Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. A lighthearted look at the coming Apocalypse.
We bought it when it was new. We’ve since repurchased it as an ebook and also the audiobook. I made my daughter listen to a bit of it the other day in the car and even she was chuckling.
In that vein, Christopher Moore’s “The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwaming Tale of Christmas Terror”. Most of the characters are ones that were introduced in earlier books but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment.
Also in that vein, Terry Pratchett’s first few Discworld books. All fun stuff.
Baen has a lot of free science fiction books if you like SF. They also have lots for sale - and I buy from them if they carry it because their stuff isn’t DRM’ed.
If you’re looking for something that gives a lot of bang for your reading buck, Stephen King’s The Stand (about a superflu that destroys most of humanity, and what the survivors wind up doing) is actually pretty gripping. Normally I can take or leave most of King’s stuff but that one, I saw a bit of on TV while out of town, and bought it at the airport for the trip back (and of course within a day or two was coming down with a cold, which is a bit of an :eek::eek: thing to happen after reading that book!!).
Check with your library system - chances are good they offer ebook lending which is now pretty straightforward with the Kindle.
Dozois’ Year’s Best SF collections are good for that (if the OP likes SF) - tons of material in them including commentary on the state of the genre.
More recommendations if you like SF:
Weightless Books sells a lot of stuff DRM free. Their collections of Clarkesworld and Lightspeed online magazines are good reading.
Baen has in the past produced CDs of some book series. This site has many of them. Lots of good material there. They used to have Lois McMaster Bujold’s Cryoborn CD (almost all the Vorkosigan books) but that’s been taken down.
I’d recommend any of Atul Gawande’s books on improving how we do medicine - I recently read “The Checklist Manifesto” and “Being Mortal”, they’re all excellently written, compassionate books about how we can do better at all sorts of things. Being Mortal deals with elder care and end of life decisions, Checklist Manifesto is about using checklists to improve outcomes, I’ve also read “Complications” which is an essay compilation and “Better” which is about a variety of different areas where people are trying new and different approaches and getting better success rates. I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.
For fiction can I suggest Barbara Hambly? I know she’s widely available via e-book and she’s written so much great stuff - I’d suggest “The Time of the Dark” as the first book in a trilogy (well there were later sequels too but they’re skippable) about two Earth people who end up in a fantasy world, and yes that sounds incredibly boring but it’s really a refreshing take on the trope. Or if you prefer historical/mystery, she has a long running series that starts with “A Free Man of Color” about a doctor/pianist free man of color in New Orleans right after the Louisiana Purchase who solves mysteries. Very well researched and always entertaining.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. The best book I have read that covers all of this scientific, historic, war strategy and other factors that went into atomic innovations and how they were used.
It is brilliantly written - it moves along quickly and yet covers so many aspects well - and you feel like you are being equipped with great insights and knowledge.
The recent book on the history of Cancer diagnosis and treatment which won all the awards and is also a great book to recommend, The Emperor of All Maladies, cited Atomic Bomb as the model for this type of macro history. I could not agree more.
Anything by Christopher Moore but I particularly liked The Stupidest Angel and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff. Moore’s ability to be very dark and yet absurd and whimsical makes for some very entertaining stories. Combining Ikea, zombies, Christmas, and rocky relationships into one story takes a special kind of (twisted) mind.
Help! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen is available as a podcast and is thoroughly hilarious. The premise is that a loathsome self-entitled douche is driving his SUV in the wilderness, breaks down and… Sounds ridiculous, I know, but I almost killed myself laughing.
For something more highbrow you can’t go wrong with Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson. It’s a many layered story of birth, death and reset until the main character gets it right. Brilliant book!