Found via Ith:

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.

Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

Here's my list, which doesn't exactly match Ith's; I really, really loved Dune.:

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*

The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov*

Dune, Frank Herbert*

Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin*

Neuromancer, William Gibson

Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe

A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.*

The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov

Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras

Cities in Flight, James Blish

The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett

Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison

Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison

The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester

Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany

Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey*

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*

The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson*

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

Gateway, Frederik Pohl

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson

Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin

Little, Big, John Crowley

Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny

The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick

Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement

More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon

The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith

On the Beach, Nevil Shute

Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke*

Ringworld, Larry Niven*

Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys

The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien*

Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut

Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson

Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner

The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester*

Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*

Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock

The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks

Timescape, Gregory Benford

To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer*

=====================

One question: why is Dragonflight listed as a single book, while the entire First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant listed? Why not the Dragonflight/Dragonquest/White Dragon trilogy? Just curious.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:56 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Remember tying two cans together with a string and making a putrid, doesn't really work phone? Looks like some modern company thinks that that's a dandy idea. Minus the string, of course. Excerpt:

Who didn't have the old cup-and-string telephone when they were a kid? It was one of those things that everyone had to try out at least once to see if it really worked, and who wasn't excited when they found out it actually did? Well, that excitement may have faded over the years, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate some good old cup-and-string based gadgets today. Duncan Wilson's Cup Communicator brings that old-timey form of communication into the 21st century by cutting the string. The Communicator is basically a walkie-talkie shaped like a couple of cups with string hanging out. You tug the cord to turn it on, squeeze the cup to talk, bringing you back to the good old days. I'm not sure how often you use a walkie-talkie, but if it's more than never this would be a cool replacement for your boring black boxes. That is if they were for sale; this looks to be just a concept at the moment.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I can't understand how it works

Posted by: Rob at December 05, 2006 02:14 AM (wMSNf)

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Looks like a project that an old electronics hobbyist like me might enjoy, but probably not something for everyone. Excerpt:

Looking for a weekend project, or haven't found a music player that'll satisfy your inner creative geek? Well, meet MAKE's Daisy MP3 Player Kit, an open-source setup that'll play MP3 and WAV files all from one little chip board. Of course, this is a kit, not a full-fledged player, meaning Daisy comes in parts -- you'll have to give it a power source and a case should you want to actually use it in the real world. You can buy whole kit (the caboodle is extra) from MAKE or direct from its Oakland-based creator for $115

And here's a picture of what you'll be buyingbuilding.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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