I've found I do most of my offline reading while traveling, especially on international trips. Lugging a thick hardback to the opposite side of the globe takes dedication, but it's worth it to fill the ten-plus hours it takes to cross the pond.
I won't bore you with lengthy reviews, but instead simply list some recent acquisitions I've made for travelling entertainment:
"A Short History of Nearly Everything", Bill Bryson I'm still working on this one, but so far it's amazingly insightful, and very dense. It's one of those books that makes you wonder why you waited this long to read it. It is a non-fiction re-telling of the evolution of scientific thinking throughout history. Bascially, what do we think we know today, and how did we come to these conclusions.
"Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", Charles Petzold I read this on my trip to Game Developer Conference this year and loved it. It does a great job explaining low level hardware fundamentals in a fun and approachable style. I'm glad I've done some Assembly Language programming though, since it made those chapters much easier to read. I've always been more of a software guy then hardware, so this book really helped removed some of the mystery behind hardware design.
"Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Things", Donald A. Norman I read this one on my trip to E3 this year. The book makes a break from traditional academic views on human centered design by focusing on the emotional reaction products create. If you fancy HCI like I do, this is worth reading as a reminder that design isn't all science.
"The Zenith Angle", by Bruce Sterling A quick read about a computer security professional stepping up to the challenge of protecting his country from cyber-terror. I enjoyed the use of current events with a bias towards geek-dom. A little more cyber-genre then Pattern Recognition, but nothing too challenging for the non-geeks.
"Pattern Recognition", William Gibson Another quick read. A great fiction commentary on corporate marketing. It wasn't too heavy on the cyber/future/geek stuff, but still appealing.
"Game Programming With Python", Sean Riley I'm slow starting this one. I was mildly set back after learning that PyUI (a UI library developed by the book's author and used throughout the book) doesn't work on OS X, but most of the lessons can be done without it (using just PyGame.) You probably need some experience with PyGame and writing a few games before diving into this one.
"Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box", Ryan Russell (Author) Ido Dubrawsky (Author) FX (Author) Joe Grand, Tim Mullen This is a collection of fictional short stories based on real world cracking techniques. It has a few flaws, but it's enjoyable geek fiction.