I am an avid reader of fantasy and fiction, so I have many favorite reads, but I just finished one that seems particularly relevant to contemporry society and is a such fun read for folks who grew up in the eighties:
http://www.readyplayerone.com/
No spoilers if you have read this book, just remember the coconuts 
I stopped reading science fiction about 20 years ago. Itās not that I do not love the stuff anymore but I have not found interesting new authors, so I still re-read Jack Vance, James Schmitz or Robert Sheckley (but these are more authors of the sixties -though Jack Vance is still alive and well-).
So I am interested in new authors in āspeculative fictionā (not interested in space battles , middle-ages fantasies/sorcery and uninteresting depressive dystopias). Any advice?
thanks
WB, if you mean what I think you mean by āspecualtive fictionā, then you should read Player One Ready, esp if you are a fan of sevenities nostalgia.
I have read a lot of books in this genre, itās probably one of my favorite types of reading, alternative futures, speculating on what will comeā¦
Neal Stephenson, anything, older stuff is better
David Mitchell: Cloud Atlas
Maraget Atwood: Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, vol three pending
Dexter Palmer: Dream of Perpetual Motion
Paulo Bacigalupi: Windup Girl
Vernor Vinge: the one with the rabbit on the coverā¦some of his stuff is hard to get atā¦
Take a look at this site, the awards have listing of authors and books by years, too many good choices: http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Awards
Wierd stuff, mind bending authorsā¦
China Mieville, one of my favorite authors, anything he writes is incredible
James Joyce, anything, Toothfairy is especially edgy
Charles de Lint, fantasy, some is mooshy, but thereās a lot of good in there
Jonathan Carroll, Outside the Dog Museum
Neil Gaiman, one of my favs, start with American Gods
Michael Chabon, anything, he won the Pulitzer for a good reason
Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, thereās only one ruleā¦
Tim Powers, good stuff no matter what you choose
thanks
which in this list are not specially related to violence? (being an official wimp I canāt stand violence even in books 
)
Well, most books seem to have some ālossesā, not sure what you mean by violence as there are some many shades of violence from physical to mental.
Cloud Atlas is a relaly amazing book, weaving together four stories that are connected, but seperated by hundreds of years, a tough read at first because the stories are so disparate, but worth the effort.
thanks: I am a happy pessimist (āthings canāt go worseā) So I read for ideas and challenges that may not fire dark depressive thoughts (I mostly read in the evening before sleep!). Thatās why I appreciate Jack Vance (violence exist in his book, but the overall tone is rather optimistic)
edit: read ācloud atlas descriptionā ā¦ have you read ājourney of Jonesā by Robert Sheckley : this is post apocalyptic funny (edited also under another name ājourney beyond tomorrowā)
So you got me thinkingā¦
Michael Chabon is an excellent writer, and as far as can remember, all of his novels are non violent, try āThe Yiddish Policemenās Unionā, an alternative hx, set in Alaska, funny, lot sof cultural issues.
China Mielville is extrememly talented, but his stories can be violent, though it is generally fantastic stuff in alternative futures/pasts. Try āThe City and The Cityā, a story about two cities that overlay each other like shadows/dimensions.
Jonathan Carroll, try āOutside the Dog Museumā, odd, non violent.
Gary Shteyngart, try āAbsurdistanā, funny story about a fictional revolution in the middle east.
I will start with that one. thanks
Okay, so I was just starting a new book when you asked about speculative fiction, so hereās one worth itās weight (~1000 pages):
Neal Stephenson, Anathem
POst apocolypse, post everything, four thousand years AD, might be Earth, might be someplace else, kinda hard to knowā¦