Who knows science fiction better than scientists?

Looking for some beach reading? How about book recommendations from scientists? You probably won't be surprised that there's a fair amount of science fiction in the list, but there are some non-fiction entries, too.

If you prefer your recommendations from critics, check out this roundup of reviews of some new science fiction book releases from the Denver Post.

For something a bit different, here's a review of a new shared-setting anthology edited by John Scalzi. I've always liked the idea of writers collaborating to flesh out a world together, but it never seems to fully click. I think that sort of thing works better more established universes like Star Trek or Star Wars. They have matured to the point where there is enough back story that the reader can quickly jump in.

Have you ever wondered why established science fiction writers would stoop to writing for media tie-ins for established franchises like Predators or Halo? IO9 recently asked some of them for their reasons and the responses were quite interesting.