Dragons & Jetpacks Ultimate Booklist Challenge - your nominations

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Okay, here's the first challenge I'm going to create for the group! If you want to set a challenge for the group, you're more than welcome - check out the sticked 'Challenges!' topic on this sub-forum.

I want to create an 'ultimate booklist' for the group - you have Kirsty to thank for this idea - basically we can each pick a favourite science fiction and fantasy book that we think everyone should read. So everyone can nominate two books, one from each genre. Then we'll build up a big list, and when the challenge is posted at the end of the month (to give us time to build up the list) you can set a goal of how many of the books you want to read. When the challenge itself is posted, you'll be able to use a little counter so Goodreads can keep track of the books for you! But more on that later. For now, I want your favourite books, one in each genre! We should try and avoid duplicates. EDIT: The challenge is active, and can be viewed on the group homepage, or via this link.

Post last updated 19/12/2015.

You can use the list below, or view the group shelf.

- The Fellowship of the Ring & Hyperion (Rinn's picks)
- Nightside: The Long Sun & Titus Groan (John's picks)
- The Forever War & The War of the Flowers (Nic's picks)
- The Stone and the Flute & Rendezvous with Rama (Tonari's picks
- Ender's Game & The Way of Kings (Roger's picks)
- Elric of Melniboné & Red Mars (Mpauli's picks)
- Dragonsdawn & The Ill-Made Mute (Freya's picks)
- Redrobe & Magician (Paul's picks)
- The Black Prism & Leviathan Wakes (Douglas' picks)
- The Martian Chronicles (Kati's picks)
- The Forge of Darkness & Wool (Xara's picks)
- Foundation & The Eye of the World (Andreea's picks)
- Mistborn: The Final Empire & Watchmen (Kirsty's picks)
- The Hobbit & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Elizabeth's picks)
- American Gods & The Man Who Folded Himself (Wayland's picks)
- Dune (Adam's picks)
- The Crystal Shard & 1Q84 (Kevin's picks)
- Stardoc & Guards! Guards! (Soila's picks)
- Stardust & The Day of the Triffids (Richard's picks)
- Parasite & The Lies of Locke Lamora (Nara's picks)
- The Stars My Destination & Time of the Twins (Antonis' picks)
- Flowers for Algernon & Promise of Blood (Sequere me in tenebras' picks)
- Perdido Street Station & The Magicians' Guild (Abi's picks)
- The Earthsea Trilogy & The Dispossessed (Andreas' picks)
- Gardens of the Moon (Marc's pick)
- Tigana & The Road (Helen's picks)
- Tales of the Dying Earth: The Dying Earth/The Eyes of the Overworld/Cugel's Saga/Rhialto the Marvellous (Mreads' picks)
- Chasm City & The Last Unicorn (Noel's picks)
- Furies of Calderon & We Can Build You (Leanne's picks)
- Ack-Ack Macaque & The Great and Secret Show (Tom's picks)
- The Kedrigern Chronicles, Volume 1: The Domesticated Wizard & Tarzan of the Apes (Mary's picks)
- Something Wicked This Way Comes & Fahrenheit 451 (Paul's picks)
- The Godwhale & The True Game: Kings Blood Four/Necromancer Nine/Wizard's Eleven (Stephen's picks)
- The Martian & Wit'ch Fire (Lel's picks)
- A Natural History of Dragons & The Giver (Claire's picks)
- The Sword of Shannara (Rei's pick)
- Blood Song (Alexander's pick)
- Dandelion Wine & Dangerous Visions (Joan's picks)
- Low Town & Retribution Falls (Lancer's picks)
- The Name of the Wind & Ready Player One (Kimberley's picks)
- The Eyes of the Dragon & The King of Plagues (Melanie's picks)
- Kushiel's Dart & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch & The Quantum Thief (Dawn's picks)
- Daughter of the Forest & Grimspace (Shawnie's picks)
- Pawn of Prophecy & Stranger in a Strange Land (Andrew's picks)
- His Dark Materials (Sarah's pick)
- Poison Study & The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Audrey's picks)

LISTOPIA NO LONGER UPDATED. PLEASE REFER TO THIS LIST ONLY. This is because anyone can add to a Listopia list.

