A while back, some helpful little elf sent me an e-mail telling me I’d made it onto a reading list. I took a quick peek at the link, thought “that’s cool,” then bookmarked it and wandered away to do other things. (I think it was a particularly heavy e-mail day.)
But today I went back and looked at it, and realized that it wasn’t just some list. In a lot of ways, it’s THE list. That’s right. It’s superlative.
The list is put out by “The Reading List Council” which “seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merits special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them.”
From what I hear, the Reading List Council is an elite branch of the American Library Association. In order to join their selection committee you have to be able to kill a man with paperback copy of Animal Farm book while wearing a blindfold, bend a spoon using only the power of your mind, then deal with ten obnoxious library patrons in a row while smiling and being polite the whole time.
Yeah. Like I said. These folks are badass. I hear Rupert Giles washed out with them and had to settle for joining some other council instead.
Anyway, it turns out that there’s just one reading list every year, and only one book from each genre gets selected. Stuff like Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, and, of course, Fantasy.
And I’m their fantasy pick for 2008. You can see the list HERE.
I thought this was plenty cool all by itself, until I scrolled down the page and saw some of the other fantasy titles that had been nominated. I recognized every name on the list: Jim Butcher,
Jacqueline Carey, Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Pratchett. Rowling. Tolkien.
That’s right. Folks like Rowling and Tolkien tied for second place.
And who’s number one?
Me, baby.
Me.
32 Comments
Congratulations! That’s awesome.
yeah! *high Five* Pat!>>We are proud of you. Ill send you one of those big foam fingers just to make it super legit.
Congratulations Mr. Rothfuss! That really is quite an honor. I hope your next books receive similar recognition.>>Not that my opinion matters all that much, but you are on the shortlist of authors I recommend.>>George RR Martin, Jim Butcher (Dresden Files only), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series only), Gaiman and yourself are THE list.
Wow Pat,>>A daytime post! >>You beat Scott Lynch too! And its warming up to 5 above 0 today.>>All and all a good day…>>Michelle from Hudson, WI
The librarians love you too, Pat. :-)>>Only 10 obnoxious patrons to be admitted? You know that’s a daily trial. <>Animal Farm<> is a pretty slim book to beat someone to death with though- that’s impressive. Of course, there is no spoon.>>Giles wasn’t allowed in because his presence caused inexplicable cravings for Taster’s Choice coffee.
ahhhhhh!!! Pat!!! I’m so happy for you! The books are amazing and you are an amazing person/writer, so you absolutely deserve it :]>>If you weren’t so far away, i would totally bake you a cake <3
Now I really want cake….
The cake is a lie!
Careful your head doesn’t swell too much!
That is so awesome, Pat. Major congrats are in order. Though why settle for cake when you can have pie? Come on, pie beats cake every time.
Oh god, youre right. All the titles I recognized on that list were AWESOME… >>Of course, I havent read them all yet, must be time to catch up on my 07 reading.
awesome. simply. awesome.>>congratulations, sir . . . you are amazing! >>2009 seems SOOOO far away now.
I second the comment on the merits of pie.>>And further, well deserved kudos to you of course =)
oooh. i just noticed the SPOILER in their review! you should tell them to get rid of that!!!
W00t! As a former librarian myself (though not an elite one, I’m afraid – I could never get past the “kill a man with a paperback copy of <>Animal Farm<>” bit), I’m totally stoked for you! Librarians are truly some of the coolest people around.>>Incidentally, I’m reading your book to my boyfriend right now, and he’s enjoying it immensely. He especially loves all the science-geek jokes – you should’ve heard him laughing at “Label clearly. Measure twice. Eat elsewhere.” =)
(Gah, the one from “Ambrosia” was me. It seems like this identity thing changes every time I leave a comment…)
You rock Pat! Woot woot!
That’s amazing Pat!! See? I knew you were the epitome of badassness.>>I can’t wait to see you on the 2009 list too!
Holy Librarian Batman! Supercongrats.
