Actually a good followup to Halting State. If the last Gibson you read was one of the cyberpunk novels, consider picking this one up to give him another try. I found myself repeatedly impressed with his writing, and he's come along way to addressing some of the most common criticisms of his earlier writing. I really enjoyed the book. It follows three characters - a junky linguist, a cuban-american criminal, and an ex-rock star journalist, set in the general "now" time period.
18.Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Roach has a really good sense of humour. Both informative and funny. It's also fairly depressing how much we don't know, in large part because we're too squeamish to fund proper research unless there's a potential viagra on the other side.
bonus.Doktor Sleepless by Warren Ellis (comics)
There are some of you for whom this is mandatory reading. One part Batman, 5 parts Crooked Little Vein, and 10 parts of Future Science Jesus/Tesla Boy Ganster. sabotabby, northbard and uniquecrash5 *must* read this. Steal a baby and sell it on ebay if you have to. In the near future, a mad scientist shows up and starts stirring things up. Both unsettling and optimistic in that bizarrely Warrne Ellis way.
sabotabby, 