Going to give sci-fi my first shot. (I don’t think I’ve ever read one before) What recs do people have?
The Silo trilogy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silo_(series)
What topics are you looking for? Philosophical, political, technical?
OMG SO MANY but let me do the hard work on my side, think about you as a person and not just give a random recommendation I will say there's a good chance you love Hyperion, plus it's where Farcaster lore comes from so I think it'll be a great entry way into the genre My personal fav is the Void Trilogy fwiw
Starship Troopers And also if you in for an even bigger mindbend Stranger in a strange land both by Heinlein
I, Robot The Caves of Steel The Naked Sun The Robots of Dawn Robots and Empire Pebble in the Sky The Stars, Like Dust The Currents of Space Prelude to Foundation Forward the Foundation Foundation Foundation and Empire Second Foundation Foundation's Edge Foundation and Earth
Wow, nobody mentioned The Expanse books yet? Definite must read, and Three Body Problem trilogy
Start with Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick: anything Ernst Jünger: Glass Bees & Heliopolis Thomas Pynchon: Gravity’s Rainbow (more literary precursor to William Gibson and cyberpunk)
Ease yourself into the genre with great pop titles like Project Hail Mary or the Murderbot series.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown https://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Pierce-Brown/dp/034553980X
You could start with what’s probably the first SF novel: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It’s great!
Everyone says the three body problem is incredible (I wouldn’t know, but I did just start reading).
Snow Crash & Neuromancer They’re classics for a reason
For techy sci-fi, anything by William Gibson or Neal Stephenson...
Brave new world by aldous huxley && Never let me go by kazuo ishiguro
Let the three body problem be your first and then read the classics
You all are fucking animals! Jesus, book recommendations in this group, since day 0 has always been mind bending. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch won out for first. I think @silentjohn.eth had it on his recs. The library I’m at is tiney. They have had to order any books I’ve asked for so far.
I learned a long time ago that sci-fi books really only work for me if I listen to them as audio books, otherwise I tend to get bored while reading. Ymmv, but something to keep in mind if you find yourself dozing of while reading
I was thinking about this. your best bet might be to read an anthology, like The Big Book of Science Fiction: https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9781101910092 Reading a selection might help you figure out what you like!
11/22/63 by steven king its about someone who goes back in time to try to stop the assassination of jfk - favorite book of all time
Ask yourself what future are you most excited or scared off and then pick sci-fi books with that theme
Lots of good suggestions. Would also recommend you add this to your to-read list. https://warpcast.com/whit/0x7e6bd4ff