I went ahead and made a list of all the past Hugo Award winners for Best Novel. I marked in bold the ones I’ve read. It’s possible to get a good sense of the gaps in my reading history. It should be noted that I’ve read more of the nominees than winners which I feel is fair.
I might have to add “reading all past Hugo Awarded best novels” to my reading goal list which includes “read all Pulitzer prize winning novels.”
Oh, and no criticism for not having read Neuromancer unless you’ve read Synners.
1939 T. H. White, The Sword in the Stone
1946 Isaac Asimov, The Mule
1951 Robert A. Heinlein, Farmer in the Sky
1954 Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
1953 Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man
1955 Mark Clifton, They’d Rather Be Right (also known as The Forever Machine)
1956 Robert A. Heinlein, Double Star
1958 Fritz Leiber, The Big Time
1959 James Blish, A Case of Conscience
1960 Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers
1961 Walter M. Miller, Jr., A Canticle for Leibowitz
1962 Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
1963 Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle
1964 Clifford D. Simak, Here Gather the Stars (also known as Way Station)
1965 Fritz Leiber, The Wanderer
1966 Frank Herbert, Dune
1967 Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
1968 Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light
1969 John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar
1970 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
1971 Larry Niven, Ringworld
1972 Philip José Farmer, To Your Scattered Bodies Go
1973 Isaac Asimov, The Gods Themselves
1974 Arthur C. Clarke, Rendezvous with Rama
1975 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed
1976 Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
1977 Kate Wilhelm, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
1978 Frederik Pohl, Gateway
1979 Vonda N. McIntyre, Dreamsnake
1980 Arthur C. Clarke, The Fountains of Paradise
1981 Joan D. Vinge, The Snow Queen
1982 C. J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station
1983 Isaac Asimov, Foundation’s Edge
1984 David Brin, Startide Rising
1985 William Gibson, Neuromancer
1986 Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game
1987 Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead
1988 David Brin, The Uplift War
1989 C. J. Cherryh, Cyteen
1990 Dan Simmons, Hyperion
1991 Lois McMaster Bujold, The Vor Game
1992 Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayar
1993 Vernor Vinge, A Fire Upon the Deep
1994 Kim Stanley Robinson, Green Mars
1995 Lois McMaster Bujold, Mirror Dance
1996 Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age
1997 Kim Stanley Robinson, Blue Mars
1998 Joe Haldeman, Forever Peace
1999 Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog
2000 Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky
2001 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2002 Neil Gaiman, American Gods
2003 Robert J. Sawyer, Hominids
2004 Lois McMaster Bujold, Paladin of Souls
2005 Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2006 Robert Charles Wilson, Spin
2007 Vernor Vinge, Rainbows End
2008 Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
2009 Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
2010 Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
2011 Connie Willis, Blackout/All Clear
2012 Jo Walton, Among Others
2013 John Scalzi, Redshirts
2014 Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice
Rebekah Golden 
This is the first time it’s been driven home to me that Samuel R. Delany never won a Hugo. Checking the list at wikipedia, I see that his best works (Dhalgren, Triton, Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand) weren’t even nominated.
One of the fun debates I’m seeing play out in this year’s Hugo Awards is the question of what level of popularity someone needs to win and how that popularity does/doesn’t necessarily translate into quality.
Reblogged this on My Wonder Emporium.