I just finished reading First Steps: How Walking Upright Made Us Human by Jeremy DeSilva, and I was reflecting on how much I enjoy reading popular science books. I may only read a few each year, and I read them much more slowly than fiction, but I like learning about something new to me and appreciate the fine writing by a scientist or journalist who has really delved into a topic and is enthusiastic to share some of what they’ve learned with non-scientists. Other books I read this year include Kindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes and The Arbornaut by Meg Lowman. Here is a list of recent popular science books in the library’s collection, along with a few about to be published. The variety of topics covered is remarkable, and I hope to enjoy more of these titles soon. Happy reading!
Brenda
Recent Popular Science Books
Biberdorf, Kate. It’s Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything
Black, Riley. The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World
Bryson, Bill. The Body: A Guide for Occupants
DeSilva, Jeremy. First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human
Dettmer, Philipp. Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
Ellenberg, Jordan. Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else
Everts, Sarah. The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration
Frank, Adam. Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
Kaku, Michio. The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything
Knoll, Andrew. A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters
Kolbert, Elizabeth. Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
Levesque, Emily. The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers
Lowman, Margaret. The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees Above Us
Macfarlane, Robert. Underland: A Deep Time Journey
Nestor, James. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
Panciroli, Elsa. Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution
Phoenix, Jess. Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life
Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda. The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime and Dreams Deferred
Raff, Jennifer. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas
Raven, Catherine. Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship
Roach, Mary: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
Scales, Helen. The Brilliant Abyss: Exploring the Majest Hidden Life of the Deep Ocean and the Looming Threat That Imperils It
Seager, Sara. The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir
Sheldrake, Merlin. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
Simard, Suzanne. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
Widder, Edith. Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea
Wohlleben, Peter. The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature
Wragg Sykes, Rebecca. Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art
Zimmer, Carl. Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive
featuring Kenneth Branagh as private detective Hercule Poirot is expected this fall. The setting is appealing, if a bit menacing, featuring a cruise on Egypt’s Nile River. A rich heiress and her new husband, a mother and daughter, a great aunt and her niece, an author and her son are all featured, along with the renowned Belgian detective and the jilted lover of another passenger. If you enjoy twisty plots with an atmospheric setting and an intensifying pace, this is still a wonderful read, if you can overlook some dated cultural references.
where everyone in Lake Eden, Minnesota drops into The Cookie Jar for a cup of coffee and all the latest news. A much disliked resident of Lake Eden is found by dead by one of Hannah’s sisters, and Hannah has to solve the mystery to clear her sister’s name. Full of tempting recipes, this is the perfect mix of mystery and comfort read.
private detective in London, visits New England and finds his detecting skills needed in opulent Newport, Rhode Island, when a young debutante is found dead on the beach. Charles misses his family dreadfully, and considers leaving his profession, especially after a close call.
plot yet, but I can guarantee that it’s a delight to read. It’s been several years since the last Phryne Fisher historical mystery set in Melbourne, Australia, but this is worth the wait. The popular television series, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, has been filling the gap for many fans of this Jazz Age series.
mystery series, featuring a young newspaper editor in small town Texas whose boss is the ghost of the founding editor. Lexie wonders if her days in town are numbered as she stirs up ill feeling with questions about recent sales of family farms.
breaks at work.
At work I’m also reading Musical Chairs, by Amy Poeppel, a contemporary novel about the founding members of a musical trio. This is a book I’m considering for a future book discussion.
first Agatha Christie mystery, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I haven’t read many of her mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot, and this one is recommended.
ies.
Book Talk 