^ (sci-nerd) I just started The First and Last Men by Olaf Stapledon, but I JUST started it so I don't have anything to share yet. I just finished Encounter with Tiber by Buzz Aldrin. Really good and realistic fiction, I especially like the way he makes the aliens seem both alien and familiar. Their prejudices that they bring to the stars resonated in a way that I find hard to describe. In recent past I finished Dan Simmons' Hyperion 4-novel set. (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion). Really fantastic hard sci-fi that also has engrossing characters. Highly recommended.
I just finished "Earth Abides" - very thought-provoking, one of those books that sticks with you. It's a little slow-paced but well worth a read.
Just starting "World War Z". I saw the movie recently (it was okay); I've heard the book is different, and better.