The keywords here are 'fascinating' and 'stimulating'. I hope that gives you an idea. Hackers by Steven Levy, Fermat's theorem, Digital Gold, American Kingpin, 1984 etc fits the bill perfectly for me. As for anime/manga, Liar game and Death note were the unbeatable.
'Godel, Escher, Bach' is on my list, but can't decide on Neal Stephenson's books due to the mixed reviews.
So which books fascinated you the most?
