If I was to recommend two books to anyone interested in modern technology, these are the ones I’d point them towards:
Both of these books opened my mind’s eye to a more authentic timeline for how we got here, in our present day tech-heavy world. As well as instilled a sense of how unbelievably lucky we are to be living in the unprecedented times that is our now moment.
Neuromancer is definitely the book that defined the cyberpunk genre. Highly recommended.
I also enjoyed Neuromancer a lot.
If you want to dive in the new weird / biopunk-transhumanist genre, I highly recommend the works by Jeff VanderMeer:
Similar, also in the genre of new weird / lovecraftian horror:
To all those that prefer physical books Barnes and Noble has all hardcover books (in store) 50% off 12/26-12/27
And a whole bunch 50% off online until 1/31
This is a book that I really enjoyed reading and helped me find my way out of depression:
“How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World” by Harry Browne
And this a psychology book that I often recommend as I’ve been unfortunate enough to run into some really sketchy groups over the years:
“Combatting Cult Mind Control” by Steven Hassan
Now if we could only get some of the people in the you know what thread to read the second book. It might decrease their chances of getting scammed.
Seveneves by Neil Stephenson.
TL:DR The moon gets exploded by something and people have to try to survive through the resulting Kessler Syndrome. Well worth a read.
I liked it and hated it at the same time. It was like two stories stitched together that were only related in that they occurred in the same timeline. One during the apocalypse, and one long after. And they didn’t really effect each other, except the later one having historical references from the earlier one.
Agreed, the Book could have stopped after the second third. It was a basically finished story.
Kind of a cheesy book that I read a long time ago, but for some reason left a core memory in my brain I cannot escape. “Little Brothers by Rick Hautala”. Sometimes the book is titled “Untcigahumk” and it looks like it was printed with both titles. Sometimes it comes with some short stories about the monsters.
Its a horror book about little creatures that live underground and killed a boy’s mother in their basement, and only the boy knows what truly happened. Looks like it’s not being printed anymore and is mainly available digitally. I still have my old copy that is falling apart, lol.
Another one I got over Christmas and have been itching to read is the “Betweeen a Rock and a Hard Place” by Aron Ralston. Its the story about the guy who got his arm trapped under a bolder while hiking and had to use his multitool to cut it off in order to survive. I watched the movie about it (127 hours) and have been itching to read the actual story from the man himself.
Necro, but …
The Reckoner Series by Sanderson (Steelheart, Firefight, Calamity) got me going. (People suddenly get super powers, but also turn into total sociopaths, and the story takes place in that dystopia.)
Then I found his Skyward Series. Sci-Fi, pretty good, but the 4th and final book isn’t out yet. 
Then I found out he’s a pretty prolific author, so I was up all night last night and half of this one on the first of his Mistborn Series, which is apparently the tip of a huge body of work.
Looks like my reading addiction is flaring up. I may never sleep again.
Good reads all.
I dont know how i missed this thread…
House of Leaves is a fantastic read and an even better second read. it was an odd second readthrough for me as the first read through felt like thriller, and the 2nd readthrough felt like a love story.
I enjoy braincandy books, so John Scalzi is a go to for me. Redshirts in my opinion was brilliant.
Peter Clines has an excellent little world hes created in his paradox series of books (Paradox Bound, The Fold, 14, and Terminus)
I am a big audiobooks fan and always offer up my collection to anyone else that is interested.
I mostly use Audible as well.
I enjoyed the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson. 15 books about aliens, inter-species politics, proxy wars, and an annoying/funny/rebellious tin can AI made by a smarter alien species.
This is the only way I can get around to “reading” books these days… on long drives and whole multitasking. I’d love a peek at what you’ve got.
Book 16 is coming out on December 19th. I have also enjoyed the Convergence series by Craig Alanson.
Also worth taking a look at is the Backyard Starship series by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert
Same here… I finally started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (definitely a must-read), I got it at a local book shop with a gold embossed, purple linen cover for <10 euros and couldn’t resist.
Now I found out that the same publisher released lots of old classics with the same optics, and I decided to get two books from Nietzsche (The Antichrist and Thus spake Zarathustra), The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym from Poe, a collection of tales by Wilde and another from The Arabian Nights, 1984 by Orwell and The Divine Comedy by Dante (with all the illustrations by Gustave Doré). They all look sooo beautiful - I love it when great literature or poetry is looking nice as well 
If anyone is interested in those books (since we got a few German / Swiss / Austrian people here):
I’ve been reading the Serge Storms series by Tim Dorsey.
timdorsey.com
Admittedly I’m not usually a big reader, tried this on a friends suggestion and am loving it, I’m on the 12th book.
The Emerald Mile
Ostensibly about the speed record through the Grand Canyon. In actuality, it’s a fascinating study of the interplay of the western world, the Colorado river, and the interplay therein.
The Push: A Climber’s Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond Limits
Tommy Caldwell is a truly inspirational figure. Climbing may have been his passion but his story is wild. From his relatable struggles as someone neurodiverse growing up in a neurotypical family, to being held hostage by freedom fighters on a climbing expedition, to throwing himself at an impossible project–for something like a decade.
Kiss Me, Judas
Into noir? A an ex-cop is freshly released from a mental institution, takes a woman he meets in a hotel room bar back to his room and wakes up in a bathtub full of ice. It’s told in the first person by the protagonist who is the poster child of an unreliable narrator. None of the dialog is in quotes and you–and the protagonist–are never quite certain what he’s imagining and what’s really happening. Everyone in this novel is terrible but the villain might just be the most virtuous…
Do you moonlight as the guy who writes those story descriptions inside book dust covers?
Maybe I should! My enthusiasm might have been wine induced.