Holy Marconi but it's cold out there!  And not Florida cold.  This is cold by objective statements, cold that would make you people north of the Mason Dixon line go back in for your woolly mittens.  I almost did, but then I remembered I don't have wooly mittens.

Getting out of bed this morning was a Triumph of Will, I'm telling ya.  Mind over matter and all that jazz.  Actually, if I'd known my fingers would be frozen to the steering wheel all the way to work I don't think I would have made it.  Even now I can feel that tingling sensation in them as warm blood rushes back through them.

I remain optimistic, however.  The sky is clear and the sun is coming up per its usual schedule.  And in Florida, when the sun is shining, it's not going to stay cold for long.  At least, that's my rule of thumb.  I know in more wintery climes that distant orb seems to have little impact on you, but we live close to its tropical fire.

OK, I need green tea like Hootie needed The Blowfish, so I'm out.

I told ruthette  that if she'd draw me up a list of good literary classics I'd reciprocate with a list of science fiction classics. The list that follows is my attempt to do that.

This is a tricky sort of thing to accomplish, and this list is by no means comprehensive. First of all, it's basically limited to books I have actually read with only one or two exceptions. Secondly, if I did read it, I had to have enjoyed it. Third, I've not included much "literary" science fiction. 1984 is considered SF and usually makes these lists, but it's honestly literary in execution and intent, so I've left it out.

Then of course there's the thorny problem of the kind of sci-fi that a geek would consider a classic versus the kind that everyone ELSE would consider a classic. A geek would tell you that Iain M. Banks' Excession is gee-whiz cool or that you just HAVE to read the hard sci-fi classic Mission of Gravity, but those are books that are classics on technical rather than literary merits and might be uninteresting or even impenetrable to a casual reader. So I've left those out.

On the flip-side, some "classics of sci-fi" are just fun, probably way too fun to pass in polite company. Robert A. Heinlein and Douglas Adams are two authors who would probably fall into this category. But you know what? I have nothing against FUN, so I've left them in.

So, here is my completely arbitrary yet totally definitive list of THE CLASSICS OF SCIENCE FICTION! (tm)

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