Task 2: Read a Nonfiction Book About Science

[Tiffany]

I read Blood: an Epic History of Medicine and Commerce by Douglas Starr. An eye-opening account of the lack of testing that we had for blood products many years ago; very sad that many countries including the USA sold products to hospitals, hemophiliacs, etc that they knew were contaminated. I work in science and this is horrifying on so many levels.

[Barbara]

I'm a scientist by trade and passion, so I read a lot of science NF normally. I think I'm going to try to try to expand out and try Richard Fortey whose work I haven't read before. Although, several of the books listed in this thread also sound interesting, and I may wind up with one of them.

[Danielle]

I was able to cross this task off with The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science. It is definitely a mixture of true crime and science. The book alternates chapters between the killer and what he was doing and the doctor revolutionize forensic science with his study of the body. The chapters about the doctor were very science based. I recommend this book!

[Chickadee]

Daena wrote: "I'm planning on Arctic Dreams."

That is an excellent book.

[Chickadee]

I've picked Plastic: A Toxic Love Story

[Eva]

I just finished Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex and laughed out loud. For last year's Challenge I read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I recommend either book for this category.

[Djuna]

Louise wrote: "I'm thinking Quiet by Susan Cain would qualify?"

I also want to know if this book qualifies.

[Veronica]

Akilah wrote: "I'm going to read something by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Probably the one about Pluto. That's messed up, right?"

You know that's right.

[Carla]

If you live in the New York metropolitan area, I highly recommend joining me in reading Welcome to the Microbiome: Getting to Know the Trillions of Bacteria and Other Microbes In, On, and Around You. Then you can go to the special exhibit at the Museum of Natural History that was created in conjunction with the book!

[Mark]

I finished 'The Knowledge' today.

I was left unimpressed and I was surprised by just how bored I was by it through a lot of the sections.

I am generally interested in wilderness survival and perhaps having a decent amount of prior knowledge made that section less interesting and then as the book progressed into the more advance areas of thriving in a rebooted society, I just was interested in the subject matter any more.

I may drop back into this category again later in the year as I am generally interested in reading more non-fiction science. I read Nothing: From Absolute Zero to Cosmic Oblivion - Amazing Insights into Nothingness in 2014 and enjoyed reading that; perhaps the article / essay style of that book was easier for me to absorb.

[Nicia]

Would you consider Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance a science book? It is categorized as non-fiction dealing with sociology, including research and interviews with experts in the field.

[Bonnie G.]

I just came here to post the same question about Modern Love. Great minds....

[Cheryl Daly]

I read Stiff by Mary Roach. WOW!!

[Sheena]

I'm planning on reading Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson, has been on my TBR list for a while :)

[Jennifer]

I'm light on science interest but helping my kid learn the periodic table so I think I'm going with: The Disappearing Spoon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

[Courtney]

Eva wrote: "I just finished Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex and laughed out loud. For last year's Challenge I read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I recomm..."

Me too! Bonk was my first book of hers, so I'm looking forward to reading Stiff. I also embarrassed myself a few times with some awkward "Hey - did you know doctors used to transplant grafts from monkey testicles into the testicles of older men as a miracle cure for many ailments?" sharing with people I meet.

[Heidi]

My library had The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness on display as a staff pick. I picked it up and flew through it. Definitely recommended to everyone. It was a really fun read and now I'm pretty sure octopuses are smarter than any human.

[Viv]

As mother to an occasionally baffling 15 year old son, I am going to read The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our Kids - several people have shelved it as science, so I am hoping it counts for this challenge.

[Bonnie G.]

Viv wrote: "As mother to an occasionally baffling 15 year old son, I am going to read The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our Kids - several people hav..."

I have a 16 (almost 17!) year old. Please report back on whether this helps.

[Kira]

I'm reading How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming for this prompt. I also considered The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for it.

[[deleted user]]

I'm halfway through The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales and really enjoying it.

[[deleted user]]

would A Short History of Nearly Everything
be suitable for this as I'm a little unsure having not read it but if not I can put it somewhere else.

[Becky]

I bought "The Sixth Extinction" by Elizabeth Kolbert last year but it is still on my TBR list. Two birds with one stone!

[Ashley]

Jodie wrote: "would A Short History of Nearly Everything
be suitable for this as I'm a little unsure having not read it but if not I can put it somewhere else."

Yes Jodie, i think this would be a safe bet for the task. It is shelved as science on GR and seems to be, according to the description, fairly focused on science-y stuff. Happy reading!

[Henriette]

A friend of mine gave my one of his favorite books for Christmas - I'll be going with that one. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid

[Robin P]

Just saw this title on BookRiot - Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World - I'm going with it!

