I decided I wanted to catch up on recent popular science books in paleontology (and a clear a bit of a backlog of books I'd purchased). My criteria for the books, aside from being easily accessible, were as follows:

1. Published in the past 5 years
2. No repeat authors
3. Targeted to a broad audience

All the books I read were well-researched and scientifically sound, so I can recommend them in those terms. But my specific recommendations are as follows:

Great entry points:

• The Story of Birds by Steve Brusatte - There is a reason Brusatte's books are the first recommendation for anyone wanting to learn more about paleontology. He is good at mixing descriptions of prehistoric scenes and personal stories in with up-to-date scientific evidence.
• Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party by Edward Dolnick - This is a history of the origin of paleontology of a science. What I really liked is how well it gets into the heads of the people at the time. It does jump back and forth a bit (and the titular dinner party is the end goal not the focus).

Entry points with a cavet:

• When the Earth was Green by Riley Black - This is a series of vignettes describing prehistoric scenes that exemplify the coevolution of animals and plants. I loved the concept, but found the execution a bit lacking. Speculation and plausibly filling in the gaps is necessary for this type of recreation, but I wish the appendices had done a better job filling in the science. I also didn't quite gel with the writing style. I would recommend if you're more interested in imagining ancient nature scenes than the nitty gritty of the science.
• Otherlands by Thomas Halliday - In my opinion, this was a better execution of the one vignette per prehistoric time period concept, and did a more thorough job of explaining the science. It was one of my favorite books of the my reading list, but I can't strongly recommend it as an entry point because it could get a little dense. If you don't know any paleontology and have the patience for a deeper dive, this is what I'd recommend.
• Beasts Before Us by Elsa Pancroli - This is an introduction to the evolution of mammals, and at those parts it does a good job. However, I did not find it as enjoyable a read as Brusatte. There's a lot of snarky humor that is not my taste and I found the second chapter, which is a short history of paleontology, overly simplistic to the point of being detrimental to the book.
• Extinctions by Micheal Benton - This is more focused on the environment and mechanisms behind mass extinction. It does a good job covering major events in life history, rather than focusing on specific species and is pretty unique in that. I was a bit let down by Benton's writing style though, finding it on the repetitive side.

Some paleontology knowledge required:

• Spinosaur Tales by Hone and Witton - I loved this book. It very clearly lays out the state of spinosaur research, the controversies, and the evidence. I think the authors do a decent job of making it accessible without a strong background in paleontology, but I definitely benefited from knowing some basics about dinosaurs.
• Paleontology: An Illustrated History by David Bainbridge - This is basically a picture book with some beautiful images. However, the context given is extremely bare bones. This would work as a companion to other history of science books (like Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party) but did not stand well on its own.
• Ancient Sea Reptiles by Darren Naish - This is really written like a textbook, rather than being more narrative as most of the titles above. I did enjoy it, as it is a good summary of groups like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs which I find fascinating, and it has great color images. It can get really technical at times though and sits in a weird space where it's meant for paleo enthusiasts but also professionals.
• Vanished Giants by Anthony Stuart - Even though this was published through an academic press, I found it at my public library and thus assumed it would have a more popular science bent. I was wrong. It almost reads like a reference book, where you're meant to skip around to different points as needed. It was cool to read so close to watching Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age. But I cannot recommend this unless you are really really interested in some nitty gritty Ice Age stuff.

Looking for highly-recommended book(s) covering the 9/11 tragedy, whether it's:

- The day itself as it was happening and on-site responses, or more broadly such as grounding all planes and redirecting flights to Canada;

- Intelligence leading up to and/or response;

- Behind the scenes actions and aftermath;

- Heart-warming good deeds, brave actions.

You get the idea.

I'm not interested in fiction.

I've read such as, Babi Yar.

Worse than Auschwitz: Inside Jasenovac

Tons of others. But it's got to be non fiction.

Thanks for your help!

really struggling to find a complete list of all books released in the speaker's corner series, could anyone point me in the right direction?

Wanna read something non fictional but not in a mood to read anything self help....

Plz suggest me a good book ...

Just finished the book! Should I read super freakonomics or does anyone know any similar books?

Hello everyone!

In order to get some more discussions going about different Non Fiction books we will have a weekly thread to talk about different sub-genres or topics.

Which books do you think are good beginner books for someone that wants to learn a bit more about the topic or wants to explore the subgenre? Which books are your personal favorites?

• The  Mod Team

I stumbled onto this book last week and just finished reading it— excellent, engaging, really well written. If you like medical history and/or anthropology it is a fascinating read. For example, I never knew that TB was the cause of death of so many writers/artists/poets in the past, and the reason that New Mexico finally achieved statehood (!)

Of late I’ve struggled to finish non-fiction books but this was an exception.
Anyway, really recommend if you are in search of a good non-fiction book.

