Reading list: Flat Book Society Reading List

Created by: Themis-Athena's Garden of Books

The Flat Book Society emerged from the "Invention of Nature" buddy read:
http://booklikes.com/book-clubs/90/buddy-read-for-the-invention-of-nature

The plan is to read a nonfiction science book together at given intervals (yet to be decided -- suggestions go from "every month" to "every 2 or 3 months").

This is a list of the books that have been suggested for the group read.

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Books: 90

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

by Mary Roach

Note: Votes: 9

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 7)

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life

by Helen Czerski

Note: Votes: 7

(Times suggested: 4
Times endorsed: 3)

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Ma... - Sam Kean

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

by Sam Kean

Note: Votes: 7

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 6)

Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More ... - Val McDermid

Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime

by Val McDermid

Note: Votes: 5

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 3)

Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution

by Rebecca Stott

Note: Votes: 5

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 3)

Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Or... - Peter Godfrey-Smith

Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness

by Peter Godfrey-Smith

Note: Votes: 4

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 2)

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the Wo... - Michael Pollan

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World

by Michael Pollan

Note: Votes: 4

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 2)

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

by Frans de Waal

Note: Votes: 4

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 3)

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Lov... - Sam Kean

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code

by Sam Kean

Note: Votes: 4

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 3)

10.

Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Ye... - Marc Cashman, Neil Shubin

Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body

by Marc Cashman, Neil Shubin

Note: Votes: 4

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 3)

11.

The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the... - Richard Holmes

The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science

by Richard Holmes

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 1)

12.

My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bone... - Brian Switek

My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs

by Brian Switek

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 1)

13.

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New ... - Angela Saini

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story

by Angela Saini

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 1)

14.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

by Elizabeth Kolbert

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 1)

15.

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms: The Story of the... - Richard Fortey

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms: The Story of the Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind

by Richard Fortey

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 2
Times endorsed: 1)

16.

The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield H... - Thomas Hager

The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug

by Thomas Hager

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 2)

17.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

by Mike Brown

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 2)

18.

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration i... - Sy Montgomery

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

by Sy Montgomery

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 2)

19.

A Is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie

by Kathryn Harkup

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 2)

20.

The Science of Everyday Life

by Marty Jopson

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 2)

21.

The Inheritor's Powder: A Tale of Arsenic, Murder,... - Sandra Hempel

The Inheritor's Powder: A Tale of Arsenic, Murder, and the New Forensic Science

by Sandra Hempel

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 2)

22.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

by Yuval Noah Harari

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 2)

23.

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extincti... - Beth J. Shapiro

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction

by Beth J. Shapiro

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 2)

24.

The Vital Question: Why is Life the Way it is?

by Nick Lane

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

25.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a... - Ed Yong

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

by Ed Yong

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

26.

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Inte... - Lisa Randall

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

by Lisa Randall

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

27.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

28.

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

by Chris Hadfield

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

29.

Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Her... - Jennifer Wright

Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them

by Jennifer Wright

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

30.

Aladdin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe T... - John Freely

Aladdin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World

by John Freely

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

31.

The Dilemmas of an Upright Man: Max Planck and the... - J. L. Heilbron

The Dilemmas of an Upright Man: Max Planck and the Fortunes of German Science

by J. L. Heilbron

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

32.

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials T... - Mark Miodownik

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World

by Mark Miodownik

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

33.

Atoms Under the Floorboards: The Surprising Scienc... - Chris Woodford

Atoms Under the Floorboards: The Surprising Science Hidden in Your Home

by Chris Woodford

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

34.

The Riddle of the Compass

by Amir D. Aczel

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

35.

The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard ... - Dava Sobel

The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars

by Dava Sobel

Note: Votes: 3

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 2)

36.

13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling... - Michael Brooks

13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time

by Michael Brooks

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1=

37.

Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolu... - Lisa Jardine

Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution

by Lisa Jardine

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

38.

Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our ge... - Kat Arney

Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work

by Kat Arney

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

39.

