I’ve been catching up on some classics lately — something I added to the bucket list once I finally accepted that my time on this Earth isn’t infinite.

Last year I burned through the entire Space Odyssey series. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the story, and for the first time I actually understand the psychedelic ending of the movie. One of the coolest parts of the books was discovering that HAL’s consciousness survives and ends up traveling alongside Dave Bowman’s ethereal self.

I’ve also been thoroughly enjoying Apple TV’s Foundation series, and I recently found Prelude to Foundation at a thrift store while hunting for Dune. It dives deep into Hari Seldon’s quest to develop psychohistory, and that final reveal about Demerzel’s true identity gave me chills. That alone pushed Asimov’s entire robot series onto my reading list.

I downloaded the original Foundation trilogy for my Kindle and finished the first book a few nights ago. It feels like watching a 3‑dimensional chess match of political prowess. It’s good — and it definitely has its moments — but I actually enjoyed Prelude more. I’m a few chapters into Foundation and Empire now, and so far it’s on par with the first book.

Since I know you guys are all well‑read, I’m hoping you can help me expand my list of must‑reads — sci‑fi, literary classics, poetry, history, whatever you think belongs on a “read before you die” list.

Oh, and Project Hail Mary was an absolute delight, and the movie adaptation was fantastic.