Must-Read
Books About Books, Writers, and the People Who Read Them
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Microserfs as the working-life novel about people who make things. Plus the canonical anthologies. For readers who want their reading to be about reading.
6 books on this list.
The Encyclopedia of Science Fictionby John Clute
5.0“The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute review. The canonical SF reference work edited by Clute, Peter Nicholls, and David Langford. The right starting point for serious genre study.”
The Encyclopedia of Fantasyby John Grant
5.0“The Encyclopedia of Fantasy edited by John Clute and John Grant 1997 review. The 1,049-page critical reference work that defined how the field thinks about itself.”
Microserfsby Douglas Coupland
5.0“Microserfs by Douglas Coupland review. The 1995 novel about Microsoft programmers starting a Bay Area startup. The defining Silicon Valley novel of its decade.”
Wizards, Inc.by Orson Scott Card
3.0“Wizards, Inc. edited by Orson Scott Card 2007 review. A 13-story anthology of urban-fantasy and corporate-wizardry stories featuring Esther Friesner, Karen Joy Fowler, Lawrence Watt-Evans, and Mark Wandrey.”
A Romance of the Equator: The Best Fantasy Stories of Brian W. Aldissby Brian W. Aldiss
4.0“A Romance of the Equator by Brian W. Aldiss 1989 review. The Gollancz best-of fantasy collection from one of the most underrated short-fiction careers in British SF.”
The Chains That You Refuseby Elizabeth Bear
4.0“The Chains That You Refuse by Elizabeth Bear 2006 review. The first collection of short fiction from a Hugo-and-Campbell-winning writer at her most generous.”