Books

The Dresden Files: A wizard working as a detective in Chicago. Fun, pulpy, and has an expanding world and scope as the series goes on. Often described as Harry Potter for adults.

Children of Time: Humans escaping a dying earth encounter a planet where a terraforming project accidentally created sapient spiders. Very thoughtful and creative. Explores the evolution of the spiders as a species and civilization and the ways they would be both similar and different from humans.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: OK, this is a hard one to describe in a blurb, but basically aliens invaded and turned earth into a massive reality show / video game. Our pantsless hero Carl and his cat Donut are among the survivors being whittled down level by level in an insane fantasy dungeon crawl. Has much better world building and character development than you would ever expect, is compelling while also being hilarious, and despite the very dark subject matter, it stays fun and avoids getting bogged down by misery. I highly recommend the audiobook version as it is absolutely first rate and adds so much more to the experience.

War of the Worlds: The adaptations have never done thr original justice. It's a simple story, but very effective. And I just have a soft spot for really old classic sci-fi, what with the lumbering mechanical monstrocities and their heat rays assaulting pre-WWI military units.