Thoughts on The List

[Jeff, Spectatus Ad Astra!]

I have my reading list. Right now, I'm sticking with the Hugos. Later, if there's time, I'll dip into the Nebulas.
Hold on a sec. (adds a dollop of Crown Royal to his coffee)
Now that I have my task set before me, I'm committed to it come hell or high water. Part of the trouble is, sometimes I don't remember if I've read a book or not. Such was the case with the one that started it all, The Demolished Man.
Once I started it, I realized that I had indeed read it before, but Bester's writing style drew me in (again) and I read the whole thing again, with relish.
By the way, Walter Koenig's character in Babylon 5 was named in homage after Alfred Bester.
Anyways, I so enjoyed Bester's style that now I'm motivated to read his other novel, The Stars My Destination, sidetracking me yet again off The List.
But not every Hugo novel I read is going to be an absolute joy. Such was the case with James Blish's A Case of Conscience. In fact, I downright hated it, for reasons I explain in my review.
Another one I'm not particularly enjoying is my current read, The Man in the High Castle. I'm finding it a dreary read, but I'm hoping there's a payoff by the end.
But I've chosen this assignment of my own volition, and I'm determined to see it through.
On a lighter note, there's also unexpected jewels, such as Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Came at me out of nowhere, and I was thoroughly pleased.
And my first encounter with Connie Willis came with Doomsday Book, and I have to tell you, that novel rocked my world. I'm patiently waiting to read her next novel on my list, and it may turn out that I have a new favorite female author.

[Kateblue]

If you loved Doomsday Book, I can't wait for your reaction to To Say Nothing of the Dog One of my favs!

[Jeff, Spectatus Ad Astra!]

One of the great things about science fiction is that often the author cites other classics in the story. For example, the frequent Shakespearean references in Star Trek. And Heinlein got me interested in Mark Twain. And there's one passage in Heinlein's The Number of the Beast that's a virtual Who's Who of science fiction classics.
I've read that the inspiration for "To Say Nothing of The Dog" was Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat. And that book was referenced by one of the most respected S-F authors of all time, in Arthur C. Clarke's chilling short story All the Time in the World.

[Jeff, Spectatus Ad Astra!]

I knew of Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as a movie way back in grade school, and as a child the only thing that made an impression on me was "wow, people with flamethrowers burning books. Cool!" And there were people walking around who memorized entire novels. That's about all I remembered.
But as part of my Hugo Project, I re-read it a few years ago as an adult, and it made an even bigger impression on me, and a more profound one.
In fact, I was somewhat chilled at how accurately Mr. Bradbury foresaw the condition of today's society in many significant ways, and from way back in 1953.
Heinlein had the same gift, and many of the things he wrote about have come to pass. See "The Crazy Years," among others.
But I was looking at the front leaf of my copy of "451" to find out which edition it is, and I noticed that an edition has been published, in asbestos. What a fine joke!
But on the topic of books being preserved only in the memories of people, which book would you take onto yourself to be memorized and cherished and passed on, perhaps to your children?
I'm pretty sure I would never be capable to actually do it, but the book I would choose is The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.
A novel that I might actually be able to memorize would be Heinlein's Have Space Suit—Will Travel, or maybe Larry Niven's Ringworld.

[Jeff, Spectatus Ad Astra!]

In my opinion, nobody builds characters better than C.J. Cherryh. Her first Hugo novel, Downbelow Station, introduced me to one of my favorite characters ever, Signy Mallory, captain of the ECS Norway. Make no mistake, Mallory is a hard and brutal person and not someone you'd likely want to hang out and have a beer with, but the loyalty she engenders in her crew is beyond compare.
Cherryh's other Hugo winner, Cyteen, is one of the most difficult books I have ever read. If you have not yet started this book, it's quite possible that you will feel the same way, and you may even become discouraged.
I urge you sincerely, stick with it. Persevere. Keep going. I will guarantee, right here and now in writing, that the effort will be worth it.
C.J. Cherryh crafts a tale that is one of the richest, and most complex, in all science fiction. In fact, Locus has it as one of the greatest S-F novels ever written. Others have labeled it as a work of sheer genius. All I know is, it stayed with me long after I closed the final page.
Higher praise an author cannot expect (and there's a sequel to it, called Regenesis, which I have not yet read).
And C.J.'s not finished. Her The Faded Sun Trilogy, although it didn't win a Hugo, is equally powerful, and left a lasting impression on me as well.
And her Hellburner is in my Top Ten of all time.
...
As you may have gathered, C.J. Cherryh is quite possibly my second favorite author, right behind the Grand Master Robert A. Heinlein. I even named my cat after her.
A good place to start to get to know C.J. Cherryh is with her Alliance-Union series:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5654...
There are some shorter, more manageable novels there that aren't so difficult to read, but they are all worthwhile and I recommend them all.
And, Cherryh is not limited to hard science fiction. She's also equally competent in the fantasy realm, of which I have read The Paladin and found it to be an excellent read.

[Kateblue]

Hi. I guess I am not getting notices when you post.

I read CJ years ago and did not like it, but I was a kid who read heinlein at that point, so I will be trying again.

re memorizing books, I can't memorize anything so no way, but supposing I could, Memory, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Or moon is a harsh mistress