*squeeee* Awesome, Pat. And your random Buffy reference made me full of joy and joyness – since Buffy references tend to do that to me. ;) Congrats!
Cool! You are number one on a list created by librarians. Considering how library school is just an excuse for bibligraphic coupling, say no more, I am shocked they even had time to make such a list. :)>>I will need to check out these other authors, this Tolkien and Rowlings. I wonder if they wrote anything good?>>Cheer Mate!
Congratulations, Pat! You (and Kvothe) entirely deserve it (especially over that four-eyed dork Harry).>>You deserve pie… AND cake!>(and maybe some ice cream…)
Omg Mr. Rothfuss that is so badass. Giles must be so jealous!
Mary J if there is no spoon,>And the cake is a lie.>>Pat will have to use a fork>to eat his pie.>>Congrats to making another list of greatness Pat>… but with all of this success are you not starting to feel the pressure? Everyone expects greatness from you. But in the end it will prove to just be A Wise Man’s Fear.
Woo-hoo! Congratulations! :) If I owned a pair of pompoms I’d shake them in honor of you. Though, if I just shook my fists in the air people might think I’m angry or something. My face has so few different expressions, they sort of look the same!
You rock!
Just take a look at those you beat out!… WOW!>>Fantasy>Bull, Emma. Territory. Tor, 2007. 978-0312857356>>Butcher, Jim. White Night. ROC/Penguin, 2007. 978-0451461407>>Carey, Jacqueline. Kushiel’s Justice. Warner, 2007. 978-0446500036>>Carey, Mike. The Devil You Know. Warner, 2007. 978-0446580304>>Durham, David. Acacia. Doubleday, 2007. 978-038550609>>Ferrari, Mark. Book of Joby. Tor, 2007. 978-0765316868>>Fforde, Jasper. First Among Sequels. Viking, 2007. 978-0670038718>>Kay, Guy Gavriel. Ysabel. ROC/Penguin, 2007. 978-0451461292>>Kiernan, Caitlin. Daughter of Hounds. Roc, 2007. 978-0451461254>>Lynch, Scott. Red Seas Under Red Skies. Bantam Spectra, 2007. 978-0553804683>>Moers, Walter. City of Dreaming Books. Overlook, 2007. 978-1585678990>>Monette, Sarah and Elizabeth Bear. A Companion to Wolves. Tor, 2007. 978-0765318169>>Novik, Naomi. Empire of Ivory. Del Rey, 2007. 978-0345496874>>Pratchett, Terry. Making Money. Harper, 2007. 978-006082217>>Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Scholastic, 2007. 978-0545010221>>Tolkien, J. R. R. Children of Hurin. Houghton Mifflin, 2007. 978-0618894642>>Valente, Catherynne. In the Cities of Coin and Spice. Bantam Spectra, 2007. 978-0353384048>>A most excellent choice was made in choosing “The Name Of The Wind”!
For someone who emphasized plagiarism so strictly in their English classes, I’m surprised that you didn’t credit Jack Black with your “Me baby, me” quote. >>Other than that, I read your book and I have just one word to say. BRILLIANT!>>Congratulations Mr. Rothfuss
Okay, that is way awesome. Congrats!
but of course..libraians know good books..I am a volunteer at my library in west, texas…and you have me to thank for your book sitting on our shelf…and if my readers are telling me the truth…the reason why at least 10 of them have bought your book…>‘tada’….
The cake is a pie>>Grats
Hey Pat, I just wanted to express some gratitude. I’m one of the librarians on ALA’s Reading List Council, in the middle of my 3rd year on the committee – we actually met in Anaheim last year. :)
Working on this committee, while rewarding, can also be brutal – there are hundreds of books to be read and considered, and that’s after spending 40 hours a week actually working at my library. What started out as fun was starting to feel like punishment as I ignored my husband and my friends for weeks on end to shove even more pages and plot twists into my tired brain.
Then I happened to re-read this post of yours. The warm fuzzies came back. I remembered WHY I do this. So. Thanks. :)