Here is a list of books that are good to be familiar with. There are two reasons for this, one is that they are frequently referenced, and the other is that they are excellent, thought provoking, reading material.
- Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- Dan Brown - Angels & Demons
- Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game (series)
- Tom Clancy - Sum of All Fears
- Tom Clancy - Debt of Honor
- Jeffery Deaver - The Blue Nowhere
- William Golding - Lord of the Flies
- Robert Heinlein - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
- George Orwell - 1984
- George Orwell - Animal Farm
- Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Nonfiction
- Scott Adams - The Dilbert Principle
- John Gray - Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
- Steve Johnson - Everything Bad is Good for You
- Ray Kurzweil - The Age of Spiritual Machines
- Sun Tzu - The Art of War
What does this have to do with technology again ;)