How many of these Hugo Award-winning novels have you read?

A friend of mine who’s really into science fiction e-mailed me the other day to let me know that it won’t be long before this year’s slate of Hugo Awards are selected by the World Science Fiction Society.

As things go, it turns out that the deadline to cast nominating ballots for the 2011 Hugo Awards was last Saturday night. The winners will be announced on Aug. 17 at the World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, Nevada.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Hugo Awards, they have been given each year since 1953 by the World Science Fiction Society to recognize the best sci-fi and fantasy works from the previous year.

The Hugo Awards are given in a number of categories, and those categories have changed over the years. Currently, Hugos are given in the following categories:

The current list of Hugo Award categories is as follows: Best Novel, Best Novella, Best Novelette, Best Short Story, Best Related Work, Best Graphic Story, Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), Best Editor (Long Form), Best Editor (Short Form), Best Professional Artist, Best Semiprozine, Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer and Best Fan Artist.

Arguably, the most prestigious Hugo Award is the Hugo Award for Best Novel, which is given annually for sci-fi and fantasy novels published in English or translated into English during the previous year.

Today, I give you a complete list of all the books that have received the Hugo Award for Best Novel over the years. Without further ado, here’s the list:

1953 – “The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester
1954 – No Award
1955 – “They’d Rather Be Right” by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley
1956 – “Double Star” by Robert A. Heinlein
1957 – No Award
1958 – “The Big Time” by Fritz Leiber
1959 – “A Case of Conscience” by James Blish

1960 – “Starship Troopers” by Robert A. Heinlein
1961 – “A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller Jr.
1962 – “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert A. Heinlein
1963 – “The Man in the High Castle” by Philip K. Dick
1964 – “Here Gather the Stars” by Clifford D. Simak
1965 – “The Wanderer” by Fritz Leiber
1966 (tie) – “Dune” by Frank Herbert and “…And Call Me Conrad” by Roger Zelazny
1967 – “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” by Robert A. Heinlein
1968 – “Lord of Light” by Roger Zelazny
1969 – “Stand on Zanzibar” by John Brunner

1970 – “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Le Guin
1971 – “Ringworld” by Larry Niven
1972 – “To Your Scattered Bodies Go” by Philip Jose Farmer
1973 – “The Gods Themselves” by Isaac Asimov
1974 – “Rendezvous with Rama” by Arthur C. Clarke
1975 – “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin
1976 – “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman
1977 – “Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang” by Kate Wilhelm
1978 – “Gateway” by Frederik Pohl
1979 – “Dreamsnake” by Vonda N. McIntyre

1980 – “The Fountains of Paradise” by Arthur C. Clarke
1981 – “The Snow Queen” by Joan D. Vinge
1982 – “Downbelow Station” by C.J. Cherryh
1983 – “Foundation’s Edge” by Isaac Asimov
1984 – “Startide Rising” by David Brin
1985 – “Neuromancer” by William Gibson
1986 – “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
1987 – “Speaker for the Dead” by Orson Scott Card
1988 – “The Uplift War” by David Brin
1989 – “Cyteen” by C.J. Cherryh

1990 – “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons
1991 – “The Vor Game” by Lois McMaster Bujold
1992 – “Barrayar” by Lois McMaster Bujold
1993 (tie) – “A Fire Upon the Deep” by Vernon Vinge and “Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis
1994 – “Green Mars” by Kim Stanley Robinson
1995 – “Mirror Dance” by Lois McMaster Bujold
1996 – “The Diamond Age” by Neal Stephenson
1997 – “Blue Mars” by Kim Stanley Robinson
1998 – “Forever Peace” by Joe Haldeman
1999 – “To Say Nothing of the Dog” by Connie Willis

2000 – “A Deepness in the Sky” by Vernor Vinge
2001 – “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling
2002 – “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman
2003 – “Hominids” by Robert J. Sawyer
2004 – “Paladin of Souls” by Lois McMaster Bujold
2005 – “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke
2006 – “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson
2007 – “Rainbows End” by Vernor Vinge
2008 – “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” by Michael Chabon
2009 – “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman
2010 (tie) – “The Windup Girl” by Paolo Bacigalupi and “The City & the City” by China Mieville

In the end, how many of these outstanding Hugo Award winners have you had a chance to read? Which did you like? Which did you dislike? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.