I really don't recommend Perdido Street Station. The style of writing is rather old fashioned, full of antiquated words, most people will find it a very difficult and dull read. And while it starts out awesome, it begins to drag and then becomes very odd, including a ten page description of moth sex and bodily functions, just going downhill from there with an ending that doesn't make sense. Instead "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi is better written and readable by the average person. As for as "Stranger in a Strange Land" the only people who like it are members of NAMBLA and burntout hippies. This really isn't a even a list of good SF let alone SF for first time readers.