Now, on to the books!
The Two Faces Of Tomorrow, by James P. Hogan and Yukinobo Hoshino
This is a graphic novel, based on the novel of the same name by James P. Hogan. In it, there is a space station that is serving as a testing ground for artificial intelligence, in the hopes that if it gets out of hand, it can't effect the systems on Earth. The plot revolves around the newly awakened AI figuring out it's environment, and it's environment figuring out the AI.
Anything written by Terry Pratchett
Especially his Discworld series. There's a big flat disc of a planet, resting on the backs of four elephants, standing on the back of a giant turtle, The Great A'Tuin, swimming through the vast expanse of interstellar space. I personally like these because although the Discworld is a magic and fantasy world, it's also steeped heavily in having all those things have a scientific basis. All gods are real, but only exist due to the amount they are believed in. Mythical figures, or rather Anthropomorphic Personifications of natural processes, such as Death, are also real, and have their own personalities. Watch as the Discworld grows from a fantasy, medieval world, with guilds for everything, including murder and theft, and a Wizarding University, and it slowly grows into an industrial revolution, with a magical computer, cell phones that are just imps in a box, and a telegraph based internet system. In short, the Discworld has a rich and complex background, characters, and history, humorous, and satirical. I highly recommend reading them.
Anything written by Douglas Adams
His Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy series, and his Dirk Gently Novels. Humor, satire, irony, and dark humor all in one. It's got the universe's third worst poets (worst one lived on Earth, second worst a space dude, whose own small intestines strangled him to escape the agony of his poetry, and third worst using their poetry as a form of torture), space-going Italian restaurants, time travel, and the worst luck in the universe, with a grudge to go with it. And that's just the HGTTG. Dirk Gently includes time travel, space travel, couches which could not have reached their current position, and a horse in the bathroom. And that's just the first Dirk Gently novel.
Dangerous Visions, and Again Dangerous Visions
These collections of science fiction stories changed the genre. Harlan Ellison put together a lot of stories other publishers considered "too dangerous to publish." He made two volumes, and promised a third one, in 1972, but as recently as 2007, Harlan has still said he wants to get the book out. 44 years, and still no third one... (sad face).
Anything George R.R. Martin has written
Tricked you. I really don't like his writing. Cares not at all about his audience, or his characters. And I'm not just talking about Game of Thrones. Even books he's edited have his murderous touch. I've mostly read his Wild Cards books, a series of stories about an alien virus that either kills you (dealing the black queen), mutates you into monstrous forms known as "jokers", or you obtain superpowers, and get known as an "ace." It's based of cards, for some inexplicable reason. Everybody dies, even those who you were just getting to know, or who would have been great for more story, all in the interest of "making things more real." Now, don't get me wrong, but usually people don't die nearly as often as every single book, often with spaces of less than a chapter of being introduced, then dying a horrific death, usually with descriptions of blood and gore. Most of his books are of the money grabbing variety. Don't read his books, don't support this kind of writing.
The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
It's fantasy land. I don't normally enjoy reading fantasy, but this is an exception. Everybody has a unique magic power, but many are of the "spot on the wall" variety, which are useless and do things exactly like being able to put a spot on the wall. People with exceptionally strong talents are known as magicians. Also, there's magic, and situations, and monsters, all based on puns. Like giANTs, big ants. Pretty good, but there's a lot of them.