Middle Ages / Medieval history - I found one that was an historical analysis of a town’s archives and it was sooo interesting to read about people’s marriages and squabbles and such.
Downside - when I see people wearing leggings and baggy shirts, I think “that’s so 14th century!” 😜
I'd like to know the book too lol. I was a medieval studies major and feel like I've read all the good, accessible stuff, and so haven't really read anything on the subject in a long time. Though, I am in the middle of one right now - if you haven't read it, I recommend it. And it has probably the best title ever: "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century"
The book was called “Life in a Medieval Village” by Frances and Joseph Gies. They comb through all the town archives found in the village known as Elton.
I can’t take a pic of my copy because it’s packed away inaccessible (doing renos).
Here’s a link for the Internet Archive version: https://archive.org/details/lifeinmedievalvi00gies/page/n6/mode/1up
Same here. Every time a grab a book from the library, it's either an in-depth analysis of events linking incentives, hypothesis, and causality into events and decisions, or it is just a bunch of name soup that I lose the plot of until it talks about a heretical Christian sect.
I'm very obsessed with the intelligence of Octopuses. So I read a lot of books on them.
I also love to read books that analyze the intersection of art and science. I learn a lot with those kinds of books, and philosophy&history is often sprinkled in them for well-rounded reflection.
Videos of BBC shows usually aren't availbe outside UK but the endearing one your post immediately made me think of actually is: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ie2h4. Hope it's of interest.
Psychology, cognition, and relationships are big ones for me. Why do humans so often prefer leaders who are absolutely horrible people? Why are abusive people abusive? What exactly is empathy? Why is lying an important stage in child development? What actually correlates with happiness? It's all soooooo damn interesting.
Also:
* Geopolitics and terrorism
* Biology
* Zoology
* Other scientific topics
* Disasters and tragedies
* History - lately, I'm into Native American history
* Cooking
But I really read a little of everything. I find pretty much every topic except team sports interesting.
Native history is all kinds of cool, but it's also really amazing to read historical texts by Native authors! (This is what I studied in grad school, so I'm biased.) William Apess, Charles Eastman, John Rollin Ridge, Ella Deloria and (my personal favorite) Zitkala-Sa are all amazing!
This is an interesting list! I think it's a pity that most people stop learning once they finished school. There is so much going on these days. I consider it foolish not to even want to know about these things, like current scientific breakthroughs, how history tends to repeat itself and how we don't learn from it, what we can learn from nature (I recently read that they have just discovered even plants make sounds and communicate, we just can't hear them - amazing stuff isn't it?). So I like to read non-fiction that teaches us new things we can expand our world view on.
I love all of these and I think all the questions you listed are why we love them because there’s never a clear answer! And maybe cooking is how we avoid the answers??
Oooh, lots of this is the same for me. We should exchange book recs!
Here are a few of my faves on those topics (but I have loads of others):
\- Amy Stewart's two books, Wicked Bugs and Wicked Plants (biology/zoology)
\- The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know is Wrong by John Mitchinson (zoology)
\- Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid
\- Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities by Richard Baer (psychology)
\- Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbottom (disasters)
As I said, I've loads more and would love yours too! Only cooking I'm not hugely into, but all the rest are up my alley!
(Edit - are you into epidemiology? I've read loads of fantastic books on that topic too.)
History and often prehistory - our early ancestors in Britain were strange and inscrutable but still very human. Alice Roberts book Ancestors had this beautiful and moving account of neanderthal flower burials ... and then she pulls the rug out from under your feet. Francis Pryor is light and accessible. James Catton and his book Ancient Wonderings is very personal and less historical but engrossing. Cultural History - John Higgs is always fresh, Nick Hayes book of Trespass for it's sense of rage.
Usually what I do is think "Huh, kind of weird I don't know much about that." And then pick up a book about it. Like I realized I didn't know very much about the American revolution so started reading about it. I'm also in tech but don't know much about hacking/cyber security so picked up a book about Russian cyber warfare. I recently moved to Washington and didn't know much about it's history so picked up a local history book, and did the same thing back when I lived in Michigan.
Thanks for your comment, it made me realize I do the same thing. I'll hear about something, think, oh wow I actually don't know much about this thing, and then get interested in it purely because it's a totally new concept for me.
Autobiographies are fascinating to me. So many different worldviews and perspectives to explore. You can also kind of tell which ones are genuine and which ones are just made up for the sake of selling a book
I have a hard time with personal memoirs, but I read a ton of biographies by reputable historians/journalists. The autobiographies are often well written and enjoyable to read, but are inherently the opposite of objective.
So I’ve been kind of itching to go on a specific kick for prison autobiographies, or autobiographies published by activists while they were young, and was wondering if you had any good recs?
I’m kind of interested in the contrast between how someone sees themself in the moment, and how they see themselves years later looking back.
Unfortunately I haven't read anything that fits that description.
My best recommendation would be Out of the Forest by Gregory Smith. The author experiences a lot of personal growth throughout his life so that may fit the description of old vs young. But really at its core it is a fascinating story of a very interesting and difficult life, and is also hugely inspiring. I won't say more so as not to spoil it in case someone sees this and picks it up. I'll mark the rest as spoiler: >!It's an amazing redemption story of a rejected kid who ends up being homeless for many years, only to then earn a PhD at 60 and discover his self-worth. It is heart wrenching and difficult to read at points, but it is so so inspiring.!<
That does sound interesting. I guess I’m kind of hunting for a book that someone wrote at the “halfway point” in their lives, so that I can then go learn how they changed.
Thank you for your help though, I might check that out anyways!
I picked up a few prison autobiographies from activists who active after their release, so I'm figuring at least a couple of them will have written follow-ups or been the subject of biographies! Fingers crossed, just have to churn through a few more TBR's first!
The thing I find difficult in autobiographies, is that I think people are bound to lie out of vanity. People even lie in confessions of guilt due to pure vanity. That being said… I also like reading them, even if there are many lies among the truth
Food, fungi and foraging.
I can't get into non-fiction unless it's something I'm super interested in. I like foraging for mushrooms and think fungi are neat so it's easy for me to get into books about them. Foraging is mostly guides, but imo I read so little non-fiction that I count them.
Food is kinda broad, but I like learning the history and origins of food, the cultures around different foods, foods/plants that are going extinct, chef biographies/autobiographies...there's so much of it to learn about!
I’ve realized this past year and a half I’ve been reading a lot about cults. I don’t know exactly why I am so intrigued by them. It started with my fascination with Scientology and went from there.
I will say that a lot of these books are tough to get through because the awful things the people in power have done. I might need to take an extended break from them.
I'm a true crime fan and will sometimes read some books about cults! I agree, they're so tough to read sometimes (especially memoirs of people who were raised in a cult and didn't get out until adulthood).
I read a really good one about Jim Jones a couple of years ago, The Road to Jonestown. It was fascinating, I learned so much!
I grew up in a cult! It's pretty nice when you're in it until you realize how fucked up everything is. I still see some people that are in it and they are genuinely sad if they recognize me. I still miss the sense of community I had there tbh.
I'm really interested in The Troubles in Northern Ireland. So far I've only read There Will Be Fire by Rory Connell and Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe but I plan to read more.
Baseball - my favorite sport and I love the history of the game.
Movies, Music, and Comic Books - Behind the scenes stuff. I love how these arts are made and like reading the stories.
The Bronx Zoo by Sparky Lyle - another in season book by a player
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski - he follows Buck O'Neill around and talks about his life
The Wax Pack by Brad Balukjian - a guy travels the country to meet the players from a pack of baseball cards he bought and finds out what they did after they were done playing.
