Here’s a recommended list of fantasy and science fiction reading that my wife and I put together (last serious update around 2005, sigh). There are references down the left side.
Key:
F: Fantasy
SF: Science Fiction
*: Unqualified positive recommendation
/H: It’s funny too/humorous
#: Series position, if it matters
+: Five stars
Addison, Katherine
*F Goblin Emperor
Black, Holly
*F Valiant
*F Tithe
Bradbury, Ray
*F Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brin, David
*SF Earth
+*SF The Postman
*SF Startide Rising
*SF The Uplift War
Bujold, Lois McMaster
+*SF/H Warrior’s Apprentice
+*SF/H The Vor Game
*SF/H Border’s of Infinity
*SF/H Brothers In Arms
*SF/H Cetaganda
*SF/H Komarr
*SF/H Memory
*F Curse of Chalion
*SF/H A Civil Campaign
Bull, Emma
+*F War for the Oaks
Butcher, Jim
*F Storm Front
*F Fool Moon
*F Grave Peril
+*F Summer Knight
+*F Death Masks
+*F Blood Rites
+*F Dead Beat
+*F Proven Guilty
+*F White Night
+*F Small Favor
Chalker, Jack L.
F And the Devil Will Drag You Under
Cook, Glen
*F Sweet Silver Blues
*F Old Tin Sorrows
F Bitter Gold Hearts
F Cold Copper Tears
F Dread Brass Shadows
F Red Iron Nights
Crichton, Michael
*SF Jurassic Park
Dean, Pamela
*F Tam Lin
DeLint, Charles
F Jack the Giant Killer
*F Moonheart
*F Greenmantle
F Mulengro
*SF Svaha
Dickson, Gordon R.
SF Tactics of Mistake
SF Dorsai
Drake, David
F Old Nathan
Eddings, David
*F1 Pawn of Prophecy
*F2 Queen of Sorcery
*F3 Magician’s Gambit
*F4 Castle of Wizardry
*F5 Enchanter’s End Game
Effinger, George Alec
SF When Gravity Fails
Feist, Raymond E.
+*F Faerie Tale
Flint, Eric
*SF 1632
*SF 1633 (with David Weber)
Forward, Robert L.
+*SF1 Dragon’s Egg
*SF2 Starquake
Foster, Alan Dean
SF The Tar-Aiym Krang
*SF Orphan Star
SF The End of the Matter
SF Bloodhype
SF Flinx in Flux
SF Mid-Flinx
Freisner, Esther
F Druid’s Blood
Gaiman, Neil
*F Neverwhere
F Stardust
+F The Graveyard Book
F American Gods
F The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Gibson, William
SF Neuromancer
Glass, Isabel
F Daughter of Exile
Goldman, William
*F The Princess Bride
Haldeman, Joe
SF The Forever War
SF Forever Peace
Harrison, Harry
SF The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat
Hines, Jim
*F/H Goblin Quest
*F/H Goblin Hero
*F/H Goblin War
*F/H Libriomancer
*F/H Codex Born
Hinz, Christopher
SF Liege Killer
Hoffman, Nina Kiriki
+*F The Thread That Binds the Bones
+*F A Fistful of Sky
+*F Past the Size of Dreaming
+*F A Red Heart of Memories
Hughart, Barry
+*F/H Bridge of Birds
*F/H The Story of the Stone
*F/H Eight Skilled Gentlemen
*F/H The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox: Omnibus Edition
Kurtz, Katherine
F1 Deryni Rising
F2 Deryni Checkmate
F3 High Deryni
F The Adept (with D. T. Harris)
Lackey, Mercedes
*F Children of the Night
F Burning Water
F Jinx High
*F1 Magic’s Pawn
*F2 Magic’s Promise
*F3 Magic’s Price
F1 Arrows of the Queen
F2 Arrow’s Flight
F3 Arrow’s Fall
F The Fire Rose
F The Firebird
Lisle, Holly
*F Minerva Wakes
LeGuin, Ursula
*F A Wizard of Earthsea
Martin, George R. R. (Editing)
*F Wild Cards Volume 1
*F Wild Cards 2 Aces High
*F Wild Cards 3 Jokers Wild
*F Aces Abroad
*F Wild Cards 5 Down and Dirty
McCaffrey, Anne
F1 Dragonflight
F2 Dragonquest
*F The White Dragon
McCrumb, Sharyn (mysteries set in SF community)
*F Bimbos of the Death Sun
F Zombies of the Gene Pool
McCullough, Kelly
*F WebMage
*F Cybermancy
*F CodeSpell
