene, or else I have the library gene.

1984 will probably remain a classic for a long time. I really loved Hyperion too and wished the sequels were its equal. And books like the Walter Tevis one will remain an underground favorite but may never achieve top popularity.

There are two issues here. The books you love are due to personal reasons. The books that become classics are due to many complex causes and that’s a fascinating study.

The reason I built those lists was to develop a system that could identify books that last. Some of them won’t, but many will. Don’t get too sad yet. The question is are you getting a good rounded education about science fiction?

If you are the kind of person who has changed you will find some of those thousands of books will be bad purchases. But so what, buying books is fun. Also, you need to recognize that buying books is a different love than reading books.

By the way, since you love science fiction so much, do you want to write science fiction?

Jim

You’re right, kids do keep on reading. What I’m discovering is they are reading stuff off my radar. I go to Amazon and start clicking around on people’s book lists and recommendations and I discover all kinds of books kids are excited about. Harry Potter is the huge tip of a very large iceberg. Most of what kids are reading aren’t famous books that get a lot of attention, but authors, series and new genres that the kids know about and recommend among themselves. I wish I had some good examples, but my memory is failing me at the moment. I keep hoping to find time to pursue some of those books, and other genres like graphic novels and manga.

It would be great to be able to track that new stuff. I think most of the books on my Classics list are fading from the young people’s radar. Like you said, some books, Ender’s Game and Dune remain popular, but damn few others.

I think the young generation likes to discover its own new stuff and not dig around for classics. My Classics list is really exciting stuff that the baby boomers were discovering decades ago and most of those books won’t become real classics.

Jim

I think kids will go on reading for pleasure as long as writers and publishers put out books kids find interesting, not things that adults think kids should read. Harry Potter books have proven that a book can outsell video games and movies. I work in a library and I see kids as young as 8 or 9 eager to read these massive novels. Graphic novels are another category that show kids have no prejudice against the printed page. (And of course a lot of manga has a science fiction theme.) It seems to me that science fiction works that focus on the wow factor of technology quickly dates, while works that have a good storyline, character development, etc., stays relevant longer and is likelier to be read decades after they were first published. Flowers for Algernon, Ender’s Game, Dune, I see junior high age boys today reading these (of course, sometimes it’s because it’s required for an English class). And a work that withstands the test of decades or centuries is always a rarity and not necessarily typical or representative of most works of their time. The authors of these works that survive the test of time, such as Austen or Dickens, often had unusual talent in story-telling and writing. Most fiction of the 19th century did not stand the test of time, just as most fiction from the 20th century is forgottten today already. How many works from the 1970s or 1980s of any genre are commonly read in 2007? Most books, not just science fiction works, go out of date pretty quickly.

I still find these lists and your essays great reading guides. Thanks for all your work.