I also read a lot on analytics, so Moneyball type books. If you are into that, Ben Lindberg has 2 I highly recommend: The MVP Machine (how players are training differently to become better players - trigger warning: a lot of Trevor Bauer before he got in trouble) and The Only Rule Is It Has To Work (he co-GMs an independent mine league team and they build it with Sabremetric ideas).
Mostly history and politics, especially the Balkans, south Asia and Ireland - i'll often get hooked on a very niche subject (e.g. yeomanry in 18th century Ireland) and have a need to find out everything i can about it. Particularly interested in the ordinary people, uprisings and "terrorism" (a loaded word i know, hence the quotation marks) rather than large scale warfare - i've no interest in weaponry for example but i am interested in how a war affected civilians/working class people including foot soldiers. So saying i was/am interested in the english civil wars but again more in the people and society than, say, the battles. Then all of a sudden i'll get obsessed with something else, ha ha. It does occur to me that maybe i'm not altogether normal lol
Mostly science. Because it feeds into what I write in fiction, and because understanding the real world is important to me. I'm a big fan of Ed Yong's work.
I read one about shipping containers, because I use one in my first novel. It was very interesting for that and to learn about our modern world's ability to create in one place and consume in entirely another.
Ethnobotany, Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, satellite imagery, and Cartography.
Why: It's my field of study and I'd keep reading it even if I wasn't working towards a higher degree.
For me, it is the same but the other way around. I read a lot of British history and am an American. I also greatly enjoy physics, though I am by no means an expert.
Brian Cox is always great, very accessible and witty too. Isaac Asimov's Understanding Physics is really good too, although a bit more mathematics heavy. One I have yet to read but heard good stuff about is Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (he's become quite controversial though).
Also, Hawkings A Brief History of Time is well worth reading if you haven't already.
I love to read about food history, and I often unintentionally learn a lot about general world history along the way. 'Salt: a World History' by Mark Kurlansky is a great example.
Biographies, disasters and less-definable perspective works like *Between the World and Me*. I’m a 95% fiction reader for entertainment but some non-fiction is very moving and I’ve never regretted any of it.
I like memoirs. Doesn't matter why the person is significant, it's just interesting to step into another life
I also like to read about the history, culture, lifestyle and geography of different countries
Late Roman republic and early Roman Empire. Very interesting stuff, larger than life players, SOO damn dramatic it’s almost feels like reading a fantasy book
I like to read across the spectrum of social sciences — predominantly economics, political science, and sociology. Obviously there are tons of subfields within these broader fields.
I really enjoy reading about ancient history & learning about other cultures. I like to see how they shaped our world. Mostly, i focus on Roman & Egyptian history. They are the most interesting to me. Lately, I have been grooving on histories of everyday items. Here are a couple of books i liked:
Salt by Mark Kurlansky, Eyeliner by Zahra Hankir, & If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley.
The last one I read was about the influence of ancient Greek and Roman literature in the Caribbean.
I just liked the title (Afro-Greeks) and read it, not knowing what it was about.
Don’t worry, soon you’ll move on to reading about dinosaurs. Then, for reasons that won’t ever be clear, they’ll fixate on some modern disaster like the Titanic, Pearl Harbor, or the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
(I have so many ducking opinions on dinosaurs since I started babysitting a 4 year old, and I’m curious as to which horrific event hell decide on)
He’s something else. You wonder how much of that was an act…. My pet theory being that he turned the crazy up to 11 so that his former associates would look like fools every time they went before a parole board and blamed everything on him. Not a good look for release if you’d willingly follow the every command of someone that obviously batshit.
Pirates. Roughly 60% were just hilbillies on boats in a pond that would get drunk and shoot ppl on sight. The idea of using a boat to do whatever u wanted goes way back to like 200 b.c. and wasn’t overtly popularized until like 1400-1800. That’s when ppl would run away from their palaces and use their rich parents’ money for a high seat at the pirate table, or pretend to be men so they can masterfully navigate ships under their command bc pirates are stupid and won’t notice as long as the pillaging route had a few stops for booze, or fight until each ship is blown to bits over another ship full of some gun powder and/or more booze
🤭 this is the most unique topic and the best explanation I've stumbled upon so far. "Because pirates are stupid" and only worried about why the run is gone. I think I might need to start reading about pirates lol
Good thread! For the last year or so I've been reading mostly books about the American revolution, American history, and American Constitutional law.
I have heard the phrase "socialist theory" before, but I don't really know what it involves. Is it political philosophy, or more like economics?
Very obsessed with obscure technical aspects of World War 2. This year alone I have read a book on my home town during the war, a book on catapult-launched fighter planes, and a book written by a test pilot from one of the largest Spitfire factories. Next I am looking to get a book on Malta during World War 2.
Fortress Malta is a beast, but very readable.
I’m taking a break from WW2 for a while, but right with you in getting into the weeds of things. The 30s and 40s just have a vibe that I’m really interested in; horrible era, but really romantic at the same time.
Ooh, I shall stick that on the TBR pile.
I agree. The stories of how different people navigated the turbulent times fascinates me. Especially when they can be strung together around a particular machine. Most recently I read a book on Hawker Hurricanes which was surprisingly engrossing.
Forensics, medical examiners, the funeral industry. Also enjoy early medical years when discoveries that literally changed the way things were done (germs!) came along. Oh, and Antarctica.
Some of the best ones I have read are Dirty Old London: Victorians Fight Against Filth by Jackson Lee; it covers most of the 1800s from a social and economic stand point and really show how things changed for business and cleanliness and how the government and well-intentioned and not-so-well-intentioned individuals that tried to alter things. You get to see concerns with sustainability as well as concerns as to how to elevate everyone in a relative equal terms. This one is very academic and can be dry at times, but it paints a wonderful picture of the times.
I also liked The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Finch. It helps to paint an idea of what the average life across the city would have been like, pulling from historic sources.
The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders looks at the way death was viewed, why it fascinated people, and how it bleed(pun intended) into the popular culture of the time and help to define a genre.
I have, one of them was Eric Lee's "The Experiment: Georgia's forgotten revolution" which was like an introductory book about the first republic of Georgia, next was "Socialism in Georgian Colors" by Stephen F. Jones which is also about the first republic but way more detailed. His other work "Georgia a political history since independence" is also very interesting because it's about the 90's post independence politics and the stuff that went down until 2012-2013.
Survival accounts and expedition disasters like Into a Thin Air, Touching the Void, K2: Triumph and Tragedy. For some non mountain climbing ones: Miracle in the Andes and Endurance. They're so gripping and read like thrillers.
I love reading about the world and the universe. Geology, astronomy, paleontology, anthropology, botany, cell biology. The origins of life and evolution of complex life. Human Universe by Prof Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen is brilliant.
I really enjoy medical history. It is really interesting to see how our view of health, hygiene, and medicine has evolved over centuries and how different major events have affected societies.
Majority of my non-fiction reads and favourites are about health/medicine/psychology, because I want to be able to hopefully optimize the health of myself and my loved ones.
I also love reading economy/finance/investing, (auto)biography, (astro)physics, history, politics, philosophy, true crime, biology and nature things from zoology to mycology… amount roughly in that order. Because I’m curious.
