The results of the NPR Science Fiction and Fantasy survey, as nominated by 60,000 participants and the NPR Science Fiction and Fantasy Panel.
Note: Many of these books are appropriate for late teens and young adults.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 9-12
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
The Dune Chronicles
by Frank Herbert
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series
by George R. R. Martin
1984
by George Orwell
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 9-12
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 7-8
The Foundation Trilogy
by Isaac Asimov
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Also: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 9-12
American Gods
by Neil Gaiman
The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
The Wheel Of Time Series
by Robert Jordan
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Also: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 9-12
Neuromancer
by William Gibson
Watchmen
by Alan Moore
I, Robot
by Isaac Asimov
Stranger In A Strange Land
by Robert Heinlein
The Kingkiller Chronicles
by Patrick Rothfuss
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Also: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 7-8
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
The Dark Tower Series
by Stephen King
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
The Stand
by Stephen King
Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson
The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
Cat's Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut
The Sandman Series
by Neil Gaiman
A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
Starship Troopers
by Robert Heinlein
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Also: Amazon's 100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime
Dragonflight
by Anne McCaffrey
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
by Robert Heinlein
A Canticle For Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller
The Time Machine
by H.G. Wells
20,000 Leagues under the Sea
by Jules Verne
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 7-8
Flowers For Algernon
by Daniel Keys
The War of the Worlds
by H. G. Wells
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 7-8
The Chronicles Of Amber
by Roger Zelazny
The Belgariad
by David Eddings
The Mists Of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mistborn Series
by Brandon Sanderson
Ringworld
by Larry Niven
The Left Hand Of Darkness
by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Silmarillion
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Once and Future King
by T.H. White
Also: Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Grades 9-12
Neverwhere
by Neil Gaiman
Childhood's End
by Arthur C. Clarke
Contact
by Carl Sagan
The Hyperion Cantos
by Dan Simmons
Stardust
by Neil Gaiman
Cryptonomicon
by Neal Stephenson
World War Z
by Max Brooks
The Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle
The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman
Small Gods
by Terry Pratchett
The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever
by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Vorkosigan Saga
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Going Postal
by Terry Pratchett
The Mote In God's Eye
by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
The Sword Of Truth
by Terry Goodkind
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
The Riftwar Saga
by Raymond E. Feist
The Shannara Trilogy
by Terry Brooks
The Conan The Barbarian Series
by R.E. Howard
The Farseer Trilogy
by Robin Hobb
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
The Way Of Kings
by Brandon Sanderson
A Journey To The Center Of The Earth
by Jules Verne
The Legend Of Drizzt Series
by R.A. Salvatore
Old Man's War
by John Scalzi
The Diamond Age
by Neil Stephenson
Rendezvous With Rama
by Arthur C. Clarke
The Kushiel's Legacy Series
by Jacqueline Carey
The Dispossessed
by Ursula K. LeGuin
Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury
Wicked
by Gregory Maguire
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series
by Steven Erikson
The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde
The Culture Series
by Iain M. Banks
The Crystal Cave
by Mary Stewart
Anathem
by Neal Stephenson
The Codex Alera Series
by Jim Butcher
The Book Of The New Sun
by Gene Wolfe
The Thrawn Trilogy
by Timothy Zahn
The Outlander Series
by Diana Gabaldan
The Elric Saga
by Michael Moorcock
The Illustrated Man
by Ray Bradbury
Sunshine
by Robin McKinley
A Fire Upon The Deep
by Vernor Vinge
The Caves Of Steel
by Isaac Asimov
The Mars Trilogy
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Lucifer's Hammer
by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
Perdido Street Station
by China Mieville
The Xanth Series
by Piers Anthony
The Space Trilogy
by C.S. Lewis