[John]

Cool challenge! Here are my picks:

Nightside: The Long Sun and Titus Groan

(For a series, I'm guessing it would probably be best to stick with the first book in the series, yes?)

[Nic, Wormhole Technician]

For Sci-Fi I'll go for The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, a great piece of military SF, and for Fantasy, The War Of The Flowers by Tad Williams. He's not for everyone, but i'm a huge fan and this is a great single volume work by him.

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

John wrote: "(For a series, I'm guessing it would probably be best to stick with the first book in the series, yes?)"

Yep, although if someone else nominated the first, you could nominate the second and so on! =) Hence why I've nominated Fellowship instead of LotR as one big volume.

[Tonari]

Good idea!

My picks:
The Stone and the Flute by Hans Bemmann, very much underrated fable-like fantasy book, and
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur Clarke (just read last month, great book).

[Roger, Knight Radiant]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Elric of Melniboné by Micahel Moorcock for Fantasy.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for SF.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey for SF

The Ill-Made Mute by Celia Dart-Thornton for Fantasy (I think this is a love or hate book)

[Paul]

Redrobe by Jon Courtenay Grimwood for SF
Magician by Raymond E. Feist for fantasy

[Douglas]

Since the group already read The Name of the Wind, I will skip that one even though that's likely my favorite fantasy. But for this...

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks for fantasy

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey for SF

[Kati]

What a great idea.

My sci-fi pick would be The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, for fantasy I'd have to go with The Fellowship of the Ring as well.

[Xara]

The Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson for fantasy

Wool by Hugh Howey for SF

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Kati wrote: "What a great idea.

My sci-fi pick would be The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, for fantasy I'd have to go with The Fellowship of the Ring as well."

As we've already got Fellowship on there, would you like to pick another fantasy book, or just leave it as it is? =)

[Andreea]

Hello, great idea :).
I would pick the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov for SF and the Wheel of time by Robert Jordan/B. Sanderson for fantasy. (I know, it's huge, but for me it's fantasy at its best)

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Andreea wrote: "Hello, great idea :).
I would pick the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov for SF and the Wheel of time by Robert Jordan/B. Sanderson for fantasy. (I know, it's huge, but for me it's fantasy at its b..."

I've just put the first book of each series, as we're listing individual books, not series =)

[Kirsty, Jedi Master]

Woohoo I'm glad people are embracing this idea!

As Eye of the World has been picked already, I'm going to go for The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson for my fantasy pick, and Watchmen by Alan Moore for my Sci-Fi pick :)

[Roger, Knight Radiant]

Freya wrote: "Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey for SF

I almost went with Dragonsong, that book really got me back into reading and my first Pern book. I picked it up without checking it out and just read it, then I devoured the rest of the series, kind of gave up on it after Todd took it over.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Agreed - not a Todd fangirl!

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

American Gods, Neil Gaiman

The Man Who Folded Himself, David Gerrold

[John]

Oh thank goodness someone chose Hitchhiker's Guide! I was starting to feel guilty for not picking it. Thanks Elizabeth :D

[Adam]

Definitely Dune for sci-fi

[Kevin]

My pick would have to be The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore and 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Unless it has to be the first book, Homeland, which to me is not the best place to start the Drizzt books. If that is the case, then I would like to switch my pick to be The Black Company by Glen Cook.

[Kevin]

A Listopia would be perfect for this.

[Paul]

Kevin wrote: "A Listopia would be perfect for this."

I would agree

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Yup, I will create a Listopia once it's all done =)

[Soila]

I'm going to go with lighter reading and pick Stardoc and Guards! Guards! (because it starts the storyline of my favourite character Sam Vimes and is a good place to start with Discworld).

[Richard]

While i am not a massive Neil Gaiman fan, I think his Stardust (Stardust) is excellent.
For SciFi I will go with a classic - The Day of the Triffids (Day of the Triffids) by John Wyndham.

Looking forward to this challenge - some excellent books have already been nominated.