I mostly read historical, travel writing or biographies/memoirs. Some of my favorites are:
A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson
Into thin air by Jon Krakauer
Ordinary men by Christopher browning
King leopolds ghost by adam Hothschild
I'm glad my mom died by Jennette McCurdy
Kitchen confidential by Anthony bourdain
Narrative of the life of Frederick douglas by Frederick douglas
I'm a bit picky about nonfiction books. Sometimes a topic seems interesting, but I can't imagine being interested for 400 pages. I love nature sciences, but i have a tough time staying consumed in a nonfiction science book for that long. I need it to be woven into some other narrative. It has to read like a story.
Recently I’ve been into books about corporate scandals (not sure if these types of books have an exact genre title). It started with Bad Blood by John Carreyrou and snowballed from there. First time I got into reading nonfiction as someone who has always stuck with fiction.
Mostly history. I'm American so Revolutionary War, Civil War, and native American books are great, but I'm also very intrigued by British history, particularly Scotland. I think I have more books on Scotland than on America. I'm currently reading a hefty one on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.
Local history is fun, too. I recently read a fascinating book on the Mormon "king" of Beaver Island here in Michigan back in the 1800's.
My favorite American history book is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. We all learned about him and know he's great, but that book really opened my eyes to how incredible he was. It touches on his entire life, but its core is about how he set all pride and ego aside to form his cabinet out of men who in the past *hated* him because he felt they were the best for the job.
The history of Britian is interesting because it's so long and rich (compared to the relatively young country of America) and the succession of kings and queens and wars.
As for Scotland, the fact that even the Romans decided "nah, too wild up there" and built a wall is a good start. The clan system is also fascinating (who doesn't like castles?). But when I traveled around there it seemed like everywhere I visited was touched in some way by the uprisings, and I really enjoyed those stories. It's crazy how such brief events shaped so much. It's also the most stunning country I've ever visited and home to my favorite city (Edinburgh).
Haven't done much reading lately, but war is probably the most common. I read *Generation Kill* because I had seen the HBO show, and let me tell you, the book is better. Don't get me wrong, the show is good, but there are some moments that they don't do justice. I also read *One Bullet Away* since it was written by one of the officers in GK.
Honorable mention goes to *The Gun that Changed the World* by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
I need to pick up another book. I think I'll do *Six Frigates* next.
History, mostly American history. Specifically 20th century history because I am very familiar with the culture back then mostly through my habit of watching movies from that era. And biological sciences that relate to the human body (psych, anatomy, etc.).
However, I do like to occasionally pair a non-fiction book with a beefy fiction book that relate and give insight to each other.
I’m reading a philosophy book about why the world exists. I got a nonfiction book recently about the history of medicine/the medical industry of the US. Anything that seems interesting I’ll read.
Most often self-help, but I also read a lot about parenting, psychology, and biology (with a particular focus on history of biology), and numerous other nonfiction genres. I love nonfiction!
A lot of history - middle ages, medieval and more recent history like WWII. I'm also very invested in reading true crime events especially about murder.
Behavioral Economics. In our capitalist societies, what people choose to spend money on and everything around wealth including status and identity. I find it all endlessly fascinating. The recent string of financial fraudsters and their unique, if flawed worldviews has been providing ample material.
I have a few topics:
Medieval history
Tudor history
WWI
Civil War
Biographies of great historical figures: Washington, Hamilton, Truman, Churchill, Napoleon, etc.
Typology, I like knowing how people think. I also read a lot about natural disasters and how people behave while in shock. I have many books about volcanoes, the Big Bang, tsunamis, extinct animals. I read a lot about shipwrecks and visit the site if they reached shore and were left there. I've dedicated a lot of my time to understanding the sea, its currents, wave patterns, wind influence etcetera.
Memoirs, historical events, forensic/ true crime, disasters, or catastrophic events, any books where 2 or more of these intersect, and this time of year: Titanic.
Plantagenet and Tudor history. I've always been a fan, but I recently discovered that I am a direct descendent of Edward III and it's made me read even more.
Aquatic Biology/Ecology with a primary focus on freshwater fishes. I keep freshwater aquariums and volunteer for my local aquarium club's board in a couple capacities, so it is my primary special interest. This topic brings provides me joy and fascination in equal measure.
I love reading science journals and books about topics like biology and astronomy/astrophysics. In fact, I've been really loving The Alex Studies by Irene Pepperberg! It's very fascinating.
Nature from unique perspectives
What I've read most recently:
Otherlands by Thomas Halliday
(geological, biological, and environmental history of the world)
Origin by Jennifer Raff
(genetic history of the Americas)
The Glass Universe (about the first female astronomers) and Longitude (how longitude was finally determined) by Dava Sobel
Reading the Glass by Elliot Rappaport
(Sailors perspective on meteorology and astronomy)
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
(comprehensive biography of Alexander von Humboldt)
Really love writings by Henry David Thoreau and John Muir
**Edit: thanks to OP for this post!! It's really fun seeing what everyone is in to 🤓
I love science history books. Basically books that explain how and why we know the things we know about the way science works.
Best introductory book to the topic is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything
Anything written by Dava Sobel is very good also
I enjoy reading about the opioid epidemic. I was drawn to learn the backstory of how the Sackler family and Purdue pharma developed Oxycontin and how it was really pushed for physicians to prescribe it.
Anything World War 1 or 2 related, or American Civil War. Im Australian in Australia, but these topics relax the shit out of me. I don’t know why. French Revolution and Russian history are the same. Again, I don’t know why.
I mostly just read about my interests. It’s a lot of environmental science/ecology (and the occasion rocks), Celtic history/mythology, and sometimes linguistics or ancient civilizations. I also sometimes read more creative nonfiction like nature writing/poetry.
Business-help books, since I was twelve. There's history behind this. When my dad was starting out on his own, there was little information about the how-to for local, self-driven businesses. I live in the city with the most billionaires on my continent, and all that money is old- money, right? Well, my dad got into contact with a lot of SME's, local businesses, and helped them out by making big orders for parties and dinners, and in return they helped out with some organic marketing for us. Around that time, I loved getting lost in libraries, and dad used to take me. Once, while browsing for a good book, I came across Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and joked with my dad about it. He was intrigued, however. He brought me my books, along with a paid-for copy of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He asked me to read it for him and write down some key takeaways (my dad's never been much of a reader ;D). There was a lot I didn't understand, and I mean A LOT. Terms like, EBITDA and the difference between annual turnover and revenue. Nevertheless, I finished it and wrote about what I could.
My dad was the reason I got into the whole enterprising thing. It's been 5 or so years, since. He's doing really good, and my mum's taken up a franchise which she's working really hard, with. All it takes is some inclination to learn, I guess. I would like to think that somehow, I contributed, even a little, to his business. The feeling's nice, though.
History. Mostly English medieval or Roman, and sometimes Native American.
I read a lot of news and science stuff too.
The coolest thing I trqcked down recently was the battle of Dyrrhachium. Pompey v Cesar.
Everyone with half an interest has heard of Alesia and the double wall used to defeat Vercingetorix.
But at Dyrrhachium, two Roman armies tried to build walls around eachother, and it makes me laugh.
Geology, geochemistry, soil chemistry, plant biology, religious history, and world war 2 (mainly about atrocities committed, trying to understand human evil) . Currently making my way through the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich!
My nonfiction skews pretty heavily towards nature and science, though it is a big mix. This year my nonfiction reads have been:
* Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel
* The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas Tallamy
* Mozart's Starling by Lynn Haupt
* The Good Virus: The Amazing Story and Forgotten Promise of the Phage by Tom Ireland
* The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables by Adam Alexander
* The Seabird's Cry: The Lives and Loves of the Planet's Great Ocean Voyagers by Adam Nicolson
* Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Paulson
* 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei by Eliot Weinberger
* Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes by Clive Oppenheimer
* Oranges by John McPhee
* Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle
* What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcome (best of the year so far, it is excellent)
* A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel
* The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand
As a general rule I have very little interest in politics, biographies, and general mass-market stuff written for people with low reading ability.
