Stranger in a Strange Land

"A Canticle For Leibowitz" "The Sparrow" "Lord of Light" "The Immortal" "Hyperion" "The Last Question" "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" "Stranger in a Strange Land" "The City and the Stars" "Childhood's End" "Anathem" "Eifelheim" "A Case of Conscience" "VALIS" trilogy "The Book of Strange New Things" "Behold The Man" "The God Engines" "Book of the New Sun" "The Parable of the Sower" "The Dosadi Experiment" "Grass" "Project Pope" "Calculating God" "Factoring Humanity" "Jesus on Mars" "Surface Detail

Stranger in a strange land by Heinlein

Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others is the best, single-author collection of short stories I've ever read. If you like that, you might also enjoy The Lifecycle of Software Objects, an absolutely heartbreaking novella about simulated children, and his follow-up collection Exhalation. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is fantastic, and it's follow-up, Speaker for the Dead is even better, and my favorite science fiction novel of all time. They won back to back Hugo and Nebula awards. Card is a polarizing figure for his outspoken political opinions, but if ever the art should be separated from the artist, it's Speaker, which is an incredible exploration of empathy and responsibility, in addition to being a gripping, action-packed, science-literate read. Many more in this series, if you get into it.…

I don't know about 'contemporary' but I always loved Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land is probably appropriate for the HN crowd) Also, really can't go wrong with Terry Pratchett. P.S. - I have the same problem, its been years since I read for 'fun'. Mostly all tech stuff now.

Stranger in a strange land - Robert Heinlein

Asimov's original "Foundation" - it's effectively a collection of 4,5 short stories. I recommend to remain at a discreet distance from the rest of the series. While good within the universe, they are ... different. "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead" by O.S.Card. (Do not touch Xenocide without a hazmat suit. And if you do, burn it before reading.) "Snow Crash" by Neil Stephenson. "Rendez-vouz with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke. If you're up for some thought-provoking stuff, "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein. Not the easiest read but your carve-out basically rules out "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". "Embassytown" by China Mieville. EDIT: I forgot "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons.

Non-Fiction: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, because it changed my understanding of people for the better. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard Feynman, because it gave me a model for how to enjoy life. "Models" by Mark Manson, because it helped shape my understanding of heterosexual relationships. "An Introduction to General Systems Thinking" by Gerald Weinberg, because it illuminates the general laws underlying all systems. Fiction: "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A Heinlein, because it showed me a philosophy and "spirituality", for lack of a better word, that I could agree with. "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, because they showed me how human systems break, and they provided human models for how to see and live in, through, and past those broken systems. "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky, because it set the bar (high) for all future fiction, especially when it comes to the insightful portrayal of the struggle between good and evil.

Neither are new books, but this year I both read and subsequently gifted * 1491 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_A... (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1491:_New_Revelations_of_the_Americas_Before_Columbus) * Stranger in a Strange Land (the "Original, Uncut version") https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Strange-Land-Robert-Heinlein... (https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Strange-Land-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1442005831) 1491 is about the societies in the Americas prior to European contact. And if anyone knows of any books on the topic that have been written since then (and thus are even more up-to-date with the current state of the field), I'm very, very interested.…

I, robot would probably be easier to get into than foundation :) also "stranger in a strange land" by Heinlein makes for a great gift

SPOILER ALERT: "But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother." - 1984 Haunting last line. All struggle is futile; acceptance is inevitable. So yeah, pretty bleak, but favorite book nonetheless. I also love Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, which while not classically dystopian, still manages to elicit dystopian stoic despair against the backdrop of a seemingly normal world (our very own time and age). It automatically coaxs readers to draw parallels..maybe dystopia is not something imagined. Maybe it's more familiar than we think. Lastly, Robert A. Heinlein needs to be mentioned at least once in this thread; Farnham's Freehold and a Stranger in a Strange Land.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" - Nietzsche (French Translation) - 5/5 An absolute Must read. "1984" - Orwell - 5/5 French law on surveillance made me want to read it again "Fahrenheit 451" - Ray Bradbury - 4/5 "La zone du dehors" - Alain Damasio - 4/5 "The name of the wind" - Patrick Rothfuss - 4/5 A great fantasy story. It's a big book, there is a lot of details, but very well written. "Stranger in a Strange Land" - Robert A. Heinlein - 3/5 Awesome concept, but very slow "The Inverted World" - Christopher Priest - 4/5 Great short book

Stand on Zanzibar, Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, Childhood's End, A Cantilce for St Leibowitz, The Stars My Destination, Midnight At The Well of Souls, Nine Princes in Amber, Halting State, Strnger In A Strange Land, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

Very good book and the one that got me started on Heinlein. I probably own most of his hard sci-fi books now as a result.

