Some of my reading interests:

The Shannara Series...all of them (Terry Brooks)

~Personally, I feel that his stories' characters, settings, and plots equal Tolkien's fantastical imagery and lessons. (The television series is a pale dramatization of the wonders offered by Brooks's ability to develop characters and their settings with his prose. Not a fan of the TV series.)

The Obstacle is the Way (Ryan Holiday)

~We all struggle. Struggling is as much a part of the human condition as breathing is to living. Holiday does a fantastic job of illuminating the practices of the ancient Greek stoics and how useful their philosophies and approaches to perseverance are to coping with contemporary times and problems.

The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man's Fear (Patrick Rothfuss)

~You owe it to yourself to become intimately familiar with Kvothe. By the age of seventeen Kvothe (pronounced, "Qua-th") has done more than most do in a century of life: witnessed the death of his entire family, mastered magic, killed a god, loved and the list goes on and on...Jeff, thanks for introducing me and Evan to this wonderfully human yet complex character.

There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story (Gary Larson)

~Yes, the creator of the Farside series offers his comical illustrations and succinct story-telling skills to explore the importance of the niche of these little detritivores. What a world we live in!

Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World (Rutger Bregman)

~What do war, poverty, social inequality, physical and emotional health all have in common? They are all things that humans are capable of eradicating in our lifetime if we were to come together and each do our part to be instruments for positive change in the world. Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and writer that makes some very compelling arguments for why and how we can make this world a better place, regardless of who you are or where you are born. 

On the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin)

~This is an amazing work of literature. Sir Charles Darwin details his careful observations of the natural world, and offers wonderful insight, inference, and introspection of life itself. 

The Greatest Show on Earth (Richard Dawkins)

~Powerful prose for the inquisitive mind. Mr. Dawkins offers his readers a direct, non-sensical evaluation of our world, even our universe, by delivering his academic knowledge in the field of evolutionary biology with poetic verse and license that elevates him into his own class of author.

The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)

~A look into how the natural forces of the planet deal with a future without humans meddling with it all. Actions have consequences. 

Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life (Eric D. Schneider)

~An intriguing read about how the second law of thermodynamics can help explain how life "works." 

Survival of the Sickest (Sharon Maolem , Jonathan Prince)

~Diseases play very significant roles in driving the evolution of species' health and fitness. Every species in today's global ecosystem owes its fitness to the challenges of fighting diseases that their ancestors overcame.

The Xanth series; Incarnations of Immortality; The Adept series (Piers Anthony)

~Truly original and fun to read. Piers Anthony uses philosophical perspective, pun, simile, and other literary devices to create alternate, fantastical worlds that mirror our own. 

Watchers; Odd Thomas series; The Bad Place; Frankenstein series (Dean Koontz)

~Honestly, I have never read one of his books that I did not like. Koontz is a literary master capable and able to deliver suspense, thrill, fear, and sometimes humor in ways that few other authors can.

Forgotten Realms (Drizzt Do'Urden and the Dark Elves stories) (R. A. Salvatore)

~If you like action packed fight scenes coupled with settings in a fantasy fictional realm inhabited by dwarves, elves, and humans, then look no further for some satisfying reading. Salvatore also has very well developed hero and anti-hero protagonists that are amazing. I like how he uses a first person narrative voice for Drizzt (the hero) as he reflects upon life's nuances and travails.