Elisabeth’s been delving into science fiction lately and that got me keen to start picking up some old science fiction classics that I had somehow never gotten around to reading.
The first of these was Rendezvous with Rama, a book I feel like I’ve been hearing about since the early 80s. And yet, I never picked it up. So recently, on my commute, I listened to the audiobook.
I really enjoyed it. In fact, I think it’s fair to say I loved it. Firmly in that old school hard sci-fi realm, and yet still very relevant if you ignore some of the outdated science (though that was remarkably minimal). It didn’t even bother me that Clarke’s characterization is minimal. I was pretty much riveted throughout. It helps that it’s a SF mystery. But honestly, I’m just a sucker for alien artifact stories.
I also saw how it could be adapted (pretty easily, I think) into a film, which is apparently something Morgan Freeman has been trying to do. You’d just have to consolidate some characters. But the structure is there. And I think it would be relatable (Hollywood, call me).
I’m definitely up for reading more Clarke. Obviously 2001 and its sequels are some of the best known, but let me know if you recommend any others in the comments.
Rising Tide, the sequel to Falling Sky, was released on October 6, 2015. 
Falling Sky, my first novel, came out October 7, 2014 from Pyr. It's an adventure story set in a post-apocalyptic future with airships.
Try “Tales from the White Hart.” I remember really liking it as a kid. And “Childhood”s End” of you haven’t already read it.