Oriental Wisdom The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, translated by Thomas Cleary I Ching, Book of Changes, has authentic Oriental wisdom ina magical book. Poetry Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Don't let that horse eat that violin. Science Petr Beckman, The History of Pi . A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking is better than people say it is, and people say it is great.
Older editions are useful, and available at bargain prices.
This is the classic book of its type. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, by Richard P. Feynman , is a cross between science, biography, how-to, and just plain fun. I wish I'd met this guy. He would have been great as a teacher, or at a party. This Way Comes, and anything else he's written.