I like biographies but other than that I feel like I only really enjoyed novels by michael lewis. I don't care for politics, occasionally I throw in something like "the gift of fear" or "why we sleep" to educate myself a little but I enjoy reading fiction 95% of the time.
I'm into reading about my country's history too, kinda got hooked wanting to understand how we got here. Also into political stuff, especially from the left side, but I try to check out all angles.
I'm reading The Devils of Loudon by Aldous Huxley right now. Generally I think of a time period, event or person I just don't know much about and find the best book I can about it. That might lead to other areas or a general interest in the time period.
Great topic! I enjoy reading popular science like Michio Kaku's, Stephen Hawking's, and David Deutsch's works. Kaku's Physics of the Impossible is my favorite. It's mind-blowing and, at the same time, easy to read.
I read a lot of labor and industrial history, as well as books about current labor and work conditions. I have a lot of books about industrial disasters (Chernobyl, Bhopal, Triangle fire, etc.), very physical low wage jobs such as farming and housekeeping, stuff like that.
Also toxicology.
I got into reading about the Age of Discovery, which took me into a whole literature about the history of slavery. And let me tell you: white people were willing to enslave entire nations because essentially they had a sweet tooth. It's obviously more complicated than that, but not terribly. So fucked up.
Pirates. I'm fascinated by the growth and development of the legends that sprung from them. So many short careers, and yet you'd think they'd run countries by their fame.
i love reading about russian and jewish history because i am a russian jew but lately i’ve been reading about palestine being i’m very involved in organizing protests, fundraisers, teach ins ect. locally and i want to be able to educate people well and spread correct information
17th century Dutch society/history and art, because that's interesting af. They really were on top of the world for a short amount of time.
By the way, does anyone know any reddit subs about these topics? There has to be *something*, but I don't even know where to start looking. Are there subs dedicated to showing people subs they'd never find themselves?
Film, mostly. I love reading criticism from folks like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert, books about film history like *Easy Riders, Raging Bulls*, and memoirs like *Making Movies*. One I've been enjoying a lot lately is *Conversations with Scorsese* by Richard Shickel.
History of music all the way up to modern music. My favorite specific person to read about is Paul McCartney, specifically after the beatles. Surprisingly his post beatles career hasn't been written about much until the last few years (aside from some very poor books over the decades, IMO). It's like every book is beatles! His official biography from 1997 is like 99% beatles and skims through 1970s, 80s and 90s in like 20 pages! Sorry didn't mean to rant, he just has become my favorite artist ever.
Aside from music I really like reading about true crime. I've taken in further than most in my research.
Electronics, just find it fascinating, especially analogue electronics. Started off with trying to repair things and understand how they work and went from there.
I mostly read non-fiction. Traditionally I read about WW1-WW2 and Eastern Europe during the 20th century, but lately I have been spicing it up with some broader 20th century stuff and colonial history. Also some science and anthropoloy.
Still on my to explore list are topics like the middle ages, urban planning and civic engineering. All items I did not learn about in school (I am a business controller).
I like to read about exceptional people in topics that interest me, which includes biographies, autobiographies, or single events centered around a person. For example, I recently read Richard Phillips' account of the hijacking and hostage situation he went through - A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea. I have a bit of an obsession with container ships and logistics, and I also like a good adventure tale, so I really enjoyed this one.
I'm obsessed with WWII. I think I just like the time period on top of how crazy it is that it was not very long ago. I haven't explored a ton of non-fiction if anyone has any recs!
Universe, human anatomy and AI. What lies beyond our planet, when will we be able to travel to other galaxies, when/if we can make contact with aliens, etc. What makes the Universe tick. Books from Stephen Hawking, Sabine Hossenfelder.
How and why our bodies are the way they are. Hw can we make them better. Magazines mostly, and the best book on the subject might be 'The body' by Bryson.
AI - what's in store next for this technology and how it will affect us. 'Prediction machines', 'The coming wave'.
Narrative and media studies (Derrida, Barthes, Sontag, McLuhan, etc, yes some are technically essays), history books written by minority groups and non Americans (lot of relearning to do), books on feminism/misogyny and the larger political implications connected to it are some of my more read themes
The topic I enjoy reading about is music, with either artists' autobiographies or memoirs. Also, I enjoy books that take the reader behind the production of an album or tour.
My favorite book about the production of a song is **He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time by Jack Isenhour**
Middle Ages / Medieval history - I found one that was an historical analysis of a town’s archives and it was sooo interesting to read about people’s marriages and squabbles and such. Downside - when I see people wearing leggings and baggy shirts, I think “that’s so 14th century!” 😜
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By Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie?
I'd like to know the book too lol. I was a medieval studies major and feel like I've read all the good, accessible stuff, and so haven't really read anything on the subject in a long time. Though, I am in the middle of one right now - if you haven't read it, I recommend it. And it has probably the best title ever: "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century"
What's the book name?
What was the name of the book? I think I would be interested in that.
Please give us the name of the book
Lmao yes pls the name
Add me to the list of people who want the name of that book!
The book was called “Life in a Medieval Village” by Frances and Joseph Gies. They comb through all the town archives found in the village known as Elton. I can’t take a pic of my copy because it’s packed away inaccessible (doing renos). Here’s a link for the Internet Archive version: https://archive.org/details/lifeinmedievalvi00gies/page/n6/mode/1up
Same here. Every time a grab a book from the library, it's either an in-depth analysis of events linking incentives, hypothesis, and causality into events and decisions, or it is just a bunch of name soup that I lose the plot of until it talks about a heretical Christian sect.
Commenting because also want to know the title
Codpieces! Why on Earth did we abandon codpieces! They were hilarious.
I'm very obsessed with the intelligence of Octopuses. So I read a lot of books on them. I also love to read books that analyze the intersection of art and science. I learn a lot with those kinds of books, and philosophy&history is often sprinkled in them for well-rounded reflection.
Would love a recommendation on the intersection of art and science.
The Mountain in the Sea might scratch that itch.
Bonus, the mountain in the sea is also about octopus intelligence
I really enjoyed "Art & Physics: Parallel Visions"
For fiction: Remarkably Bright Creatures (author Shelby van Pelt).
Hit me with an octopus book suggestion please
I recommend "Octopus: Oceans Intelligent Vertebrae" , "Many Things Under a Rock", or "The Soul of an Octopus."
Oo I’ll add these to my goodreads. Thank you.
Have you read Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith? If not, it's right up your street!
Videos of BBC shows usually aren't availbe outside UK but the endearing one your post immediately made me think of actually is: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ie2h4. Hope it's of interest.
Thanks for the link! Enjoyed the film
Psychology, cognition, and relationships are big ones for me. Why do humans so often prefer leaders who are absolutely horrible people? Why are abusive people abusive? What exactly is empathy? Why is lying an important stage in child development? What actually correlates with happiness? It's all soooooo damn interesting. Also: * Geopolitics and terrorism * Biology * Zoology * Other scientific topics * Disasters and tragedies * History - lately, I'm into Native American history * Cooking But I really read a little of everything. I find pretty much every topic except team sports interesting.
Your interests align with mine so well! I would love to hear some of your favorite titles if you have time to share.
