I suspect that everyone has a different list of books and authors that should be read, either for education or to be a cultured member of society. Since I learned to read, my chief interest has been in science fiction and fantasy, often to the exclusion of subjects I was supposed to learn.
Here, in no particular order is a partial list of the books and/or authors whose effect on me has been remembered and why:
Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein - both of these authors were among the first and most memorable of my teenaged years. They "hooked" me on science fiction. By the way, most science fiction fans refer to it as "SF", not "sci-fi".
William Shakespeare - He was required reading and showed me the power of words.
David Drake - took classic military history, turned it into SF or fantasy and gave it personality. Besides, I like military science fiction.
Barbara Rogan - has an incredible feel for character and situation. Her range is large, from unabashed romance to tense mystery thrillers. Each book has the power of a whirlpool to suck the reader inextricably into the story.
Charles de Lint - has grabbed my imagination by both eyes and tossed into worlds.
Mercedes Lackey - got my attention first with her books about dragons that had been genetically made to help people solve a problem on a forgotten colony world. Her other stories, romances and fantasies are beautifully told and engaging.
Patricia McKillip - can add humor into the mix when it doesn't seem possible. She goes from dreamy to taut easily.
Leon Tolstoy - When I was forced to read "Anna Karenina", I thought it dull. But as I got a little older, his work came back to my attention, primarily through the medium of a copy of "War and Peace" delivered by the Red Cross when I was in Vietnam. Suddenly, he became the person who could give humanity to a huge, alien country.
Neil Gaiman - his fantasy just blew me away. His writing is awesome and brilliantly researched.
Diana Gabaldon - has the ability to drag me into the 18th century without a minute's hesitation.
Glen Cook - was the first published author with whom I ever spoke. He was kind and encouraging to a novice. His stories, both fantastic mysteries and military science fiction have a grittiness that seems real to this veteran.
Lois McMaster Bujold - first came to my attention through her military SF. But her fantasies are engrossing.
Will Shetterly - wrote one of the best novels of magic realism I ever read. It was so intriguing that I had trouble putting it down.
Diana Wynne Jones - has the ability to take an everyday situation and make it magical or vice versa.
Rick Riordan - has written novels in which the old gods are still here and doing many of the same things they did in classical times, including fighting the return of the Titans. He is an excellent story teller with just the right amount of humor and irreverence.
Sharon Shinn - writes fantasy that pulls me into the story and usually has a pleasing ending.
P. G. Wodehouse - is perhaps the most gentle and amusing of all writers of the English language. His stories of a slightly bygone era always make me laugh.
Thorne Smith - wrote too few novels. His fantasies about everyday life during prohibition always contain a touch of magic that just might happen. Certainly after reading "Nightlife of the Gods," I never approached a woodland path without a slight hope of something extraordinary.
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It's getting late. I'll try to add some more later.
