I think the Science Fiction Book Club's list is a pretty defensible one, if the criterion is significance to the field and resonance in popular culture. I have encountered enough execrable fantasy and science fiction that I never read it unless one of two things are true:
- It has been quoted, alluded to, and had other work based on it to the point where the importance of its ideas and (hopefully) the quality of its writing are manifest. This accounts for why I have read about 75% of the books on the SFBC list.
- It has been recommended by someone whose opinions I value. This accounts for why there are forty-seven books I have now to read. Of the books on your list, I've read only Lewis, L'Engle and Le Guin.
no subject
- It has been quoted, alluded to, and had other work based on it to the point where the importance of its ideas and (hopefully) the quality of its writing are manifest. This accounts for why I have read about 75% of the books on the SFBC list.
- It has been recommended by someone whose opinions I value. This accounts for why there are forty-seven books I have now to read. Of the books on your list, I've read only Lewis, L'Engle and Le Guin.