Dwight Silverman has a reading list of novels for geeks that you might like. The criteria for making the list is a bit elastic – from affecting the geek culture and language (the Hitchhiker’s Guide trilogy) to being about a geek in some fashion (The Catcher In The Rye) to being about technology and its effects on society (Neuromancer), among other things – but they all fit. As with most lists of Books You Should Have Read, I haven’t read most of them (though I have read the four-(should have been five)-book Asimov trilogy that descends from I, Robot); maybe this one time I’ll try to do something about that. I draw the line at the Tolkien stuff, however – I tried, I really did, to read The Hobbit a few years ago, and failed miserably before the end of chapter two.
Anyway, if nothing else, this should be some good debate fodder. And if you want more, check out his earlier list of 15 geek movies to see before you die, which has more stuff I’ve watched than the book list has stuff I’ve read. Check ’em out.
Most of these lists leave me looking like the uncultured fool that I am, but, amazingly, I have read all but one of these books, House of Leaves. (and now I’ll be looking for it) Thanks!