You’ve seen their lists. They’re all the same, full of works that everyone in the newspapers, magazines, and author panels seem to agree are the most significant.

But something is off. It’s like there is a whole swath of awesome books that have been weirdly and arbitrarily excluded from the conversation. Just as one example, I see hard core fantasy addicts that always always ALWAYS have their book readers in hand. I talk to them… and it’s like their entire concept of the field runs from Brooks to Donaldson to Jordan to Martin… and that’s it. It’s hilarious because they’ll even complain about it. They’ll tell you straight up that they have a hankering for something they’re not sure exists, something shorter… punchier maybe. Something that actually has an ending or a payoff of some kind…! They have no idea that the fake fantasists replaced some truly awesome works and creators that have not been surpassed to this day. It’s just like the science fiction fans that have no idea what the fake “Big Three” was intended to subvert and displace.

If we want to fix this, we have a lot of work to do. Fortunately, Jagi Lamplighter Wright is leading the charge:

We are actually beginning our Superversive Book List! Our goal is to have a suggested reading list that can be shared about, listing books–from all time periods–that are worth reading! Hopefully, this will eventuall lead to a Year’s Best list and a Superversive Award.

But for now, we are merely compiling a list. The results will be posted in a special Superversive Reading List place.

What is a Superversive book, you ask? A book that lives up to the motto: Good storytelling, great ideas.

Declan Finn is already on board. You should be, too! If you have anything remotely like a book blog, please boost the signal on this. And if you haven’t done so already, please drop your suggestions in the comments!