No Logo - Naomi Klein

Best non-fiction book I've ever read (not that I read that many). Calm, coherent, thorough, assertive and enlightening. Not only does it not come across as vitriolic left-wing ranting, it actually succeeds in showing the ultra-capitalist mentality to be the wrong-headed and crazed one. I found it simultaneously empowering - because it makes sense of so many things - and depressing - because it came out 12 years ago and the movement Klein observed seems to have fizzled out.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin

All-around brilliant. Interesting setting; good, developed characters (though not many); and ever third sentence is so good you want to read it aloud two or three times. And all the sociology and political stuff seems enduringly relevant. "A man who doesn't despise a bad government is a fool, and if there was such a thing on earth as a good government it would be a joy to serve it." It's (along with playing Final Fantasy XIII) made me keen to write some big fantasy or sci-fi story.