Read A Book In Honor of Sci Fi Day

Travel Across Space and Time

Do you like exploring strange new worlds with your favorite away team? Do you dress up as one of those space wizards with laser swords from a galaxy far, far away? Do you like time travel, alternate universes, steampunk, AI, and robots? 

National Science Fiction Day is celebrated (unofficially) every January 2 by fans across the U.S. The date corresponds with the birthdate of writer Isaac Asimov - considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke.

If you're looking for your next escape into fantastical, futuristic worlds filled with advanced technology, we've got some great recommendations to get you started.

Suggestions for the 2026 Jax Stacks Reading Challenge

1. A book with an unreliable narrator:
   1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. A book that fits a previous year's challenge category
   1. A book featuring a Neurodivergent character (from 2025):
      1. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
3. A book that takes place over 24 hours (or less):
   1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Phillip Dick
   2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey
4. A book set somewhere you have lived or visited:
   1. Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (set in fictional Florida)
   2. Otaku by Chris Kluwe (set in Miami/Florida)
   3. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
5. A Bildungsroman or a coming-of-age story:
   1. Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries
   2. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
6. A western, fiction or nonfiction:
   1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
7. A book by or about a celebrity:
   1. Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale by David Duchovny
   2. OM., Mother of Madness by Emilia Clarke
8. A book on an "everyone should read this" list:
   1. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
   2. Or find a list like the "75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time" (Esquire)
9. A book with a "punny" title:
   1. Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
10. A book in the Zine, Local Author, or Indie Florida collections
    1. The Reset by Daniel Powell (available in print and as an e-book)
    2. Watch our Lit Chat Interview with Daniel Powell on YouTube
11. A book read by a Library Book Club in 2026
    1. Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
       1. Picked by the Discovery Book Club at Pablo Creek Library
       2. Join the discussion at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8

Find rules and all 16 challenge categories listed at jaxlibrary.org/JaxStacks. Starter recommendations for each category can be found on our blog. If you were so inclined, you could definitely complete this year's challenge by reading only science fiction titles. Let us know if you do!

Recommendations by Age Group

Books for Children

Teen Reads

Recommendations for Adults