The link above is to a blog that lists 20 SF novels that it claims will change your life.

Unfortunately it’s looks like the Spec-Fic version of Oprah’ book club.

There are only three books before 1960 listed. It’s like when Rolling Stone picks the top 100 guitar players and forget most everyone before 1995. There is only one book from the Golden Age of SF. Neither Leigh Bracket or Andre Norton get a nod and either of these women could write rings around most of the modern women writers the blogger picked.

Frankenstein – I’ve reviewed it here. Awful first novel by a bad writer, heavily influenced by dominating men. Has practically nothing to do with the movie, so forget its influence on pop culture.
The Time Machine – Wells’ treatise on socialism. Not much speculative thinking here, just heavy handed Victorian politics.
At the Mountains of Madness – Lovecraft should be on any top 20 list for his short stories, but this book could only appeal to someone who grew up playing video games. Lovecraft is more important for how he influenced people like Ray Bradbury or Stephen King.
I, Robot – Intriguing, but dry, gedankenexperiments, but hardly the best thing that Asimov ever did and not in any top 10 for golden age novels. The blogger must be talking about the movie.

It goes on this way and degenerates into a list of the blogger’s favorite women authors. The only book that I think should be on the top 20 list is A Fire on the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. It was obviously only included in this blogger’s list because the book’s protagonist is a woman.

In full disclosure, I must admit that I’ve only read about half of the novels listed that were written after 1990. I also have been turned off to a couple of the writers listed, either because of overpowering feminist themes or their vacuous romance novel style. I no longer purchase their books.