Because I am a Lemming . . .

I will imitate Paul Jessup, in what looks like the latest meme, and list some of my favorite books . . . note that the qualifier is favorite, as in it's matter of taste needing no justification.

The Hobbit - John Tolkien. The book that started it all for me. My dad got me a paperback of The Hobbit when I was six or seven, the awful Ballantine cover with the fruit tree and emus, and I must have read it at least a hundred times since.

The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King - John Tolkien. Umm, what do I need to say?

A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin. Especially LHoD, perhaps the best speculative fiction ever written.

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco. The wonders of the re-imagined past.

A Singular Man - J.P. Donleavy and Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis. Smart, funny and modern writing.

Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice - James Cabell. One of the classics, but still funnay as hell and still irreverent even in today's jaded sensibilities.

Dune - Frank Herbert. Hmm, debated about this one because of the self-parody that the franchise has become, but the sheer breadth of Herbert's original imagination was and is breath-taking.