A great one that haven't already been mentioned is "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land It's one of those books that just takes a while to digest after you are done reading it. I highly recommend it.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger In A Strange Land. Edgier than Star Trek but has that same feel of charming naivite; think 400 pages of Lt. Commander Data on a love potion.

Isaac Asimov's robot series (start with "I, Robot" and "The Caves of Steel") is good, as is his Foundation series. Ender's Game is also good; I've heard other people complain about the other novels in that universe (Speaker for the Dead and sequels, Ender's Shadow and sequels), but I liked them fine. Cryptonomicon is rich, fascinating, and entertaining. Dune is rich and pretty fascinating. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Time Enough for Love" are somewhat scandalous, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. Outside science fiction: P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels, as well as what of his other books I've read, are hilarious and brilliant; I would suggest "Right Ho, Jeeves" as a starting point.

East of Eden is my favorite book I've read in the last several years. Beautiful end to end and very moral. If you've read it it's totally worth reading Journal of a Novel: a collection of letters Steinbeck wrote to his editor every day as he was writing East of Eden. It's a fascinating window into the mind of a master deliberately creating a masterpiece. Other favorites: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, In Our Time by Hemingway, The Magus by John Fowles, 100 years of solitude, Moby Dick (perhaps a precursor to all modern fantasy?) Stranger in a Strange Land, and Infinite Jest. I've also loved both of DFW's big essay collections: Consider the Lobster and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll never Do Again.

Hmm... Favorite is hard. Maybe Cryptonomicon Because it was funny, meditative, and the research into WWII crypto was interesting. Or Maybe Stranger in a Strange Land, for the insights into correct action, the nature of humor, love, and understanding, and for giving us 'grok'. Or Maybe the Illuminatus Trilogy, for crazy awesomeness insight into the 1970's. I've loaned out all three, and I couldn't consider a book a favorite unless I'd tried to get people to read it.

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein Flatland, by Edwin Abbott Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

Snow Crash is great. Generally I'd recommend some "classics", just to see who treaded some ground first, i.e. who gets copied by everyone. Isaac Asimov - Foundation (and the rest of the trilogy) Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land / Starship Troopers / The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Alfred Bester - The Demolished Man / The Stars My Destination Jack Vance - The Dying Earth Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep / The Man in the High Castle Larry Niven - Ringworld etc. etc. A list of Hugo Award winners[1] might come in helpful. Another advantage of having read "the greats" is that if some critic says that new author X writes "in the style of Y" you have a slightly better idea if you might like it. Tastes vary, of course. Personally I never got what's supposed to be so great about Ender's Game. Teen Mary Sue geek power fantasy with questionable morals. Then again, lots of people said similar things about Heinlein… [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel

If you like Foundation, you might like the Ringworld series by Larry Niven. Ringworld is a classic. Robert Heinlein's books are great. Some come to mine are The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers (much better than the movies), Stranger in a Strange Land, Double Stars, and The Puppet Masters. Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness is amazing. The Earthsea series are fun read if you want to get beyond SciFi.

Stranger In A Strange Land is probably my favorite book. Vonnegut is my favorite author. By the way, if I had the money I would love to buy one of the screen prints here http://www.vonnegut.com/art.asp

"The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, among others. The book will put the timeline of your life into context, outline your limitations, and provide a grandiose example on the importance of communication. ("Ender's Game" and "Stranger in a Stranger Land" are among my top 5, but I thought the gem described above deserves attention.)

Fiction: - The Time Machine (still holds up very well, and seems strangely eerie and prescient in places)... (H. G. Wells) - Dune (Frank Herbert) - The Hobbit (and LotR) (Tolkien) - Neuromancer (William Gibson) - Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties (I picked up Idoru first, so I haven't yet read Virtual Light) (also Gibson) - The Difference Engine (Gibson, Sterling) - Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson) - Cryptonomicon (" ") - Circuit of Heaven, End of Days (Dennis Danvers) - All of the "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" stories and novels. (Fritz Leiber) - The Earthsea trilogy (Ursula K. LeGuin) - 'salem's Lot (Stephen King) - Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein) - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain) - the Coldfire trilogy (C. S. Friedman) - various Cory Doctorow short stories - Kamikaze L'Amour (Richard Kadrey) - Lightpaths (Howard V. Hendrix) - A Canticle For Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, Jr.) - Moonwar, Venus (Ben Bova) - the Stainless Steel Rat series (Harry Harrison) - Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson) - Ringworld (Larry Niven) - Cthon (Piers Anthony) -- Trippiness level approaching Philip Jose Farmer ;-) - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (Douglas Adams)…