I read a lot and have kept somewhat meticulous notes about that reading since the early 1990s. This page is where I collect the books and stories that I’m the most fond of, listed by year of publication.

1964

“The Rule of Names,” Ursula K. Le Guin (from Fantastic, Apr 1964)

1965

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Philip K. Dick (Doubleday)

1966

“Light of Other Days,” Bob Shaw (from Analog, Aug 1966)

1967

“Baby, You Were Great,” Kate Wilhelm (from Orbit 2, ed. Damon Knight)

The Past Through Tomorrow, Robert A. Heinlein (Putnam)

1968

“The Other Death,” Jorge Luis Borges & Norman Thomas di Giovanni (translator) (from The New Yorker, 2 Nov 1968)

Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner (Doubleday)

1969

“Along the Scenic Route,” Harlan Ellison (from Adam, Aug 1969)

Ubik, Philip K. Dick (Doubleday)

1970

“Ibn Hakkan al-Bokhari, Dead in His Labyrinth,” Jorge Luis Borges & Norman Thomas di Giovanni (translator) (from The New Yorker, 25 Apr 1970)

Fifth Business, Robertson Davies (Viking)

1971

“Song from a Forgotten Hill,” Glen Cook (from Clarion, ed. Robin Scott Wilson)

1972

“When It Changed,” Joanna Russ (from Again, Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison)

“The Word for World is Forest,” Ursula K. Le Guin (from Again, Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison)

The Sheep Look Up, John Brunner (Harper & Row)

1973

“Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand,” Vonda N. McIntyre (from Analog, Oct 1973)

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” Ursula K. Le Guin (from New Dimensions 3, ed. Robert Silverberg)

The Princess Bride, William Goldman (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)

1974

“Tin Soldier,” Joan D. Vinge (from Orbit 14, ed. Damon Knight)

Quin’s Shanghai Circus, Edward Whittemore

1975

The Shockwave Rider, John Brunner (Harper & Row)

Women of Wonder, edited by Pamela Sargent (Vintage Books)

1976

“Mary Margaret Road-Grader,” Howard Waldrop (from Orbit 18, ed. Damon Knight)

1977

“The Screwfly Solution,” James Tiptree, Jr. (from Analog, Jun 1977)

Lord Foul’s Bane, Stephen R. Donaldson (Nelson Doubleday)

1978

“We Who Stole the Dream,” James Tiptree, Jr. (from Stellar #4, ed. Judy-Lynn del Rey)

The Persistence of Vision, John Varley (The Dial Press)

The Last Good Kiss, James Crumley (Random House)

1979

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

1980

“Our Lady of the Sauropods,” Robert Silverberg (from Omni, Sep 1980)

The Land of Laughs, Jonathan Carroll (The Viking Press)

The Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe (Simon & Schuster)

1981

The Claw of the Conciliator, Gene Wolfe (Timescape Books)

1982

“Spider Rose,” Bruce Sterling (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aug 1982)

1983

“Cicada Queen,” Bruce Sterling (from Universe 13, ed. Terry Carr)

“Blood Music,” Greg Bear (from Analog, Jun 1983)

The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers (Ace Books)

1984

“Bloodchild,” Octavia E. Butler (from Asimov’s, Jun 1984)

“Fears,” Pamela Sargent (from Light Years and Dark, ed. Michael Bishop)

Neuromancer, William Gibson (Ace Books)

1985

“Roadside Rescue,” Pat Cadigan (from Omni, Jul 1985)

“The Only Neat Thing to Do,” James Tiptree, Jr. (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct 1985)

Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart (St. Martin’s Press)

1986

“The Beautiful and the Sublime,” Bruce Sterling (from Asimov’s, Jun 1986)

Iron and Silk, Mark Salzman (Random House)

1987

“Rachel in Love,” Pat Murphy (from Asimov’s, Ap 1987)

Replay, Ken Grimwood (Arbor House)

Bones of the Moon, Jonathan Carroll (Century)

Espedair Street, Iain Banks (Macmillan UK)

The Commitments, Roddy Doyle (King Farouk)

1988

“Night They Missed the Horror Show,” Joe R. Lansdale (from Silver Screen, ed. David J. Schow)

The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks (Macmillan UK)

Blue Heaven, Joe Keenan (Penguin Books)

The Killing Joke, Alan Moore & Brian Bolland (Titan Books)

1989

A Child Across the Sky, Jonathan Carroll (Legend/Century)

Little Boxes of Bewilderment, Jack Ritchie (St. Martin’s Press)

1990

“Learning to Be Me,” Greg Egan (from Interzone, Jul 1990)

Possession: A Romance, A.S. Byatt (Chatto & Windus)

1991

“They’re Made Out of Meat,” Terry Bisson (from Omni, Apr 1991)

The Gold Bug Variations, Richard Powers (William Morrow)

City of Truth, James Morrow (Legend/Century)

1992

“Even the Queen,” Connie Willis (from Asimov’s, Apr 1992)

The Crow Road, Iain Banks (Scribner UK)

Small Gods, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz)

1993

“Crash Cart,” Nancy Holder (from Cemetery Dance, Fall 1993)

Glimpses, Lewis Shiner (William Morrow)

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud (Tundra Publishing)

1994

Impossible Things, Connie Willis (Bantam Spectra)

From the Teeth of Angels, Jonathan Carroll (HarperCollins UK)

1995

“Think Like a Dinosaur,” James Patrick Kelly (from Asimov’s, Jun 1995)

Bloodchild and Other Stories, Octavia E. Butler (Four Walls Eight Windows)

Requiem, Graham Joyce (Michael Joseph)

1996

“The Flowers of Aulit Prison,” Nancy Kress (from Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 1996)

The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie (Soho Press)

Bellwether, Connie Willis (Bantam Spectra)

1997

“Stephen Sondheim, The Art of the Musical” (from The Paris Review #142)

“Heart of Whitenesse,” Howard Waldrop (from New Worlds, ed. David Garnett)

1998

Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty, Richard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson & Ben Elton (Michael Joseph)

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, Anne Fadiman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

1999

“The Grammarian’s Five Daughters,” Eleanor Arnason (from Realms of Fantasy, Jun 1999)

Say Goodbye: The Laurie Moss Story, Lewis Shiner (St. Martin’s Press)

2000

“Regenesis,” Cynthia Ward (from Nature, 13 Apr 2000)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon (Random House)

2001

Carter Beats the Devil, Glen David Gold (Hyperion Books)

2002

“‘Hello,’ said the Stick,” Michael Swanwick (from Analog, Mar 2002)

2003

 

2004

“Flat Diane,” Daniel Abraham (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct-Nov 2004)

2005

“A Modest Proposal,” Vonda N. McIntyre (from Nature, 3 Mar 2005)

“Triceratops Summer,” Michael Swanwick (from Amazon.com, 19 Aug 2005)

2006

“Followed,” Will McIntosh (from Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #18)

2007

“Distant Replay,” Mike Resnick (from Asimov’s, Apr-May 2007)

“The Uncommon Reader,” Alan Bennett (from London Review of Books, 8 Mar 2007)

2008

“Shoggoths in Bloom,” Elizabeth Bear (from Asimov’s, Mar 2008)

“InterGalactic Interview with James Morrow” (from Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, #7)

2009

“Bridesicle,” Will McIntosh (from Asimov’s, Jan 2009)

This is Not a Game, Walter Jon Williams (Orbit)

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate)

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba (William Morrow)