[m0d0nne11]

Mysterious Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (the stilted, nearly verbatim French->English translations STRONGLY preferred! the "improved" translations fail to convey so much of the fascinating details...) and also The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Hitchhikers Guide, of course. And Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.

[musicale]

Jules Verne was/is inspiring. I also recall enjoying From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon. Cryptonomicon felt like work but Snow Crash and The Diamond Age were breezy yet interesting and perspective-changing.