Hard scifi by Greg Egan is a trip and you’ll never be the same afterwards. Permutation City and Diaspora are my favorites.

For more modern take, Children of Time is beautifully narrated and I could listen to it all day for years and never get tired of the narrator.

For a universe that keeps on going with problem solving Vorkosigan Saga is very feel good and I think in line with a book like the Martian albeit a bit less hard though solid on its approach to deduction and wit.

Thanks for such an in depth answer. Is there a good place to buy seeds for newer strains like this?