Native history is all kinds of cool, but it's also really amazing to read historical texts by Native authors! (This is what I studied in grad school, so I'm biased.) William Apess, Charles Eastman, John Rollin Ridge, Ella Deloria and (my personal favorite) Zitkala-Sa are all amazing!
Why *is* lying a necessary part of child development??? 🤔
Why *do* humans choose horrible people as leaders? I actually really want to know the answer to this question, it’s something I think about a lot.
This is an interesting list! I think it's a pity that most people stop learning once they finished school. There is so much going on these days. I consider it foolish not to even want to know about these things, like current scientific breakthroughs, how history tends to repeat itself and how we don't learn from it, what we can learn from nature (I recently read that they have just discovered even plants make sounds and communicate, we just can't hear them - amazing stuff isn't it?). So I like to read non-fiction that teaches us new things we can expand our world view on.
Ooh this sounds interesting do you have recommendations on the psychology and relationships stuff?
i, like many other commenters here, also share these interests and wanna see some books you’d recommend! :)
I love all of these and I think all the questions you listed are why we love them because there’s never a clear answer! And maybe cooking is how we avoid the answers??
Oooh, lots of this is the same for me. We should exchange book recs! Here are a few of my faves on those topics (but I have loads of others): \- Amy Stewart's two books, Wicked Bugs and Wicked Plants (biology/zoology) \- The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know is Wrong by John Mitchinson (zoology) \- Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid \- Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities by Richard Baer (psychology) \- Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbottom (disasters) As I said, I've loads more and would love yours too! Only cooking I'm not hugely into, but all the rest are up my alley! (Edit - are you into epidemiology? I've read loads of fantastic books on that topic too.)
Have you read No Visible Bruises? It studies abuse and why people abuse. Also whether they can change. It’s so good and interesting.
History and often prehistory - our early ancestors in Britain were strange and inscrutable but still very human. Alice Roberts book Ancestors had this beautiful and moving account of neanderthal flower burials ... and then she pulls the rug out from under your feet. Francis Pryor is light and accessible. James Catton and his book Ancient Wonderings is very personal and less historical but engrossing. Cultural History - John Higgs is always fresh, Nick Hayes book of Trespass for it's sense of rage.
Alice Roberts book Tamed is amazing. And Janina Ramirez book Femina.
I’m not a true crime person really but I do love reading about cults.
Ooh any suggestions
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. Mormon cult.
Usually what I do is think "Huh, kind of weird I don't know much about that." And then pick up a book about it. Like I realized I didn't know very much about the American revolution so started reading about it. I'm also in tech but don't know much about hacking/cyber security so picked up a book about Russian cyber warfare. I recently moved to Washington and didn't know much about it's history so picked up a local history book, and did the same thing back when I lived in Michigan.
Thanks for your comment, it made me realize I do the same thing. I'll hear about something, think, oh wow I actually don't know much about this thing, and then get interested in it purely because it's a totally new concept for me.
This is so me - and then I do a deep dive.
I like books about space, astronomy, and human history in space exploration.
Autobiographies are fascinating to me. So many different worldviews and perspectives to explore. You can also kind of tell which ones are genuine and which ones are just made up for the sake of selling a book
I have a hard time with personal memoirs, but I read a ton of biographies by reputable historians/journalists. The autobiographies are often well written and enjoyable to read, but are inherently the opposite of objective.
So I’ve been kind of itching to go on a specific kick for prison autobiographies, or autobiographies published by activists while they were young, and was wondering if you had any good recs? I’m kind of interested in the contrast between how someone sees themself in the moment, and how they see themselves years later looking back.
Unfortunately I haven't read anything that fits that description. My best recommendation would be Out of the Forest by Gregory Smith. The author experiences a lot of personal growth throughout his life so that may fit the description of old vs young. But really at its core it is a fascinating story of a very interesting and difficult life, and is also hugely inspiring. I won't say more so as not to spoil it in case someone sees this and picks it up. I'll mark the rest as spoiler: >!It's an amazing redemption story of a rejected kid who ends up being homeless for many years, only to then earn a PhD at 60 and discover his self-worth. It is heart wrenching and difficult to read at points, but it is so so inspiring.!<
That does sound interesting. I guess I’m kind of hunting for a book that someone wrote at the “halfway point” in their lives, so that I can then go learn how they changed. Thank you for your help though, I might check that out anyways!
Ah okay gotcha. Lmk if you find something like that though it would be fun to read
I picked up a few prison autobiographies from activists who active after their release, so I'm figuring at least a couple of them will have written follow-ups or been the subject of biographies! Fingers crossed, just have to churn through a few more TBR's first!
The thing I find difficult in autobiographies, is that I think people are bound to lie out of vanity. People even lie in confessions of guilt due to pure vanity. That being said… I also like reading them, even if there are many lies among the truth
Food, fungi and foraging. I can't get into non-fiction unless it's something I'm super interested in. I like foraging for mushrooms and think fungi are neat so it's easy for me to get into books about them. Foraging is mostly guides, but imo I read so little non-fiction that I count them. Food is kinda broad, but I like learning the history and origins of food, the cultures around different foods, foods/plants that are going extinct, chef biographies/autobiographies...there's so much of it to learn about!
I’ve realized this past year and a half I’ve been reading a lot about cults. I don’t know exactly why I am so intrigued by them. It started with my fascination with Scientology and went from there. I will say that a lot of these books are tough to get through because the awful things the people in power have done. I might need to take an extended break from them.
I'm a true crime fan and will sometimes read some books about cults! I agree, they're so tough to read sometimes (especially memoirs of people who were raised in a cult and didn't get out until adulthood). I read a really good one about Jim Jones a couple of years ago, The Road to Jonestown. It was fascinating, I learned so much!
I grew up in a cult! It's pretty nice when you're in it until you realize how fucked up everything is. I still see some people that are in it and they are genuinely sad if they recognize me. I still miss the sense of community I had there tbh.
Educated by Tara Westover. Mormon cult.
If you’d like a fiction rec, check out The Followers by Rebecca Wait.
I'm really interested in The Troubles in Northern Ireland. So far I've only read There Will Be Fire by Rory Connell and Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe but I plan to read more.
Baseball - my favorite sport and I love the history of the game. Movies, Music, and Comic Books - Behind the scenes stuff. I love how these arts are made and like reading the stories.
Have you seen Ken Burn’s documentary about baseball?
I own it on DVD. I love it.
I *love* behind the scenes stuff. Especially movie/TV magic that isn't CGI.
Nice! Any specific recommendations? My father got me Ball Four and I really enjoyed that but haven’t successfully come across any others yet
The Bronx Zoo by Sparky Lyle - another in season book by a player The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski - he follows Buck O'Neill around and talks about his life The Wax Pack by Brad Balukjian - a guy travels the country to meet the players from a pack of baseball cards he bought and finds out what they did after they were done playing. I also read a lot on analytics, so Moneyball type books. If you are into that, Ben Lindberg has 2 I highly recommend: The MVP Machine (how players are training differently to become better players - trigger warning: a lot of Trevor Bauer before he got in trouble) and The Only Rule Is It Has To Work (he co-GMs an independent mine league team and they build it with Sabremetric ideas).
Mostly history and politics, especially the Balkans, south Asia and Ireland - i'll often get hooked on a very niche subject (e.g. yeomanry in 18th century Ireland) and have a need to find out everything i can about it. Particularly interested in the ordinary people, uprisings and "terrorism" (a loaded word i know, hence the quotation marks) rather than large scale warfare - i've no interest in weaponry for example but i am interested in how a war affected civilians/working class people including foot soldiers. So saying i was/am interested in the english civil wars but again more in the people and society than, say, the battles. Then all of a sudden i'll get obsessed with something else, ha ha. It does occur to me that maybe i'm not altogether normal lol
Mostly science. Because it feeds into what I write in fiction, and because understanding the real world is important to me. I'm a big fan of Ed Yong's work. I read one about shipping containers, because I use one in my first novel. It was very interesting for that and to learn about our modern world's ability to create in one place and consume in entirely another.
