If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you're probably aware that one of my interests is science fiction. Here are the books that I consider to be the best works of that genre:
A Canticle for Leibowitz -- This may well be the greatest work of sci-fi ever written. It's quite a challenge to read, and few people will be able to understand everything in it. (It helps if you are fluent in Latin, have a great familiarity with Catholicism, and know something about the history of technological innovation.) It's elegantly written and definitely not dumbed down. The sequel is not as good.
Stranger in a Strange Land -- Heinlein really knows how to write. Everyone who reads him has a particular favorite. This one is mine. People who read him for the first time are often offended by what they perceive to be the ideas he espouses, but these ideas change from book to book. Stranger in a Strange Land was published in 1959 and may be the most left-wing work of mainstream sci-fi ever produced. (Some people even argue that this book inspired the sixties.) Yet that same year he also published Starship Troopers (Yes, it was a book before it became a film.) And you don't get more right-wing than that!
Childhood's End -- The first chapter of this book has had a tremendous influence on sci-fi in the movies and on TV. I'm sure you've seen the scenario; flying saucers suddenly appear out of nowhere, one over each major city on earth. It remains unclear for a long time whether or not the aliens are hostile, even after contact has taken place. Independence Day, Signs, Earth Final Conflict, V, and several episodes of the New Outer Limits begin this way, but Arthur C. Clarke did it first.
The Clan of the Cave Bear. Okay, this is only science fiction in its loosest sense, but it's an excellent read. I really like the portrayal of the neanderthals. Instead of following the stereotype that portrays them as less evolved dumb brutes, Jean M. Auel casts them as simply different from Cromagnons (us). Their brains work differently, and they have talents that go far beyond the capabilities of modern humans. It's too bad that each subsequent book in the series is progressively worse than the one before it.
The Harvest -- Robert Charles Wilson is another author who really knows how to write. His greatest strength is his ability to develop compelling characters. Unfortunately, the overall storyline often suffers from some underlying flaw of logic or just the sense that there are things that are never made clear. The Harvest suffers from none of these weaknesses.
I wish I could make this a top 10 list (and of course, I could if I were to include multiple books by Heinlein, Clarke, and Wilson). But so far these are the only books I have found that I can unequivocally say belong on this list. I left out H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, because even though they wrote groundbreaking classics, their books are just not as enjoyable to today's audience (not that that in any way diminishes their accomplishments). Dune is often considered a classic, but I've been so put off by the movies and miniseries that I have to confess that I've never been able to bring myself to read it, even though everyone says the movies never did it justice. Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov are good writers and were very prolific, but I've never read anything by either one which struck me as anything more than good. A couple years ago I read the entire Foundation saga, every single volume. (I needn't have bothered.) If you want to check out a really good multi-volume work, try David Brin's Uplift Series. This is the only one I know of that actually gets better with each volume.
So it comes down to just five. Keep them on your bedside table, and the next time you get a long vacation or find yourself unemployed you'll have dozens (perhaps hundreds) of hours of guaranteed enjoyment.