Sci-fi's great books
The NY Times Book Review has a new science fiction column. Its writer, David Itzkoff, got a rare chance to list his favorite books in the Times--how many people have done that? Everything on his list that I've read (um, three books) I absolutely agree with.
From his column last Sunday:
...what truly shames me is that I cannot turn to any [fellow subway riders], or to my friends, or to you, and say: Whether you read books because you have a genuine, lifelong passion for literature or because a feisty woman in Chicago tells you to — you should pick up this new work of science fiction I just finished reading, because you will enjoy it as much as I did.Some of the less likely choices on his all-time best list:
- The Crying of Lot 49 (1965) By THOMAS PYNCHON
Itzkoff says it's sci-fi. - Looking for Jake (2005) By CHINA MIÉVILLE
Hot young socialist author. - Gun, With Occasional Music: A Novel (1994) By JONATHAN LETHEM
It seems he's quite the sci-fi dork. - A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) By WALTER M. MILLER JR.
Perhaps the worst title ever.

