How many of Frank Herbert's books have YOU read? Which is your favorite?

I read on Writer’s Almanac earlier today that today, Oct. 8, would have been writer Frank Herbert’s 93rd birthday.

Herbert, who died in 1986, is one of the most famous science fiction writers of all time and is best known for his 1965 book, “Dune” and its five sequels. Simply put, “Dune” is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and if you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it.

Herbert, who was born in 1920, was a prolific writer, and he wrote a number of novels, nonfiction books, essays, poems, newspaper articles and scores of short stories. Today, I give you a complete list of Herbert’s novels. Without further ado, here they are in order of publication:

1956 – The Dragon in the Sea
1965 – Dune
1966 – Destination: Void
1966 – The Green Brain
1966 – The Eyes of Heisenberg
1968 – The Heaven Makers
1968 – The Santaroga Barrier
1970 – Dune Messiah
1970 – Whipping Star
1972 – Soul Catcher
1972 – The Godmakers
1973 – Hellstrom’s Hive
1976 – Children of Dune
1977 – The Dosadi Experiment
1979 – The Jesus Incident
1980 – Direct Descent
1981 – God Emperor of Dune
1982 – The White Plague
1983 – The Lazarus Effect
1984 – Heretics of Dune
1985 – Chapterhouse: Dune

1986 – Man of Two Worlds

1988 – The Ascension Factor

As you might have imagined, more than a few of Herbert’s books have been included on a number of “best of” lists over the years and they’ve also won a number of awards. “Dune,” which is considered the best-selling science fiction novel of all-time, won a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965 and a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1966. In 2003, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club ranked “Dune” No. 3 on its list of “The Most Significant Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years (1935-2002).”

The editors at Forbidden Planet ranked “Dune” No. 1 on its list of “50 SF Books You MUST Read” in 2011. In July 2011, the editors at National Public Radio ranked the “Dune Chronicles” No. 4 on its list of NPR’s Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books List. “Dune” and Herbert’s “Hellstrom’s Hive” were also among the 113 books selected for publication as part of Orion Publishing Group’s “SF Masterworks” series of classic science fiction novels.

Earlier this year, back in May, the Web site “The Art of Manliness” included “Dune” among the 97 books on its “Fiction for Men” books list. AbeBooks.com also included “Dune” on its list of “50 Essential Science Fiction Books.”

If you’ve read Herbert’s “Dune” books, you might also want to check out the Dune-related books by his oldest son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. All of their books are set in the “Dune” universe, and a complete list of those books are as follows:

1999 – Dune: House Atreides

2000 – Dune: House Harkonnen

2001 – Dune:House Corrino
2002 – Dune: The Butlerian Jihad

2003 – Dune: The Machine Crusade

2004 – Dune: The Battle of Corrin

2005 – The Road to Dune

2006 – Hunters of Dune

2007 – Sandworms of Dune

2008 – Paul of Dune

2009 – The Winds of Dune

2012 – Sisterhood of Dune

In the end, how many of the books mentioned above have you read? If so, which ones? What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.