Reading List

I read a lot.   (A more extensive list can be found here)

It’s usually nonfiction but I’ve included some of my favorite novels too. Here is a short list containing eight of my favorites I’d be willing to risk my recommendation reputation on.

Previously, I’d linked all of the titles to their page on Goodreads, but I despise how cluttered the site is and have since discovered StoryGraph; it’s an up-and-coming competitor which supports Bookshop.org if you’re in the mood for some good Amazon alternatives. All of the authors are linked to the best info source I could quickly find.

They’re all great reads, so if you do decide to pick one up, I hope you enjoy it!

Nonfiction

Behave cover

  • Behave – Robert Sapolsky
    • This book is a full tour of the biological underpinnings of human behavior in a wide variety of contexts. It’s thorough and readable, albeit a little under 700 pages so it may take some time to tackle… but it is well worth it. It’s neuro-heavy, but there are quick primers on neuroscience, endocrinology and proteins in the appendices for audiences without backgrounds in those topics, so I imagine a determined person with little science background could still enjoy it.

Guns, Germs, and Steel cover

  • Guns, Germs and Steel – Jared Diamond
    • GG&S is essentially a rundown of the environmental and anthropological reasons global human society has arrived where it is today. It’s also a long read but is well written and provides great context for modern history. The arguments put together by Diamond are solid.

Scale cover

  • Scale - Geoffrey West
    • This is easily one of the coolest books I’ve ever read and one of my favorites to reference. Oversimplified, it’s about how characteristics of “living systems” (animals, cities and companies) change as the size of the systems themselves change. It’s full of really interesting science, although the writing tends to wander occasionally so be prepared. Did you know that when a tree branches, the cross-sectional area of the branches is equal to the cross-sectional area of the limb that branched? The same goes for your arteries. I won’t spoil why though, you’ll have to read.

Why We Sleep cover

  • Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
    • For additional context: When I was a freshman at Northwestern, the other freshman football players and I were part of a sleep study conducted by the founders of Rise Science (they were PhD students at the time). After observing first hand the enormous benefits of actually taking care of my sleep, I became a bit more committed to getting a good night’s rest than the pre-educated version of myself.
      I recommend this book to pretty much anyone who will listen because its important information for everyone to have. It’s a light read as far as science goes so it should be accessible to anyone. Even if you don’t want to get on board 100% with his conclusions, I think it would be difficult for anyone to finish this and not agree that good sleep is crucial to your physical and mental well-being, maybe even more so than diet and exercise.

Fiction

Breakfast of Champions cover

  • Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut
    • Or anything by Vonnegut really… although this and Galapagos are my favorites.
      If you’re a reader and you’ve never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut, you’re missing out. His novels aren’t just novels, they’re genuine literature in the sense that they are doing far more than just telling a story and I appreciate the worldviews he regularly conveys in his work. Plus they’re quirky and funny. Can’t miss.

Jurassic Park cover

  • Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
    • I grew up watching the Jurassic Park movies, and this is a classic case of “the book is WAY better than the movie”.
      Most of the books I’ve read by Michael Crichton aren’t literature in the same way Vonnegut’s works are, but he sure can tell an enthralling story. I believe that Jurassic Park comes close, in that he makes it a point to impart societal critiques at different points throughout the book. Plus it’s exciting and about dinosaurs, so what’s not to like?

The Master and Margarita cover

  • The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
    • This one is a chaotic ride; the writing is fantastic and the story is funny, interesting and weird. I think this might be my riskiest recommendation, but it’s a super fun book.

All Quiet on the Western Front cover