Here are some books that I recommend.
Fiction
Top fiction recommendations
- The illuminatus trilogy
- Any fictional short stories by Jorge Luis Borges
- A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
- but you really should read the prequel, "A Deepness in the Sky", first -- but it's not as good, so if you don't like it, still give A Fire Upon The Deep a try
- Many short stories by J.G. Ballard
Sci-fi
childhood's end
asimov, the currents of space
asimov, the caves of steel
asimov, the naked sun
asimov, the robots of dawn
orson scott card, ender's game
- Jeffrey A. Carver. Reality School: In the Entropy Zone (short story)
- Stolen Faces, Stolen Names by Ray Aldridge (short story)
- Many short stories by Vernor Vinge
- Many short stories by J.G. Ballard
- I, Robot, by Asimov (short stories)
- "The Way of All Ghosts" by Greg Bear (but, must have read Eon and its sequel first in order to get full mileage out of this one) (short story)
- many comics by Moebius (but most especially "the airtight garage")
- Orion's Arm. Orion's Arm is not a book, but is rather a collaboratively designed, Creative Commons-licensed scifi universe with a Vingian (intelligence amplification) feel. There's an introduction section but i was more hooked by jumping into the encyclopaedic entries here: Toposophics Sephirotics
- Reman mythology
- Naussica and the Valley of the Wind (comic & cartoon movie)
- I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility
Cyberpunk sci-fi
- vurt
- akira (comic & cartoon movie)
- ghost in the shell (comic & cartoon movie)
- The Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson (Neuromancer, Count Zero Interrupt, Mona Lisa Overdrive)
Mad science sci-fi
Fantasy
Older children's fantasy
- The Taran books by Lloyd Alexander
- The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein.
seasons dragonlance trilogy twins trilogy
silmarillion
Other "weird" or "philosophical" fiction
- The illuminatus trilogy
- Any fictional short stories by Jorge Luis Borges
Misc. fictions
- The King of Jazz, by Donald Barthelme (short story)
- mabinogion (i haven't read it, but it looks neat)
Nonfiction