Ethnobotany, Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, satellite imagery, and Cartography. Why: It's my field of study and I'd keep reading it even if I wasn't working towards a higher degree.
Got any cultural anthropology book recs?
I like American history (I'm British), and I'll read anything about Physics that's written for the layman. Fascinating stuff.
For me, it is the same but the other way around. I read a lot of British history and am an American. I also greatly enjoy physics, though I am by no means an expert.
Can you recommend your favorites for Physics?
Brian Cox is always great, very accessible and witty too. Isaac Asimov's Understanding Physics is really good too, although a bit more mathematics heavy. One I have yet to read but heard good stuff about is Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (he's become quite controversial though). Also, Hawkings A Brief History of Time is well worth reading if you haven't already.
I love to read about food history, and I often unintentionally learn a lot about general world history along the way. 'Salt: a World History' by Mark Kurlansky is a great example.
Biographies, disasters and less-definable perspective works like *Between the World and Me*. I’m a 95% fiction reader for entertainment but some non-fiction is very moving and I’ve never regretted any of it.
Mostly the intricacies of how a 1960s, 70s and 80s sci-fi show was produced at the BBC.
Inspector spacetime?
Tomorrow's World?
Doctor Who at a guess?
I like memoirs. Doesn't matter why the person is significant, it's just interesting to step into another life I also like to read about the history, culture, lifestyle and geography of different countries
Late Roman republic and early Roman Empire. Very interesting stuff, larger than life players, SOO damn dramatic it’s almost feels like reading a fantasy book
I like to read across the spectrum of social sciences — predominantly economics, political science, and sociology. Obviously there are tons of subfields within these broader fields.
I like medical stuff and books about sociological topics.
Wild animals. I had two animal encyclopedias growing up, and I never actually stopped. It turned into my career in biology.
Ppl escaping high control groups like mormonism or flds
I LOVE books about musicians or bands I'm into, it gives a whole new level of understanding and appreciation for the music
I really enjoy reading about ancient history & learning about other cultures. I like to see how they shaped our world. Mostly, i focus on Roman & Egyptian history. They are the most interesting to me. Lately, I have been grooving on histories of everyday items. Here are a couple of books i liked: Salt by Mark Kurlansky, Eyeliner by Zahra Hankir, & If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley.
The last one I read was about the influence of ancient Greek and Roman literature in the Caribbean. I just liked the title (Afro-Greeks) and read it, not knowing what it was about.
With 2 kids under 3 - parenting, child pysch, education styles
Don’t worry, soon you’ll move on to reading about dinosaurs. Then, for reasons that won’t ever be clear, they’ll fixate on some modern disaster like the Titanic, Pearl Harbor, or the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. (I have so many ducking opinions on dinosaurs since I started babysitting a 4 year old, and I’m curious as to which horrific event hell decide on)
Autobiographies and just stories about big events (most recently read books about Titanic and Mount Everest). Fascinating stuff.
True crime
I love reading about things that happened during the 1700s besides the American revolution.
The Holocaust specifically and WW2 in Europe more broadly. Also, the Manson Family and general Canadian history (I am Canadian)
Manson grew up in my hometown...like to binge-watch Manson interviews on YouTube...
He’s something else. You wonder how much of that was an act…. My pet theory being that he turned the crazy up to 11 so that his former associates would look like fools every time they went before a parole board and blamed everything on him. Not a good look for release if you’d willingly follow the every command of someone that obviously batshit.
Pirates. Roughly 60% were just hilbillies on boats in a pond that would get drunk and shoot ppl on sight. The idea of using a boat to do whatever u wanted goes way back to like 200 b.c. and wasn’t overtly popularized until like 1400-1800. That’s when ppl would run away from their palaces and use their rich parents’ money for a high seat at the pirate table, or pretend to be men so they can masterfully navigate ships under their command bc pirates are stupid and won’t notice as long as the pillaging route had a few stops for booze, or fight until each ship is blown to bits over another ship full of some gun powder and/or more booze
🤭 this is the most unique topic and the best explanation I've stumbled upon so far. "Because pirates are stupid" and only worried about why the run is gone. I think I might need to start reading about pirates lol
Fascinated with the Silk Road. I read fiction and non- fiction about it. Trans-Siberian Travel guides, books about caravans, Marco Polo. Maps
Good thread! For the last year or so I've been reading mostly books about the American revolution, American history, and American Constitutional law. I have heard the phrase "socialist theory" before, but I don't really know what it involves. Is it political philosophy, or more like economics?
Very obsessed with obscure technical aspects of World War 2. This year alone I have read a book on my home town during the war, a book on catapult-launched fighter planes, and a book written by a test pilot from one of the largest Spitfire factories. Next I am looking to get a book on Malta during World War 2.
You might enjoy “The Far Shore”. Talks about the engineering behind dday
Fortress Malta is a beast, but very readable. I’m taking a break from WW2 for a while, but right with you in getting into the weeds of things. The 30s and 40s just have a vibe that I’m really interested in; horrible era, but really romantic at the same time.
Ooh, I shall stick that on the TBR pile. I agree. The stories of how different people navigated the turbulent times fascinates me. Especially when they can be strung together around a particular machine. Most recently I read a book on Hawker Hurricanes which was surprisingly engrossing.
Natural history primarily but some history.
Memoirs
Forensics, medical examiners, the funeral industry. Also enjoy early medical years when discoveries that literally changed the way things were done (germs!) came along. Oh, and Antarctica.
The Victorian era: it's a time period of rapidly changing ideas and ideals that is reflected in our own times.
You have my attention
Some of the best ones I have read are Dirty Old London: Victorians Fight Against Filth by Jackson Lee; it covers most of the 1800s from a social and economic stand point and really show how things changed for business and cleanliness and how the government and well-intentioned and not-so-well-intentioned individuals that tried to alter things. You get to see concerns with sustainability as well as concerns as to how to elevate everyone in a relative equal terms. This one is very academic and can be dry at times, but it paints a wonderful picture of the times. I also liked The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Finch. It helps to paint an idea of what the average life across the city would have been like, pulling from historic sources. The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders looks at the way death was viewed, why it fascinated people, and how it bleed(pun intended) into the popular culture of the time and help to define a genre.
A little off topic, but have you read any really interesting books about Georgia? If so, I’m interested!
I have, one of them was Eric Lee's "The Experiment: Georgia's forgotten revolution" which was like an introductory book about the first republic of Georgia, next was "Socialism in Georgian Colors" by Stephen F. Jones which is also about the first republic but way more detailed. His other work "Georgia a political history since independence" is also very interesting because it's about the 90's post independence politics and the stuff that went down until 2012-2013.
Survival accounts and expedition disasters like Into a Thin Air, Touching the Void, K2: Triumph and Tragedy. For some non mountain climbing ones: Miracle in the Andes and Endurance. They're so gripping and read like thrillers.
I love reading about the world and the universe. Geology, astronomy, paleontology, anthropology, botany, cell biology. The origins of life and evolution of complex life. Human Universe by Prof Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen is brilliant.
I really enjoy medical history. It is really interesting to see how our view of health, hygiene, and medicine has evolved over centuries and how different major events have affected societies.
