Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.

Pop Culture, Science Fiction

What or who defines ‘essential’ reads?

The New Yorker had short article looking at seven fantasy books you might read after finishing off the well-known staples of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. You can find the list at Seven Essential Fantasy Reads: Going to Second Base: The Book Bench : The New Yorker. (As an aside, I think I’ve read all of these, apart from “The Name of the Wind” which I’ll go an hunt down).

Setting up a ‘definitive’ list of books or an anthology can be a fraught process though. For example, see the recent reaction to ‘The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing Science Fiction’ (see also: Making Lists: Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color).