[Nara]

I'd like to nominate Parasite for SF (this one's not such a classic, it came out this year- but scarily realistic. Quite a light read)

And seeing as though no one has nominated it, I'll go A Game of Thrones for fantasy :)- although I suspect a lot of people may have already read it.

[Antonis]

I see a lot of really good books have already been mentioned so I'm having trouble finding something else that would classify as favorite. But looking through my 5-star list, I see a couple that have not been mentioned and I would happily recommend and add to this list.

For fantasy: Time of the Twins, the first book in the Dragonlance Legends trilogy, my most favorite series in any Wizards setting/world.
For SF: The Stars My Destination is my only 5-star SF book that has not been already mentioned and a worthy read for such a challenge!

[Stuart]

Two random books off the top of my head -

SF - Flowers for Algernon
Fantasy - Promise of Blood or (if this has been suggested already) The Tattered Banner

[Abi]

ooh a couple of my favourites are already up there but I choose:

SF- Perdido Street Station
Fantasy - The Magicians' Guild

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

This is still open for nominations! =D

[Andreas]

Difficult. So many of my most beloved ones are already selected and Tolkien even twice.
I'll go for a double Le Guin:
Fantasy: The Earthsea Trilogy which should count as one book with only 478 pages.
SF: The Dispossessed - Hugo, Nebula and Locus in the same year is awesome, right?

[Nara]

Hey do you mind if I change my fantasy nomination? I recently read The Lies of Locke Lamora (because it was the dec fantasy pick) and thought it was absolutely incredible. It's literally my favourite book of the year :D

EVERYBODY SHOULD READ IT hahaha

[Nic, Wormhole Technician]

Andreas wrote: "Difficult. So many of my most beloved ones are already selected and Tolkien even twice.
I'll go for a double Le Guin:
Fantasy: The Earthsea Trilogy which should count as one book wit..."

I actually own the book as The Earthsea Quartet, including the fourth story, which is also a nice addition to the cycle so i recommend we include that in the list instead.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Rinn, regarding the challenge aspect of it - does it count if you have already read them? Or is it for a complete new and re-read of the list?

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Well, I'll make the Listopia which will be ALL the books.

Then there'll be the challenge, which is for books read next year - but you pick and choose which ones you want to read from that list. Basically it's a great long list of recommendations and you sort of make your own challenge from it. So whichever ones you want to read, you shelve under your challenge shelf e.g. ultimate-bookgroup-challenge or whatever you pick, and then anything on that shelf that you read in 2014 counts.

It's mostly about getting you to try and read these amazing books that other group members love and you haven't tried. If you're re-reading something from there, that's fine though, it'll still count if you put it on the right shelf!

[Andreas]

Nic wrote: "I actually own the book as The Earthsea Quartet, including the fourth story, which is also a nice addition to the cycle so i recommend we include that in the list instead."

Nic, I didn't choose the four-volumed omnibus intentionally: The fourth installation Tehanu feels quite different from the original Earthsea novels - it was published 20 years after those. And as a second issue, it would be quite long with its 691 pages.

I don't want to prevent someone reading all of the Earthsea novels. But those three novels take a special place in my reading memory as I've read them back in the 80s.

[Kirsty, Jedi Master]

What a list we've got!! :D

[John]

I'm so glad that 1Q84 made it on. And Day of the Triffids -- the list now has pretty much all of my favorites.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

It's very exciting and plenty on there that I haven't read! I am sure it will keep me going :)

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

This will be open for nominations indefinitely, but the challenge is now up.

[Marc]

I wasn't here when the initial selections were made but as it is open indefinitely could I add Steven Erikson - gardens of the moon

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Of course, added!

Anyone else want to add some books?

[Helen]

Can I add Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and The Road by Cormac McCarthy?

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Added!

[Mreads]

Hi, I'm new here.

Dune and Jack Vance - Tales of Dying Earth.

[Anne]

Hi, also new here. For Sci-Fi how about
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
and
The Ocean at the End of the Lane for Fantasy

[Noel]

Not sure if this list is still open--the challenge post said it would be open indefinitely, so.... If it is, I would nominate Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds and The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle to the list.

[Rinn, (Retired mod) Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Added! =D