*F MythOS
McKillip, Patricia
*F1 The Riddle Master
F2 Heir of Sea and Fire
F3 Harpest in the Wind
*F Song for the Basilisk
*F The Book of Atrix Wolfe
McKinley, Robin
*F The Hero and the Crown
*F The Blue Sword
*F The Outlaws of Sherwood
F Deerskin
F Spindle’s End
F Beauty
F Rose Daughter
+*F Sunshine
Myers Myers, John
+*F Silverlock
Niven, Larry
*SF Ringworld
*SF The Ringworld Throne
+*SF Protector
SF Tales of Known Space
SF All the Myriad Ways
SF Neutron Star
SF A Hole in Space
*SF A Gift from Earth
Nix, Garth
*F Sabriel
*F Lirael
*F Abhorsen
Norton, Andre
SF The Beast Master
SF Lord of Thunder
Pierce, Tamora
*F1 Trickster’s Choice
*F2 Trickster’s Queen
Piper, H. Beam
SF Empire
SF Federation
*SF First Cycle
*SF Four Day Planet
SF The Complete Paratime
SF Lord Kalvin of Otherwhen
SF Space Viking
*SF Uller Uprising
Powers, Tim
+*F The Stress of Her Regard
*F The Drawing of the Dark
*F On Stranger Tides
*F The Anubis Gates
+*F Last Call
*F Expiration Date
*F Declare
*F Three Days to Never
Pratchett, Terry
*F/H The Colour of Magic
+*F/H The Light Fantastic
F/H Sourcery
F/H Guards! Guards!
F/H Pyramids
+*F/H The Wee Free Men
+*F/H A Hat Full of Sky
+*F/H Wintersmith
*F/H The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
+*F/H Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)
+*F/H Monstrous Regiment
*+F/H The Fifth Elephant
+*F/H Nightwatch
+*F/H Thud
*F/H Going Postal
*F/H Carpe Jugulum
*F/H Lords and Ladies
*F/H Maskerade
+*F/H Small Gods
*F/H Feet of Clay
F/H Johnny and the Dead
Rothfuss, Patrick
*F The Name of the Wind
Rowley, Christopher
F Bazil Broketail
Rowling, J. K.
*F Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
*F Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
*F Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
*F Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
*F Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
*F Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
*F Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Saberhagen, Fred
F The Dracula Tape
*F An Old Friend of the Family
F Thorn
Sawyer, Robert J.
+*SF Far-Seer
*SF Fossil Hunter
SF Foreigner
Shelley, Rick
F Varyan Memoir 1, Son of the Hero
Stephenson, Neal
+*SF/H Snowcrash
+*SF/H Zodiac
Stevermer, Caroline
F A College of Magics
F A Scholar of Magics
Stirling, S. M.
SF Marching Through Georgia
Teppo, Mark
F Lightbreaker
F Heartland
Tolkein, J. R. R.
*F The Hobbit
F The Fellowship of the Ring
F The Two Towers
F The Return of the King
Vinge, Vernor
+*SF A Fire Upon the Deep
Watt-Evans, Lawrence
*F The Misenchanted Sword
Weber, David
+*SF1 On Basilisk Station
+*SF2 Honor of the Queen
+*SF3 The Short Victorious War
*SF4 Field of Dishonor
*SF5 Flag in Exile
*SF6 Honor Among Enemies
SF Mutineer’s Moon
F Oath of Swords
F The War God’s Own
F Windrider’s Oath
Wells, Martha
+*F The Element of Fire
+*F Death of the Necromancer
Wrede, Patricia
*F1 Mairelon the Magician
*F2 Magician’s Ward
F1 Dealing with Dragons
F2 Searching for Dragons
F3 Calling on Dragons
F4 Talking to Dragons
F4 The Raven Ring
Yolen, Jane
*F Briar Rose
F White Jenna
Zelazny, Roger
F1 Nine Princes in Amber
F2 The Guns of Avalon
F3 Sign of the Unicorn
F4 The Hand of Oberon
F5 The Courts of Chaos
*F Madwand
F Dilvish the Damned
F The Changing Land
*F Doorways in the Sand
*F The Last Defender of Camelot
F This Immortal
F Lord of Light
+*F A Night in the Lonesome October