Social science:  I'm working on a general theory of everything.  :-)    I.e., why are people the way they are.  I like the Teaching Company courses and the Oxford "Very Short Introduction" series because you can get a great overview of a wide variety of topics.  (And then go off to research specifics.) Fiction:  I don't read much, I prefer movies.  The fiction I've written has been either science-fiction or historical.   (Short stories, a novel, several screenplays.)  I can't say I have any favorite authors, though I do have favorite books.  The books I like are the ones that tell me things I didn't know, especially regarding human behavior.