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In the novels category, I'd definitely recommend Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's a unique book - six distinct stories, with certain threads running between them - structured like one of those Russian dolls with a doll inside a doll inside a doll. There are element of "science fiction" in maybe two of the stories (mainly the idea that these stories take place somewhere in the future), but one story is a sort of detective story in the "noire" tradition, and two of the stories are definitely historical fiction.
Initially, the first half of each story is told - each story in chronological sequence. The final story is told all the way through and then the second half of each of the previous stories is wrapped up in reverse chronological order. They are all interconnected, but in strange and diverse ways. Definitely one of the best novels I've ever read.
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