Some books I've read.

lerite posted a list of some great books, so I'm following suit.

In no particular priority, with no more than one book by a single author included, here are ten of the best books that I've ever read. I fanned across the various genres that I enjoy instead of focusing entirely on my "default" genres (which are, indubitably, science fiction and fantasy!)

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly
Watchers, Dean Koontz
Honest Illusions, Nora Roberts
Firestarter, Stephen King
Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman
Steel Beach, John Varley
The Snow Queen, Joan Vinge
House of Zeor, Jacqueline Lichtenberg

I'm not sure that I can really call this a "top ten" list in terms of quality. I think, instead, that it's a list of ten great starting places, or maybe just ten books that I recommend to the world. All of these are forerunner books for me -- the first books I read that caused me to consider the merits of a genre or an author. Each of these is the first book of an excellent series or a stand-alone novel that shows off the author's best traits. (The exception to that rule is Reaper Man, but starting at the beginning of Terry Pratchett's Discworld is a poor idea, since the first book was pretty awful, and Reaper Man is readable and interesting on its own.)

I have indubitably forgotten books that I would want to include if I had thought of them. I'll think of them later.

On a side note, C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy is amazing, and I recommend it very highly. (Gerald Tarrant is one of my favorite characters of all time.) With that said, I feel that it really takes all three books to appreciate the series. Ditto for Lindsey Davis's Falco novels and the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child collaborations, where I love the accumulated effect of the series, but don't feel inclined to praise any individual novel above the others.

The interior monologue.

"I'm not buying that unless it has a squishy brain! I want the squishy brain!"

The thing is, some people reading this will think, "Huh?" but others will think, "How typical...."

Scarier still, a few of you will know what I'm talking about!