Books (No Fantasy!)

[Stronith]

I'll recommend Dean Koontz... maybe James Patterson,  Dan Brown's Deception Point was quite a good read lately as well.   

[lanser]

I agree with drey Robin Hobbs books leave me feeling empty or cheated with the very negative endings.
The best non Fantasy book I've read recently is Labyrinth by Kate Mosse an intriguing  "Grail" based book with a lot of factual historical action

edit: typo

[Gentar]

A Scanner Darkly by phillip k. dick is a good one

But if you really want to have to think, read the classics. Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Anthem, Cry the Beloved Country, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Animal Farm, 1984, Catch 22, Slaughterhouse Five, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Cats Cradle, Breakfast of Champions......The list goes on and on but these are some of the ones Ive read. Not only are these books terribly enjoyable, but they offer an expanded view on the world, social behavior, human nature, and power, and they will surely help you to become a more open minded, and analytical person. They make you ask questions about yourself and the world you live in and for that they are the best books and why they are considederd classic. 

[Headgear]

Fiction:
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand.  While Anthem was a discussion on the soul of society, the Fountainhead is an observation of the souls of men.
The Dirk Gently Series by Douglas Adams, woefully underated due to the success of HitchHiker's guide
East of Eden - favourite Steinbech
The Dark Tower Series - Stephen King.  If you dont care for the style he has been typecast into (supernatural horror and gross outs) this is the series that almost his entire library is sourced from.  An epic tale devoid of Stephen King's fame making nastiness.
I heartily recommend you avoid Dan Brown.

Non-Fiction
The Hiram Key, Second Messiah, and Uriel's Machine - Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas's lifelong work's research into Freemasonry's origins and history.
Earth Chronicles Series - Zacharia Sitchin, one of the original "Aliens created Man" theorists.  His attention to detail and depth of research and reference material is what gives this read the meat to finish its wordy trek through his theories.
All Over but the Shoutin' - Rick Bragg - the only "grew up the poorest of the poor in the deep stinky hot south with no pappy and a mama that never stopped working to keep us in clothes but i still managed to get out and make something of myself" that really ever touched me.  He had me at the opening paragraph of the prologue, and i never shed so many tears reading a book before, or since.
Swing Low - Miriam Toews - The sad story of a father with undiagnosed depression as a vessel to illuminate the secretive, protectionist nature of Mennonite culture and lifestyle.
Again i have to recommend that you never read a Dan Brown book, since he refuses to officially declare his work as fiction, and as a bastard child of his imagination and opinion, i felt i must place this warning, in the non-fiction setting as well.