Some bedside books I would recommend to young scientists and engineers who want to start understanding what research life is about.
1. J. W. von Goethe, Faust, 1832 [1] (free online access to an English translation by Walter Arndt is available, e.g., at https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185625/http://en.goethe-faust.org/)
2. Anton Chekhov, A Boring Story, 1889 (included in many collections of Chekhov’s stories; a recent collection of English translations is available, e.g., from Modern Library, 2000)
3. H. G. Wells, The Door in the Wall, 1906 (included in virtually all collections of Wells’ short stories)
4. Mitchell Wilson, Live with Lightning, 1947 (available from re-printing by Literary Licensing, 2012)
5. D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey, 1961 (available, e.g., from re-printing by Little, Brown and Company, 1991)
6. A. and B. Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic, 1972 (English translation available, e.g., from Chicago Review Press, 2012)
7. Vera Tinyc, The Transfer: First Attempt, 2nd ed., 2021 (available, e.g. on Amazon)
+ a good selection of quotations. (A collection of my own favorites is cited on another page of this site.)