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They... - Peter Wohlleben

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries From a Secret World

by Peter Wohlleben

Note: Votes: 2

(Times suggested: 1
Times endorsed: 1)

40.

Rain: A Natural and Cultural History

by Cynthia Barnett

Note:

41.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

by Oliver Sacks

Note:

42.

What Really Happens If You're Swallowed by a Whale... - Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty

What Really Happens If You're Swallowed by a Whale, Get Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling Over Niagara...and Then You're Dead

by Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty

Note:

43.

Furry Logic: The Physics of Animal Life

by Liz Kalaugher, Matin Durrani

Note:

44.

American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch th... - David Baron

American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World

by David Baron

Note:

45.

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our... - Jonathan Weiner

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time

by Jonathan Weiner

Note:

46.

The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Wh... - Nancy Marie Brown

The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages

by Nancy Marie Brown

Note:

47.

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really Tr... - Dave McKean, Richard Dawkins

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

by Dave McKean, Richard Dawkins

Note:

48.

Life in a Shell: A Physiologist's View of a Turtle

by Donald C. Jackson

Note:

49.

Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experim... - Lauren Slater

Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century

by Lauren Slater

Note:

50.

The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telesc... - James Burke

The Day the Universe Changed: How Galileo's Telescope Changed the Truth

by James Burke

Note:

51.

How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the M... - Steven Johnson

How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World

by Steven Johnson

Note:

52.

Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space

by Janna Levin

Note:

53.

Seeing Further

by Bill Bryson

Note:

54.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth: The Remarkable... - David Whitehouse

Journey to the Centre of the Earth: The Remarkable Voyage of Scientific Discovery into the Heart of Our World

by David Whitehouse

Note:

55.

Life: An Unauthorised Biography - A Natural Histor... - Richard Fortey

Life: An Unauthorised Biography - A Natural History of the First Four Thousand Million Years of Life on Earth

by Richard Fortey

Note:

56.

The Worst of Times: How Life on Earth Survived Eig... - Paul B. Wignall

The Worst of Times: How Life on Earth Survived Eighty Million Years of Extinction

by Paul B. Wignall

Note:

57.

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Ye... - Andrew H. Knoll

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth (Princeton Science Library)

by Andrew H. Knoll

Note:

58.

Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Mil... - Douglas H. Erwin

Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago

by Douglas H. Erwin

Note:

59.

The Cell: Discovering the Microscopic World that D... - Joshua Z. Rappoport

The Cell: Discovering the Microscopic World that Determines Our Health, Our Consciousness, and Our Future

by Joshua Z. Rappoport

Note:

60.

Science and the City: The Mechanics Behind the Met... - Laurie Winkless

Science and the City: The Mechanics Behind the Metropolis

by Laurie Winkless

Note:

61.

Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinct... - Helen Pilcher

Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction

by Helen Pilcher

Note:

62.

Biopunk: Kitchen-Counter Scientists Hack the Softw... - Marcus Wohlsen

Biopunk: Kitchen-Counter Scientists Hack the Software of Life

by Marcus Wohlsen

Note:

63.

Venomous: How Earth's Deadliest Creatures Mastered... - Christie Wilcox

Venomous: How Earth's Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry

by Christie Wilcox

Note:

64.

Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World

by Richard C. Francis

Note:

65.

When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinctio... - Michael J. Benton

When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

by Michael J. Benton

Note:

66.

The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Li... - Bob Berman

The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet

by Bob Berman

Note:

67.

The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's His... - David Beerling

The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History

by David Beerling

Note:

68.

Horseshoe Crab: Biography of a Survivor

by Anthony D. Fredericks, Glenn Gauvry

Note:

69.

Restless Creatures

by Matt Wilkinson

Note:

70.

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of ... - David R. Montgomery, Anne Biklé

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

by David R. Montgomery, Anne Biklé

Note:

71.

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations

by David R. Montgomery

Note:

72.

What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwat... - Jonathan Balcombe

What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins

by Jonathan Balcombe

Note:

73.

The Gecko's Foot: Bio-inspiration: Engineering New... - Peter Forbes

The Gecko's Foot: Bio-inspiration: Engineering New Materials from Nature

by Peter Forbes

Note:

74.

Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World: From An... - John Gaudet

Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World: From Ancient Egypt to Today's Water Wars

by John Gaudet

Note:

75.

The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 Billion Year Story of... - Mark Williams, Jan Zalasiewicz

The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate

by Mark Williams, Jan Zalasiewicz

Note:

76.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb

by Richard Rhodes

Note:

77.

Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature o... - Stephen Jay Gould

Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

by Stephen Jay Gould

Note:

78.

Adventures in Human Being (Wellcome)

by Gavin Francis

Note:

79.

The Genius of Birds

by Jennifer Ackerman

Note:

80.

Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Or... - Ian Tattersall

Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (Macmillan Science)

by Ian Tattersall

Note:

81.

QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter

by Richard P. Feynman

Note:

82.

Oxygen: The molecule that made the world

by Nick Lane

Note:

83.

Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed Histo... - Jay Burreson, Penny Le Couteur

Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

by Jay Burreson, Penny Le Couteur

Note:

84.

Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Moth... - Amy Stewart

Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities

by Amy Stewart

Note:

85.

The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the W... - Amy Stewart

The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks

by Amy Stewart

Note:

86.

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of... - Amy Stewart

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms

by Amy Stewart

Note:

87.

Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One ... - Ben Mezrich

Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures

by Ben Mezrich

Note:

88.

Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the Amer... - Douglas J. Preston

Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History

by Douglas J. Preston

Note:

89.

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the... - Maryanne Wolf

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

by Maryanne Wolf

Note:

90.

Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens

by Andrea Wulf

Note:

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Comments

Comments:

Murder by Death 7 years ago

Holy crap - 80 books! We have plenty to be getting started with don't we?! Wow.

SusannaG - Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady 7 years ago

Wide variety of disciplines covered, too.

Person Of Interest 7 years ago

Douglas Preston --of the Preston-Child team that write the Pendergast novels-- has also written several non-fiction books. I'm not sure if this one fits our science book parameters, but it's along the same lines as 'Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum'. It's called 'Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History' and was written in 1986.

ISBN-10: 0312210981
ISBN-13: 978-0312210984

SusannaG - Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady 7 years ago

Just saw this one, which looks interesting: Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Creatures, by Ben Mezrich.

Themis-Athena's Garden of Books 7 years ago

Yes, also a book just mentioned by Debbie (http://donealrice.booklikes.com/post/1589179/looks-interesting) -- "Proust and the Squid". Unless everybody but me has already read it since it's a bit older? I remember it popping up in my recommendations a few years ago, in the end just never got around to it.

Murder by Death 7 years ago

Both of those look good - I also just received in the post Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World / 9780553446791. I don't know anything about it beyond the blurb, but the blurb makes it look good. :)

Debbie's Spurts 7 years ago

"Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World" isbn13 9780544483941 at http://booklikes.com/stuff-matters-exploring-the-marvelous-materials-that-shape-our-man-made-wor/book,13429510 . And usbn13 9780393609394, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" at http://booklikes.com/astrophysics-for-people-in-a-hurry-neil-degrasse-tyson/book,13819133

Themis-Athena's Garden of Books 7 years ago

Both on the list (## 27 and 32).

SusannaG - Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady 7 years ago

I just got one in the mail today - "Chasing Venus," by Andrea Wulf.

Themis-Athena's Garden of Books 7 years ago

The author of "The Invention of Nature"? That's a recommendation in and of itself. What's it about?

ETA: Oh, never mind, I saw when I added the book. Astronomy!

Debbie's Spurts 7 years ago

The Riddle of the Labyrinth http://booklikes.com/the-riddle-of-the-labyrinth-the-quest-to-crack-an-ancient-code-margalit-fox/book,9576164

Themis-Athena's Garden of Books 7 years ago

We've got a new list here: http://booklikes.com/apps/reading-lists/840/the-flat-book-society-nominated-books

I've added your suggestion in the comments there.

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Reading list: Flat Book Society Reading List

Created by: Themis-Athena's Garden of Books

Books: 90

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