I'm a very big reader. I also run the gamut from pulpy sci-fi to scholarly texts about the Middle Ages. Here are some of my favorites. Please don't think this is all I've read. Baby Jesus would cry.
As Stephen King said "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write".
Fiction
Dune, by Frank Herbert: Read. This. Book. Now. The beginning of the greatest science fiction series I've ever read. It's more than sci-fi. It's politics, religion, ecology, philosophy, all rolled into one book. And to tell the truth, I think the series only gets better as you go through it.
Eisenhorn Trilogy, by Dan Abnett: I'm a fan of Warhammer 40,000. I also think this series is good writing. Abnett has a character who has the authority to destroy planets, yet makes him human. Add in lots of gunfights and traitors, and you've got a good series.
The Gunslinger, by Stephen King: Aside from The Stand, this book, and its 6 sequels, are my favorite works by King. Detailing the quest of the last gunslinger-Roland-to find the lynchpin of the universe, called the Dark Tower. It's an epic series, and you begin to really root for Roland, even when things seem darkest. That and it has one of the best opening lines ever: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
The Napoleon of Notting Hill, by Gilbert Keith Chesterton: A great book, it really brings out the medievalist in me. It contrasts the boring regularity of early 1900's life with the (admittedly stylized) grandeur and heroism of the Middle Ages. It's enough to make one a romantic.
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller: Post-Apocalyptic visions! I love this book. If I ever did write something post-nuclear war-ish, then I would really have to check myself to make sure i didn't copy this book. I loved so much about it. The monks in all three sections are smart, loyal, brave people, trying to keep some kind of hope alive, as everyone else tries to destroy the world. Depressing, yet hopeful.
Non-Fiction
Anabasis a.k.a. The Persian Expedition, by Xenophon: This is the book that turned me on to Classical History. Xenophon recounts how he and his comrades, 10,000 greek soldiers, battle their way out of the heart of the Persian Empire, through hostile terrain, tribes, and harrassed all the way to the Black Sea. It is really an amazing thing to read about, especially just how good a leader Xenophon was. He was a smart guy, and made me want to know more. I linked to this translation as it's the one I have, and it's very good.
On Writing, by Stephen King: This book made me start writing. I'm not going to lie. And although I no longer hold all parts of it as gospel, I still feel that most of it is really good advice for any writer. And a lot of it is simple: Write every day, read every day. Write to polish your skills, read to learn new techniques. It's not that hard! And that's an important thing to learn.
The Story of Civilization, by Will and Ariel Durant: If Xenophon sparked my real interest in history, the Durants allow you to look for anything. In a series of books that span from pre-Egyptian to Napoleon times, they literally describe everything of importance in European history. The first volume even goes into some detail on the East. Now I will say this- I haven't finished them all. There are 11 books. I've gone through I believe 3 of them. Each is AT LEAST 800 pages of dense text. These are not small books. But then again, history is not a small subject.
