Cryptonomicon

by Neal Stephenson

I remember being around people like this. I remember learning these things.

The Turk

by Tom Standage

MUST BUILD WOODEN ROBOT

Hard to be a God

by Arkady and Boris Strugatski

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

by Jules Verne

Jules Verne's science fiction is from a time when "scientist" means "person who knows the scientific name of thousands and thousands of fishes."

Man's Search for Meaning

by Viktor Frankl

Sounds way ahead of his time.

Honeymoon in Purdah

by Alison Wearing

Wow. I have to go to Iran.

9 Stories

by J.D. Salinger

He's always fun to read, especially if you want to be miserable.