Majority of my non-fiction reads and favourites are about health/medicine/psychology, because I want to be able to hopefully optimize the health of myself and my loved ones. I also love reading economy/finance/investing, (auto)biography, (astro)physics, history, politics, philosophy, true crime, biology and nature things from zoology to mycology… amount roughly in that order. Because I’m curious.
I read about gardening. My current fascination is the idea of a carnivorous garden.
I mostly read historical, travel writing or biographies/memoirs. Some of my favorites are: A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson Into thin air by Jon Krakauer Ordinary men by Christopher browning King leopolds ghost by adam Hothschild I'm glad my mom died by Jennette McCurdy Kitchen confidential by Anthony bourdain Narrative of the life of Frederick douglas by Frederick douglas I'm a bit picky about nonfiction books. Sometimes a topic seems interesting, but I can't imagine being interested for 400 pages. I love nature sciences, but i have a tough time staying consumed in a nonfiction science book for that long. I need it to be woven into some other narrative. It has to read like a story.
Lately I've been really into books about arctic expeditions
Recently I’ve been into books about corporate scandals (not sure if these types of books have an exact genre title). It started with Bad Blood by John Carreyrou and snowballed from there. First time I got into reading nonfiction as someone who has always stuck with fiction.
Mostly history. I'm American so Revolutionary War, Civil War, and native American books are great, but I'm also very intrigued by British history, particularly Scotland. I think I have more books on Scotland than on America. I'm currently reading a hefty one on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. Local history is fun, too. I recently read a fascinating book on the Mormon "king" of Beaver Island here in Michigan back in the 1800's.
What's your favorite book about American history? What interests you about Britain and Scotland? Any recommendations there?
My favorite American history book is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. We all learned about him and know he's great, but that book really opened my eyes to how incredible he was. It touches on his entire life, but its core is about how he set all pride and ego aside to form his cabinet out of men who in the past *hated* him because he felt they were the best for the job. The history of Britian is interesting because it's so long and rich (compared to the relatively young country of America) and the succession of kings and queens and wars. As for Scotland, the fact that even the Romans decided "nah, too wild up there" and built a wall is a good start. The clan system is also fascinating (who doesn't like castles?). But when I traveled around there it seemed like everywhere I visited was touched in some way by the uprisings, and I really enjoyed those stories. It's crazy how such brief events shaped so much. It's also the most stunning country I've ever visited and home to my favorite city (Edinburgh).
Relatively recent history (World War II - Cold War) and geopolitics.
Definitely with you on the WWII stuff. And a few on Cold War Germany. So interesting and there’s so much there I never get bored of the stories.
If I read non-fiction than either history. Mostly around 19th century. Or Nationalism theories.
Would you please recommend me some books about nationalism?(other than Imagined Communities)
Haven't done much reading lately, but war is probably the most common. I read *Generation Kill* because I had seen the HBO show, and let me tell you, the book is better. Don't get me wrong, the show is good, but there are some moments that they don't do justice. I also read *One Bullet Away* since it was written by one of the officers in GK. Honorable mention goes to *The Gun that Changed the World* by Mikhail Kalashnikov. I need to pick up another book. I think I'll do *Six Frigates* next.
History, mostly American history. Specifically 20th century history because I am very familiar with the culture back then mostly through my habit of watching movies from that era. And biological sciences that relate to the human body (psych, anatomy, etc.). However, I do like to occasionally pair a non-fiction book with a beefy fiction book that relate and give insight to each other.
I’m reading a philosophy book about why the world exists. I got a nonfiction book recently about the history of medicine/the medical industry of the US. Anything that seems interesting I’ll read.
Most often self-help, but I also read a lot about parenting, psychology, and biology (with a particular focus on history of biology), and numerous other nonfiction genres. I love nonfiction!
A lot of history - middle ages, medieval and more recent history like WWII. I'm also very invested in reading true crime events especially about murder.
Relationships, sex, spirituality, law, history, biographies…
Biology, medicine, genetics, travel, history, which history changes
Theoretical physics gets me going.
Geopolitics and the history of the middle east
Behavioral Economics. In our capitalist societies, what people choose to spend money on and everything around wealth including status and identity. I find it all endlessly fascinating. The recent string of financial fraudsters and their unique, if flawed worldviews has been providing ample material.
I have a few topics: Medieval history Tudor history WWI Civil War Biographies of great historical figures: Washington, Hamilton, Truman, Churchill, Napoleon, etc.
Typology, I like knowing how people think. I also read a lot about natural disasters and how people behave while in shock. I have many books about volcanoes, the Big Bang, tsunamis, extinct animals. I read a lot about shipwrecks and visit the site if they reached shore and were left there. I've dedicated a lot of my time to understanding the sea, its currents, wave patterns, wind influence etcetera.
True crime Or Anything related to the industries I’m interested in: Fashion, Hollywood, comedy, celebrity (especially if it’s scandalous)
Anthropology and archaeology
Memoirs, historical events, forensic/ true crime, disasters, or catastrophic events, any books where 2 or more of these intersect, and this time of year: Titanic.
Mostly biographies and auto biographies. One of my favorites is about the last days of the Romanov family.
Plantagenet and Tudor history. I've always been a fan, but I recently discovered that I am a direct descendent of Edward III and it's made me read even more.
Slavery and the holocaust for me
Aquatic Biology/Ecology with a primary focus on freshwater fishes. I keep freshwater aquariums and volunteer for my local aquarium club's board in a couple capacities, so it is my primary special interest. This topic brings provides me joy and fascination in equal measure.
I love reading science journals and books about topics like biology and astronomy/astrophysics. In fact, I've been really loving The Alex Studies by Irene Pepperberg! It's very fascinating.
Nature from unique perspectives What I've read most recently: Otherlands by Thomas Halliday (geological, biological, and environmental history of the world) Origin by Jennifer Raff (genetic history of the Americas) The Glass Universe (about the first female astronomers) and Longitude (how longitude was finally determined) by Dava Sobel Reading the Glass by Elliot Rappaport (Sailors perspective on meteorology and astronomy) The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf (comprehensive biography of Alexander von Humboldt) Really love writings by Henry David Thoreau and John Muir **Edit: thanks to OP for this post!! It's really fun seeing what everyone is in to 🤓
I like history of science. Recently I read about the beginning of forensic science in the US and about Cholera in 1854 London. Interesting stuff.
I love science history books. Basically books that explain how and why we know the things we know about the way science works. Best introductory book to the topic is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything Anything written by Dava Sobel is very good also
I enjoy reading about the opioid epidemic. I was drawn to learn the backstory of how the Sackler family and Purdue pharma developed Oxycontin and how it was really pushed for physicians to prescribe it.
Anything World War 1 or 2 related, or American Civil War. Im Australian in Australia, but these topics relax the shit out of me. I don’t know why. French Revolution and Russian history are the same. Again, I don’t know why.
Have you read Manhunt (American Civil War)?
I mostly just read about my interests. It’s a lot of environmental science/ecology (and the occasion rocks), Celtic history/mythology, and sometimes linguistics or ancient civilizations. I also sometimes read more creative nonfiction like nature writing/poetry.
The Golden Age of Piracy is a topic I can’t seem to read enough about.
