A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain

 It's been years since I read Twain (Huckleberry Finn) but I find him a delightful author.  This book struck a particularly fun chord for me because I often think about this topic:  If I got thrown back in time with no resources but my memory, could I reinvent the industrial revolution?  The MC totally does, or would have if he hadn't pissed off literally everyone.  I identified SO HARD with this book.  The MC running around going, "Well, that makes little to no sense!" or the following exchange.

MC: "Ya'll need a bath."

Peasants: "The last time we bathed the water dried up so God must want us dirty."

MC: "lol, no-kay.  Where's the well?" *looks at it* "Yep, God just said you were dumbasses, that's all." *fixes well*

Peasants: "Wow MC! You're a wizard."

MC: "Yeaaaaaa...."

This was a great, snarky book and I loved it.  Perhaps my only negative is the random dying of MC for no reason a-la nineteenth century at the end.  But, eh, the actual story was told nicely.  

Aquaponics: Aquaponic Gardening - Tom Sutherland

 A great starter book for the topic.  I want to read a more in-depth book to get the details of a small system hammered out, but I was able to think up a design even with this short book.  It is a great general overview book if you're just considering the idea or know nothing. I've been keeping fish and aquatic plants for decades at this point, yet I still liked the list of items and the information wasn't repetitive or obvious.  This is a great little book to get you started on your way.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly

 I'd never actually read this book all the way through though I somehow knew the gist of the story, probably due to the long-standing popularity in general pop culture.  Mary Shelly is attributed as being the very first horror author, creating the genre.  I thought this book was much better than the other "first of the genre" type books like Jules Vern or H. G. Wells.  Shelly does an excellent job of misdirecting the reader equal to any standard author today.  She also creates a relatable villain, a literary feat always leading to a better story.  The idea of telling the story through letters so that the story can be written in first person but still include what happens after the first person dies is a great idea too.  Overall, this is a good book, and has aged very well.  It hasn't gotten stuffy over the years.  

I really would recommend this for every fan of horror as a get-back-to-your-roots kinda thing.