The best science fiction books to make you both think and laugh

I love this book because it combines two of my favorite literary subjects: science fiction and humor. Not only is it funny, but it's absurd at times, and absurdity is one of my favorite types of humor. But never fear; the silliness doesn't take over; there's an important story told in this book, and the comedy is just the icing on this sci-fi cake.

When mild-mannered Arthur Dent is rescued from Earth as it's about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, both he and his rescuer, Ford Prefect, a traveling researcher for the titular Guide, embark on an adventure across space and time. Along with making you laugh, the book also makes you think about all the insane possibilities of existence. 

Most of the time sequels are disappointing, but not this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up to “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” as Arthur and Ford and other weird characters deal with a possible Doomsday.

It turns into a quest of sorts to find not the answer to the secret of life and the universe—which is 42, because, of course, it would be something absurd like that—but the question to the answer. Which is also absurd! I was amused as well as intrigued by their adventure, which included finding a good cup of tea and a good place to eat, the restaurant mentioned in the book’s title.

I love this book because out of all the time travel tales I’ve watched and read, this one seemed the most plausible. I mean the method of time travel that was used, if time travel to the past is ever possible, the method they use in the book would probably be the means to do it.

So it made me think about that, but it also enlightened me about other aspects of time travel back to the medieval period in England that I’d never considered before: like for instance, the English they spoke would be mostly indecipherable, and you’d need a translating device (which, sadly the movie version didn’t address). So, it had me thinking a lot about language and how it’s evolved over time.

Who doesn’t love a good cyberpunk novel? Well, I love them! And this is a good one! It depicts a dark and gritty 21st century sci-fi future, which is fine, but now that we are actually in the 21st century and approaching some of the technology featured in the book, it makes it now all the more interesting.

With nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and an interactive book for learning (which now we’d just call a tablet like an iPad), it really makes you wonder if we are actually heading for the world of the book. 

Don’t you love it when you find a hidden gem? I sure do! Without any recommendations from friends or pop culture, I found this intriguing—and hilarious—little sci-fi book. And even though this cyberpunk tale was released in 2000, you'll find it interestingly topical now, as it's about A.I. But the “V” in the title stands for “virus,” as the characters not only deal with an artificial intelligence but one that has gone dangerously viral.

The narrator tells the story with a delightful snark. But much of the humor of the book for me comes from a particular character, Kegan, who is doomed to consume trash and waste. This leads to a scene so funny that I laughed so hard I feared I was going to pass out from not being able to breathe. Make sure you don’t read this one by yourself, just in case.