Unconventional SF
Aside from the conventional "Science + Fiction" formula

Science + Christianity = A Canticle for Lebowitz (Walter Miller, 1961 Hugo)
Science + Islam = The Dune Series (Frank Herbert, 1965 Nebula)
Science + History = Foundation Series (Issac Asimov)
Science + Psychology = Solaris (Stanislaw Lem)
Science + Anthropology = The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula Le Guin, 1969
Nebula*, 1970 Hugo), Ringworld (Larry Niven, 1970 Nebula, 1971 Hugo)

Fiction + Theoretical High Energy Physics = Distress (Greg Egan**)
Fiction + Computer simulation = Permutation City (Greg Egan)
Fiction + Pervasive computing = A Deepness In the Sky (Vernor Vinge, 2000
Hugo)
Fiction + Networking = A Fire upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge, 1993 Hugo)
//perfect for entertainment
Fiction + Evolution = Darwin's Radio (Greg Bear, 2000 Nebula)
Fiction + Hacking = Neuromancer (William Gibson, 1985 Hugo)
//Gibson creates a huge barrier for our non-native speakers by coining tons of new words
Science + Socialism = Dispossessed(Ursula Le Guin, 1975 Hugo)

*Le Guin's writing is the best among SF writers.
** I was told that he resmbles Ted Chiang, my favorite author.

Super-Hard SF

Red mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars.Mars Trilogy
// The ultimate documentation written for NASA engineers. Too hard to be comprehend

Darwin's Radio
// Hard SF targetting at biologists.

Accelerado
// written for hard-core computer geeks by the best perl programmer of the world. Packed with ideas.

Best Reads
My recommendation: Ted Chiang's "The story of your life"(chinese translation:你一生的故事)

chinese translation

english




PS: I will shortly begin to write a series of articles concerning Ursula K. Le Guin. 挖个坑先......peng!