Business-help books, since I was twelve. There's history behind this. When my dad was starting out on his own, there was little information about the how-to for local, self-driven businesses. I live in the city with the most billionaires on my continent, and all that money is old- money, right? Well, my dad got into contact with a lot of SME's, local businesses, and helped them out by making big orders for parties and dinners, and in return they helped out with some organic marketing for us. Around that time, I loved getting lost in libraries, and dad used to take me. Once, while browsing for a good book, I came across Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and joked with my dad about it. He was intrigued, however. He brought me my books, along with a paid-for copy of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He asked me to read it for him and write down some key takeaways (my dad's never been much of a reader ;D). There was a lot I didn't understand, and I mean A LOT. Terms like, EBITDA and the difference between annual turnover and revenue. Nevertheless, I finished it and wrote about what I could. My dad was the reason I got into the whole enterprising thing. It's been 5 or so years, since. He's doing really good, and my mum's taken up a franchise which she's working really hard, with. All it takes is some inclination to learn, I guess. I would like to think that somehow, I contributed, even a little, to his business. The feeling's nice, though.
History. Mostly English medieval or Roman, and sometimes Native American. I read a lot of news and science stuff too. The coolest thing I trqcked down recently was the battle of Dyrrhachium. Pompey v Cesar. Everyone with half an interest has heard of Alesia and the double wall used to defeat Vercingetorix. But at Dyrrhachium, two Roman armies tried to build walls around eachother, and it makes me laugh.
Geology, geochemistry, soil chemistry, plant biology, religious history, and world war 2 (mainly about atrocities committed, trying to understand human evil) . Currently making my way through the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich!
History, psychology. Always found these interesting. Currently reading 12 rules for life.
My nonfiction skews pretty heavily towards nature and science, though it is a big mix. This year my nonfiction reads have been: * Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel * The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas Tallamy * Mozart's Starling by Lynn Haupt * The Good Virus: The Amazing Story and Forgotten Promise of the Phage by Tom Ireland * The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables by Adam Alexander * The Seabird's Cry: The Lives and Loves of the Planet's Great Ocean Voyagers by Adam Nicolson * Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Paulson * 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei by Eliot Weinberger * Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes by Clive Oppenheimer * Oranges by John McPhee * Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle * What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcome (best of the year so far, it is excellent) * A Brief History of Timekeeping: The Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel * The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand As a general rule I have very little interest in politics, biographies, and general mass-market stuff written for people with low reading ability.
I like biographies but other than that I feel like I only really enjoyed novels by michael lewis. I don't care for politics, occasionally I throw in something like "the gift of fear" or "why we sleep" to educate myself a little but I enjoy reading fiction 95% of the time.
I'm into reading about my country's history too, kinda got hooked wanting to understand how we got here. Also into political stuff, especially from the left side, but I try to check out all angles.
History mostly. Military, music, film, automotive etc. I also like to throw in some crime and a biographies every now and then
Philosophy, lives of the saints, orthodox spiritual advices, history and sometimes politics (mostly combined with history).
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I'm reading The Devils of Loudon by Aldous Huxley right now. Generally I think of a time period, event or person I just don't know much about and find the best book I can about it. That might lead to other areas or a general interest in the time period.
*The Devils of Loudun* is one of my favorite books. Fascinating stuff. Have you seen the Ken Russell movie *The Devils*?
That's actually how I learned about the book, the movie was played at a bar I go to
Great topic! I enjoy reading popular science like Michio Kaku's, Stephen Hawking's, and David Deutsch's works. Kaku's Physics of the Impossible is my favorite. It's mind-blowing and, at the same time, easy to read.
History, geography, geopolitics
I read a lot of labor and industrial history, as well as books about current labor and work conditions. I have a lot of books about industrial disasters (Chernobyl, Bhopal, Triangle fire, etc.), very physical low wage jobs such as farming and housekeeping, stuff like that. Also toxicology.
I got into reading about the Age of Discovery, which took me into a whole literature about the history of slavery. And let me tell you: white people were willing to enslave entire nations because essentially they had a sweet tooth. It's obviously more complicated than that, but not terribly. So fucked up.
Pirates. I'm fascinated by the growth and development of the legends that sprung from them. So many short careers, and yet you'd think they'd run countries by their fame.
Stuff like the Chaldean account of genesis and other analyses of ancient text.
Parenting, education, homeschooling philosophy, diy financial, decluttering, design.
i love reading about russian and jewish history because i am a russian jew but lately i’ve been reading about palestine being i’m very involved in organizing protests, fundraisers, teach ins ect. locally and i want to be able to educate people well and spread correct information
17th century Dutch society/history and art, because that's interesting af. They really were on top of the world for a short amount of time. By the way, does anyone know any reddit subs about these topics? There has to be *something*, but I don't even know where to start looking. Are there subs dedicated to showing people subs they'd never find themselves?
Film, mostly. I love reading criticism from folks like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert, books about film history like *Easy Riders, Raging Bulls*, and memoirs like *Making Movies*. One I've been enjoying a lot lately is *Conversations with Scorsese* by Richard Shickel.
Check out Hit and Run great book about when Sony bought Columbia pictures
History of music all the way up to modern music. My favorite specific person to read about is Paul McCartney, specifically after the beatles. Surprisingly his post beatles career hasn't been written about much until the last few years (aside from some very poor books over the decades, IMO). It's like every book is beatles! His official biography from 1997 is like 99% beatles and skims through 1970s, 80s and 90s in like 20 pages! Sorry didn't mean to rant, he just has become my favorite artist ever. Aside from music I really like reading about true crime. I've taken in further than most in my research.
History and Economics
Electronics, just find it fascinating, especially analogue electronics. Started off with trying to repair things and understand how they work and went from there.
Comunism, this utopic ideea fascinates me tbh.
I mostly read non-fiction. Traditionally I read about WW1-WW2 and Eastern Europe during the 20th century, but lately I have been spicing it up with some broader 20th century stuff and colonial history. Also some science and anthropoloy. Still on my to explore list are topics like the middle ages, urban planning and civic engineering. All items I did not learn about in school (I am a business controller).
Civilized to Death History of Freedom Book of Five Rings Man and his Symbols
Human biology, neurology, and biographies. I like Richard Hamblin, Dan Eagleton, and Roberto Caro are three non-fiction authors I like.
Philosophy
I like to read about exceptional people in topics that interest me, which includes biographies, autobiographies, or single events centered around a person. For example, I recently read Richard Phillips' account of the hijacking and hostage situation he went through - A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea. I have a bit of an obsession with container ships and logistics, and I also like a good adventure tale, so I really enjoyed this one.
I'm obsessed with WWII. I think I just like the time period on top of how crazy it is that it was not very long ago. I haven't explored a ton of non-fiction if anyone has any recs!
Not sure if it counts as non-fiction, but I enjoy people sharing their personal paranormal encounters, and also political memoirs.
Universe, human anatomy and AI. What lies beyond our planet, when will we be able to travel to other galaxies, when/if we can make contact with aliens, etc. What makes the Universe tick. Books from Stephen Hawking, Sabine Hossenfelder. How and why our bodies are the way they are. Hw can we make them better. Magazines mostly, and the best book on the subject might be 'The body' by Bryson. AI - what's in store next for this technology and how it will affect us. 'Prediction machines', 'The coming wave'.
Narrative and media studies (Derrida, Barthes, Sontag, McLuhan, etc, yes some are technically essays), history books written by minority groups and non Americans (lot of relearning to do), books on feminism/misogyny and the larger political implications connected to it are some of my more read themes
19th and 20th century political economy and European history
American history. I’d say it’s useful to know your countries history.
WW2 and the Holocaust
The topic I enjoy reading about is music, with either artists' autobiographies or memoirs. Also, I enjoy books that take the reader behind the production of an album or tour. My favorite book about the production of a song is **He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time by Jack Isenhour**