[Megz]

I read Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection with Kinky Crustaceans, Sex-Changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep by Marah J. Hardt - it was awesome - and wrote a review here: https://barefootmeds.wordpress.com/20....

[S.J.]

I've had Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence kicking around in my TBR pile for awhile, so I'm thinking I'll read it for this one.

In general, I'm trying to mine my TBR as much as possible for this year's Read Harder - I find I get distracted by new books so easily that I never seem to make a dent in the existing pile!

[quietprofanity]

Dhruv wrote: "I would severely recommend this book.
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
It has some dubious unproven hypothesis in there but overall it makes ..."

My Dad was obsessed with that book. Hope you find it interesting.

[quietprofanity]

I read The Origin of Species. Oh wow, was that hard. I had to put on study music to get through it. BUT I did find it rewarding. It's interesting how much Darwin anticipated the objections to the Theory of Evolution and talks about them head-on. (I also reviewed it here.)

[Veronica]

quietprofanity wrote: "I read The Origin of Species. Oh wow, was that hard. I had to put on study music to get through it. BUT I did find it rewarding. It's interesting how much Darwin anticipated the object..."

Thanks for posting your review. I'm considering reading this too and you've confirmed my suspicions that it would be a difficult read, but I'm glad to hear it was ultimately rewarding.

[Bonnie G.]

quietprofanity wrote: "I read The Origin of Species. Oh wow, was that hard. I had to put on study music to get through it. BUT I did find it rewarding. It's interesting how much Darwin anticipated the object..."

I just want to say that I am impressed by your ambition!

[Leigh]

I read The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. It was very dry and didn't hold my interest very long.

[Katie]

I read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and while it was certainly the easiest non-fiction book I've ever read, it was still non-fiction and did not enjoy it. I normally try to star everything I've read on Goodreads but couldn't bring myself to give this one any stars because I know I'm not the right audience for this book and don't want to unfairly skew the overall rating.

[Ramona]

Nicia wrote: "Would you consider Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance a science book? It is categorized as non-fiction dealing with sociology, including research and interviews with experts in the field."

One of my friends is reading it for this category. I think it counts as a social science.

[Tina]

I read Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

[Amy]

Nicia wrote: "Would you consider Aziz Ansari's Modern Romance a science book? It is categorized as non-fiction dealing with sociology, including research and interviews with experts in the field."

I read Modern Love. I wouldn't classify it as science.

[Amy]

Stopped in my state library earlier this week. They had The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys' Club, which has been discussed here, and The Invention of Science: The Scientific Revolution from 1500 to 1750, which also looks interesting.

[April]

I started reading The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business just out of curiosity and there's so much information about the neurological aspect of it and scientific research that it's going to qualify for this category.

[Renee]

I am excited to say I'm reading my last book for the challenge! I'm reading Pandemic by Sonia Shah. It was released today!!!!!

[Tamara]

I know that Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb is historical non-fiction, but I was wondering if people thought it was enough about science for it to count for this task?

[Teresa]

@Tams, imo yes. The description says the author describes the science of the bomb.

[Teresa]

I read The Children's Blizzard. I hadn't planned it for any category, but it's chock full of atmospheric science.

[Kristine]

I read Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal and highly recommend. Fascinating and funny. If you like Mary Roach's other books, you'll probably like this one too.

[Ashley]

Just finished the audio version of Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation and it was excellent! Mr. Nye's enthusiasm and optimism for science is contagious, and I found each of the chapters to be easy to grasp (for the most part - some stuff was still a bit over my head) and fun to learn about. Say what you will about the evolution vs creationist argument, but I think you will absolutely learn a thing or two if you read/listen to this, and enjoy doing it!

[Lauren]

Renee wrote: "I am excited to say I'm reading my last book for the challenge! I'm reading Pandemic by Sonia Shah. It was released today!!!!!"


I just finished Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond for this task too - I thought it was great. I will be looking for more of Shah's work. If you are interested in virology/immunology, microbiology, or the history of medicine, this is recommended!

[Mary]

I read What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe. He is the creator of XKCD and it was quite fun. I was vaguely aware that the book had come out and I had found the comic about "the glass half-full" hilarious. It's a good read. I am glad I am not the only one in this challenge who has read it.

[Jessica]

I just finished 52 women who changed science. It was a lovely book with little biographies on several women who didn't get the credit they deserved.

[Ashley]

If anyone is still having some trouble finding a book to fulfill this task, I would like to throw Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner into the mix. I'm listening to the audiobook version (long work commute, sigh) and it's absolutely fascinating, as well as hysterical at times. If you aren't bothered by graphic descriptions of autopsies and decomposing bodies, and find crime/death investigation fascinating (I do! don't judge me), I highly recommend!

[Jessica]

would 'The Psycopath Test' by Jon Ronson count in this category?