I am reading possibly the best book ever - I find it hard to describe it, and to get across just how impressive it is - but i'll have a go.
I'm reading The System Of The Word by Neal Town Stephenson. It is the third book in a trilogy called the Baroque Cycle, the first book being Quicksilver and the second The Confusion. Each book is over 1000 pages long, so the story is epic to say the least.
Stephenson describes himself as a science fiction writer - but that doesnt mean future events, robots etc - he writes fiction based on science. In the case of the Baroque Cycle, 16th Centrury science. It is based over a period of 50 or so years in the time of Newton, Leibniz, Hooke, Wren, Louis XIV of France and is effectively the story of natural philosophy - but it's a novel. Half the characters are historical, half made up (the best of which being Jack Shaftoe - the king of the vagabonds). What sets this book apart is Stephensons knowledge, his intricate understanding of mathematics, engineering, philosophy as it is now, and as it was then - and how he weaves it into the story. Reading it takes every ounce of my concentration, yet each page is rewarding.
Don't attempt to start this trilogy as a light read by the pool, it really isnt that, but if you do read it you won't regret it. I'm roughly 2600 through the 3000 or so, and the story is still as riveting as it was on page 1. That is some feat.