The Star Diaries

I put on a list for similar reading experiences. For lighthearted, non-hard sify, i would try Star Diaries by Stanisław Lem. https://whatto.space/fiction/42/

From where I stand, Hispanic and Slavic literature is fairly unknown and underrated on the other side of the pond. Ramón del Valle Inclán's "Lights of Bohemia": A great portrait of Madrid and the dirty guts of the Spain from 100 years ago, written in a gorgeously precise, dark and multifaceted range of vocabulary. Ortega y Gasset's "Rebellion of the Masses". It is centered in the individual "I am me and my circumstances" and its evolution since the enlightenment. Sapkowski's "Witcher". Look for a good translation, lots of Slavic mythology tidbits and wonderfully juicy curse words. Stanislaw Lem's "The Star Diaries". Nice if you like to fantasize about buying pieces for your spaceship in a shopping centre or think about chair-like aliens with 11 different sexes (in the book). Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "A hundred years of solitude". The book is all about "realismo fantástico", joining the real and imaginary words in an unforgettable blend.

It seems that most recomendations fall in the sci-fi genre. I'll add my personal favourite: Stanisław Lem (the author of Solaris). The Star Diaries and Cyberiad are a lot of fun mixed with really interesting ideas. But if you want to read a very actual story, including an anticipation of the Internet, take a look at this 1961 story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars

Star Diaries +1 (what a surprise that you... :-)) Brave New World. I read those when I was 12... then everything I could find by Lem and Huxley too.

Anything by Greg Egan. It is a science fiction author who actually has a very good understanding of science (he's published articles in a scientific journal about quantum gravity) and makes non-trivial use of it in his plots. Plus, he's a computer programmer and you can go to his website and see a collection of applets, some of them illustrating the concepts from his novels and short stories. On top of that, he is good with all the soft stuff, like character development and psychology etc., that is essential for great fiction but that some science-intensive science fiction is very much lacking. There are other very good nerd literature authors out there, like Vernor Vinge and Neal Stephenson, but to me none of them was as big a revelation as Greg Egan. If you don't mind something non-mainstream and a bit dated, but first-class literature nonetheless, you can try Stanislaw Lem. It's a Polish author but most of his work has been translated to English. I consider him one of the best science fiction authors ever. "The Star Diaries" is light and funny, a perfect pool side reading.