J Pod: You’re right, there are some very silly entries on that Time book list, especially Judy Blume. But you had prepared me for something much worse than what Time has put together. On a first glance, the list includes lots of worthies and it’s diverse in some of the right ways — by which I mean it pays due attention to important genre fiction, such as Neuromancer by William Gibson and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I’m not sure Stephenson deserves to be there, but I’m open to the case and anyway it’s a very good book. (But why didn’t Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 make the cut?) It probably should stop surprising me to see The Lord of the Rings on lists like this one, but I do remember a time when it was sneered at much more than it is now (even if it still isn’t taught in English departments) and I still feel grateful when it receives recognition. Also, I was pleased to see C.S. Lewis and no Philip Pullman.

At any rate, it’s a much better list than the Nobel Prize in lit committee might have assembled.