The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootGuns, Germs, and Steel by Jared DiamondOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García MárquezMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisThe Alienist by Caleb Carr
NPR
28th out of 162 books — 151 voters
Bossypants by Tina FeyThe Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David  MitchellOpen by Andre AgassiThe Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha MukherjeeLast Call by Daniel Okrent
From Fresh Air
16th out of 106 books — 82 voters

Virus Hunter by C.J. PetersThe Living Medicine by Lina ZeldovichThe Great Influenza by John M. BarryAnd the Band Played On by Randy ShiltsThe Hot Zone by Richard   Preston
Going Viral!
8th out of 99 books — 14 voters
Stiff by Mary RoachThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootThe Origin of Species by Charles DarwinThe Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha MukherjeeThe Hot Zone by Richard   Preston
Best Nonfiction Biology books on Goodreads
221st out of 361 books — 73 voters

The Stand by Stephen  KingThe Hot Zone by Richard   PrestonWorld War Z by Max BrooksThe Plague by Albert CamusThe Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Books for a Pandemic
303rd out of 712 books — 592 voters
Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavir... by Gleb TsipurskyThe Removable Root Cause of Cancers and other Chronic Diseases  by Paul OlaThe Living Medicine by Lina ZeldovichThe Blindspots Between Us by Gleb TsipurskyAnd the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Books for the time of Pandemics
41st out of 140 books — 43 voters

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinThe Giver by Lois LowryTenth of December by George SaundersWhat If? by Randall MunroeCapital in the Twenty First Century by Thomas Piketty
Books Rec'd By The Colbert Report
130th out of 246 books — 138 voters
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared DiamondA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill  BrysonA Brief History of Time by Stephen W. HawkingThe Disappearing Spoon by Sam KeanLongitude by Dava Sobel
Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize
109th out of 128 books — 75 voters

State of Wonder by Ann PatchettTwilight of the Elites by Christopher L. HayesThe New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderBehind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine BooIn the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Colbert Report Book List
64th out of 65 books — 31 voters
Model Thinking for Everyday Life by Richard C. LarsonThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver SacksOutliers by Malcolm GladwellBlink by Malcolm Gladwell
Radiolab Suggested Readings
110th out of 183 books — 305 voters

Stiff by Mary RoachSalt by Mark KurlanskyThe Professor and the Madman by Simon WinchesterThe Ghost Map by Steven JohnsonLongitude by Dava Sobel
Microhistory: Social Histories of Just One Thing
527th out of 1,922 books — 2,286 voters
Shadow of a Survivor by John Walker PattisonMe and My Shadow by John Walker PattisonOsteoporosis Prevention by Susan  LandersStiff by Mary RoachThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Modern Medical Science (nonfiction)
35th out of 270 books — 245 voters

Every 9 Minutes by Christina VitaglianoThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootStiff by Mary RoachA Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill  BrysonGod's Existence by Gary R. Lindberg
Modern Science Nonfiction
129th out of 486 books — 422 voters
Adapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavir... by Gleb TsipurskyThe Stand by Stephen  KingYear of Wonders by Geraldine BrooksThe Plague by Albert CamusThe Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett
Reading in the time of COVID-19
14th out of 110 books — 43 voters

Spillover by David QuammenThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootThe Ghost Map by Steven JohnsonGet Well Soon by Jennifer   WrightParasite Rex by Carl Zimmer
That This Too Too Solid Flesh Would Melt
36th out of 91 books — 20 voters
Spillover by David QuammenThe Great Mortality by John     KellyRabid by Bill  WasikFlu by Gina KolataEbola by David Quammen
Scourges, Plagues and Epidemics (nonfiction)
78th out of 144 books — 17 voters

The Ghost Map by Steven JohnsonThe Great Influenza by John M. BarryAnd the Band Played On by Randy ShiltsThe Coming Plague by Laurie GarrettGuns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
History of disease
83rd out of 168 books — 72 voters
Spillover by David QuammenThe Great Influenza by John M. BarryAnd the Band Played On by Randy ShiltsGet Well Soon by Jennifer   WrightPandemic by Sonia Shah
Pandemics and Epidemics (nonfiction)
82nd out of 129 books — 18 voters

Out of the Cage by Matthew LightfootThe Premonition by Michael   LewisTen Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed ZakariaA State of Fear by Laura DodsworthThe Plague Year by Lawrence Wright
Coronavirus Reading List
67th out of 157 books — 16 voters
Entangled Life by Merlin SheldrakeThe Soul of an Octopus by Sy MontgomeryGorillas in the Mist by Dian FosseyReflections of Eden by Biruté GaldikasRegeneration by Paul Hawken
Science Literacy Week 2025
88th out of 100 books — 1 voter