Science
Books
Ties math, art, and music together in a really interesting way. By no means an easy read, but absolutely fascinating.
Put me on a path to read all sorts of history, evolutionary biology, and linguistics books.
Absolutely loved this when it came out, not sure how it holds up now.
This book really helped my mental health
If you’re going to only read on Stephenson book, make it this one. Especially relevant now in the age of LLMs.
Not quite as good as Guns, Germs, and Steel, but was still a great read.
Depressing, but Kolbert is a good writer.
Disgusting, but fascinating. The variety and innovation across parasite lifecycles is amazing.
Part African travelogue, part baboon behavioral study. The travelogue parts are interesting since traveling in Africa, especially in the 1980s, is always an adventure. But the stories of the baboons, and how similar they are to humans, are the highlight for me.
Quick series with some interesting ideas (human hive minds, vampires in space).
The two books are interesting takes on foreign intelligence. The third book is skippable.
Good intro to the benefits of fasting, in case (like me) you have to convince people you’re not crazy for not eating six times a day
There is very little new here if you’ve read Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Third Chimpanzee, both of which I recommend over this
Another plot-driven sci-fi popcorn read with a familiar story line
Some good ideas, but could have been condensed into a long article.
Interesting premise, but not a fan of the writing style and drags a bit. I enjoyed Hominids more.