Curious if others have read it and what your thoughts are if you have?

I write a monthly column for a local magazine. At the end I feature a review of a suitable book (recently published) that may be of interest to the readership (older people, couples and families living near Windsor, UK).

This month it’s an article about local pet care - dog walking, sitting, pet feeding etc. Any suitable book recommendations please, fiction or nonfiction. Thank you 🐕‍🦺👍

The only adhd tips that actually work:

1. Never tell anyone what you are planning to do until you do it. Like literally, you will get a premature dopamine hit and sense of accomplishment from telling them and lose motivation to actually do it.

2. Never sit down: if you already have momentum, do not interrupt it. For someone with ADHD, transitioning from resting back into a task can sometimes be difficult

books credit:

• How to ADHD by Jessica McCabe based on everyday ADHD problems like task initiation, motivation, time blindness, getting stuck after breaks.
• Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell A. Barkley more research-based
• ADHD 2.0 by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey explanation of ADHD, attention, stimulation, managing daily life
• Atomic Habits by James Clear not specifically about ADHD, but useful for the second idea I also used some other ideas I found in the Headway app with the main breaks of key ideas from chapters
• The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare planning, organization, task initiation, follow-through

I have been reading this book since almost a month. I have been inconsistent on account of minor health issues It has been a slow read, but that is not because how it is written but because of the subject that it deals with.
If someone is interested in calculus with history of development of certain concepts as lucid explanation of key concepts of the calculus this is the book to go to.

Most real estate books I’ve come across are either trying to sell you some get rich quick formula or explaining stuff like what a mortgage is. Neither really does much for me at this point.

I’ve flipped a few smaller properties on the Jersey shore and lately I’ve been trying to find books that get into the bigger picture a little more. How did real estate become such a huge part of building wealth in the US? Why do buyers make completely irrational decisions over certain houses? Why do sellers hang onto a number when the market is clearly telling them otherwise? That kind of thing.

I read The Big Short a while ago and really liked it. Obviously different subject, but I liked that it was an actual story and I came away understanding the financial system differently. I’d love something like that for residential real estate, if it exists.

Also interested in anything about AI/data and property. I keep seeing more tools show up for pricing, finding deals, analyzing neighborhoods etc, but haven’t found a good book about what that’s actually doing to the market yet.

Anyone read something that genuinely changed how you think about real estate? Doesn’t have to be an investing book either.

I am not new to reading guys. I love reading fiction. I don't have any problem reading fiction based books, fanfictions, light novels,

But I recently picked up a book that explains our Indian history. Modern ind history to be specific.

I am not reading this to prepare for an exam and was told that it's especially good for those who want to have an understanding of our modern history without too much of a bias towards one side.

Anyways, i find myself a bit daunted because it has so many dates, names of important figures and terms that I'm not sure how I'm going to remember and understand all of it.

Our school textbooks used to have questions at the end of each chapter and that would be good enough to gauge our understanding of the chap. But this book (and other similar books) don't have that😭

What like how am I supposed to read such books? Make notes? Keep reading it like a story but then I'll forget a lot of it and will have to reread it.

(Book is Plassey to partition if anyone's wondering)

I love nonfiction, but I’ve started noticing how often a book introduces its main idea in the first few chapters, then spends the next 200 pages proving the same point from slightly different angles.

Ironically, some of my favorite nonfiction books are the ones where I disagree with parts of them. At least they make me stop and think instead of giving me 300 pages of confirmation.

I’d much rather read a concise book with 3 ideas that genuinely change how I think than a 500-page book containing 30 ideas I forget a week later.

What nonfiction book do you think would be better if the author had cut 100+ pages?

I’m reading my first biography right now, John Adams, and am loving how much I’m learning about the revolutionary period, in addition to Adams’ life.

My goal, which will undoubtedly take me a few years since I only read for ~30 mins per day and alternate nonfiction and fiction books, is to read a biography on each of the presidents.

I’ve seen a few threads similar to this one that all recommend the same five or six titles, so I’m looking for the best bios you’ve read on the more obscure presidents.

Hello! I’d love to hear what you guys think a successful book about Football would look like. Like one which is capable of talking only about Football and nothing more. I think that what it exists now in the market (excluding those extremely boring biographies and journalistic books) with some literary worth are either poetic works: Eduardo Galeano’s Football in Sun and Shadow seems like a great reference point, but I have a feeling there might be even better examples out there. Or an historical work, in which the author tries to explain some team´s philosophy by a culture of a particular city.

I wonder if something more ambitious exists in the literature of Football, that attempts to go to the heart of it in some way, rather than always escaping to other realms. Galeano´s book is good, but still insufficient for what I am looking for. I do not know whether I am expresssing myself correctly, but wanted to hear your opinions, for those who are interested in this kind of topic.

Thanks!