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• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Very funny.
• Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul - Very funny.
• The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy - Very funny.
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Funny, but I suggest you stop here. The remaining books in the series degrade.

• Foundation’s End (Foundation Series) - I was fond of this whole series for its intriguing ideas. Some may find it too dry.

• Cordelia's Honor - Rich and colorful yet serious.

• Ender’s Game - Loved it. Clever and believable.

• 2001 A Space Odyssey - Surprisingly good.

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Bladerunner) - Loved it. Empathetic characters and great plot twists. A post-apocalyptic mix of philosophy, action, and humanity.

• Black Sun Rising (Coldfire Trilogy) - Loved it. Extraordinarily memorable characters.

• Neverwhere - Bizarre.
• Good Omens - The comedy is great, if only we could have avoided that end bit with the plot.

• Neuromancer - Loved it. The original cyberpunk.

• Job A Divine Comedy - Loved it. Hilarious.
• Methuselah's Children
• Starship Troopers - Loved it. Interesting philosophical/political views.
• Stranger in a Strange Land - Loved it. Bizarre in a fascinating way. The writing is somewhat flawed.
• Time Enough for Love

• Dune - Complex, complete, and flawless in execution. A very believable world.

• Assassin’s Apprentice - Attractive and detailed.

• The Princess of Dhagabad - Bright and touching.

• A Song for Arbonne - Detailed, believable, and well constructed.

• Mad Merlin - A mad romp.

• The Eyes of the Dragon - Sad but good.

• Kim - Loved it. A wonderful tale of life and adventure set in colorful British India.

• Lankhmar (Tales of Fafherd and the Gray Mouser) - Light, irreverant sword and sorcery. Highly entertaining. Beware the buyer, there are half a dozen collections published that overlap to one degree or another. I recommend Lankhmar and Theives House published by White Wolf. Don't bother with the others unless you love those.

• Dragonsong - If you read one Pern book read this one. It has all the richness of her other works and a more compelling story.

• Canticle for Leibowitz - Loved it. Alternately sad, insightful, and painfully funny.

• Sugar Rain - Beautifully complex and bizarre. An extraordinary world and fine twisted plot.

• The Gateway Trip; Tales and Vignettes of the Heechee (Heechee series) - Loved it. Believable characters dealing with the hardships of the future.

• The Last Hero - Lovely though playful art. Similar plot.

• Cry to Heaven - Beautiful and sad.

• City – Loved it. Very philosophical, spans eons, but possibly too dry for some.
• Shakespeare’s Planet – Primarily I liked the discussions between the ship minds in this book.

• To Open the Sky
• Hot Sky at Midnight – Interesting ecological and social messages in a disturbing future earth.

• Cryptonomicon - Perhaps the nerdiest book I've read. Not sure I recommend it.
• Snow Crash - A fun, light cyberpunk book. Cool idea, but somewhat rough.

• The Hobbit - Loved it. Gorgeous world, intriguing characters, and an epic plot.
• The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings Trilogy) - Loved it. Gorgeous world, epic plot, can drag on a bit.

• The Egyptian (Translated by Naomi Walford) - Fascinating and detailed account of the tumultus life of Sinuhe the Egyptian set in 1400 BC.

Kid’s Books:
Isaac Asimov

• Odyssey (Robot City Series)

• Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark is Rising Series)

• School of Wizardry - Only the first book of the series is any good.

• A Wrinkle in Time