I  read a lot.  Lately, I've been reading mostly professional journals, online mags, and nonfiction, but I try to sneak in the odd trashy entertainment just to keep my mind relaxed.

I really like science fiction (but not fantasy particularly).  I also read mysteries, historical fiction and the occasional thriller.  Here is a partial list of my all time favorites:

Anything by Andre Norton, but especially the pre-1980's stuff.  I adore Catseye and still re-read the Time Agent series occasionally.

Anything by Robert A. Heinlein.  When he died, I felt almost as if my own father had died; he was that strong an influence on me.  (Not that my own dad isn't a great person, but you know what I mean!  :)   ) I corresponded with him in the late 70's briefly, which thrilled me to pieces, but anything he has written has merit, in my opinion.  Some of his work, particularly that written just before his open-heart surgery, is a little weaker than the rest, but none of it is pure trash!  Check out Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Puppet Masters, Space Cadet (really! It's a great story!), Podkayne of Mars, and of course Stranger in a Strange Land.

Anything by Isaac Asimov.  The man was a genius.  He wrote prolifically in fiction and non-fiction.

The St. Germain Chronicles by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.  I don't know if these satisfying, very long books are still in print, but you might be able to find them in the library.  Blood Game, Hotel Transylvania, Path of the Eclipse -- excuse me, I have to go read one now . . .   :).  Historical fiction about a vampire who not only adapts but prospers through the ages.  I believe!

The Pern stories by Anne McCaffrey.  All about life on Pern, a planet adopted by human colonists who have forgotten their orgins over the millenia, but who genetically adapted a local lizard species into huge, fire-breathing dragons to protect them from invading Thread, mycorrhizae migrating from a rogue planet with an erratic cycle.  It's more about how people adapt to their circumstances than shoot-em-up space opera; very well written.  I like the pre-Rediscovery books better than the later books, but they are all good.  And my goodness, but have thousands taken to Pern in cyberspace too!

The Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  Oh, wow.  I wish I still had the bumper sticker that said "Visit Scenic Darkover."  I met more people that way -- !  :)  Darkover is a marginally habitable planet under a red sun, cool and dim with some ferocious fauna and spectacular scenery.  The ruling class of this semi-feudal mountain civilization are red-haired telepaths, telekinetics, clairvoyants and others with psychic powers that were concentrated into the lines during a period of expansion.  There are also Free Amazons, women who have renounced their privilege to live outside the confines of society; a desert clan who feuds with the mountain folk, and cristoforos, men  have also renounced any psychic powers they have as well as their place in traditional society, to live simply and communally.  It's an amazing, complex place.  I know the history almost as well as I know the history of my country;  I feel I knew movers and shakers throughout Darkovan ages.  Great series!  Again, I like the books before Terran re-contact better than the later books, but there is something compelling about the later part of the series too, almost separate from the first part.  Just as in life, you can't always choose for things to stay the same; change happens.  Bradley does it well.

Bradley also wrote The Colors of Space.  Anybody remember it? That and Hal Clement's Needle were my first science fiction books.

The Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, and Venus series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Okay, it's purple prose.  The books are far, far better than any of the movies!  Be aware that Burroughs was a man of his time and much of the interaction in Tarzan with Africans is offensive.  Live in Burroughs' time when you read his books.  Even with all those caveats, it's marvelous escapism.

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden.  Puts A Nun's Story to shame -- the movie version, anyway.

This list will grow as I think of other goodies.  Check back once in a while!

Nonfiction:

Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor.
Culture Clash by Karen Donaldson.  Check out the Gorns!
Dogsteps by Rachel Page Elliot.
The Permaculture Manual by Bill Mollison, et al.
The Organic Rose Garden by Liz Druitt.
The Strawbale House by Steen, Steen and Bainbridge.
Your Engineered House by Rex Roberts.
The Owner Built Home by Ken Kern.
One Hundred Embroidery Stitches, a pamphlet put out by Coats and Clark a long time ago.
Learn How Book, also by Coats and Clark.  Crochet, knitting, Embroidery, and Tatting.
The Honest Herbal by Varro E. Taylor, PhD.
Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing by Rita Adrosko.
Dyeing the Natural Way by Frances E. Mustard.
Dye Plants and Dyeing by the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.