I love to read. I especially love to read books about science, no matter how dorky that may be. Three years of enforced science learning at MIT hasn’t dulled my passion for reading about science, thankfully, and I really hope it never will... if I stopped wanting to read, how would I spend my free time?
Books on this page are codified on an Amazon list which I maintain.
The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris. Although some of the examples and language in this book are pretty dated, it was absolutely revolutionary when it was published and is still a great read. I'd advise The Ape and the Sushi Master for a more modern treatment of the same material.
What Is Life by Erwin Schrodinger. I've heard many positive things about this book, so I had to read it. I was impressed, considering it was first published before Watson and Crick deduced the structure of DNA; it's pretty sophisticated for the context in which it was published.
Life Itself by Francis Crick. Let's say one thing first: I don't belive that life was seeded on Earth by aliens, like Crick's directed panspermia idea posits. But this book (although slightly outdated in terms of basic information) is a great source of back-of-the-envelope calculations regarding biology and astronomy. Charming, although I don't think its premise is scientifically valid.
The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist by Franz de Waal. Yes, I've already read this book. But it's so good I couldn't help myself...
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. This is a great interdisciplinary book which touches on anthropology, history, ecology, and biology. Diamond's analysis of the causes of failure in ancient societies is balanced as well as thought-provoking... this should be required reading for ecological policy-makers.
Rapture: A Raucous Tour of Cloning, Transhumanism, and the New Era of Immortality by Brian Alexander. I would advise skipping the first half of this book, which is mostly about weird hippie types and their quest for immortal life. The second half, on cloning and the ignoracenti's response to it, is fantastic.
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande. Although this book makes me even surer that I don't want to be premed, I think it should be required reading for all those who are. Gawande has an excellent style, and his writing conveys the uncertainty inherent in medicine perfectly.
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. I think this is one of the best endings to a trilogy ever... but I still hate the ending and cry every time I read it.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. This is the only fiction I'll read, and it's childrens' fiction at that... but these books are so intoxicating that I can justify it.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Very few authors can make up a fantasy world so rich that I have a complete mental map of it, but Pullman accomplishes this easily. I can't imagine how many times I've read this book, but it feels new to me every time I read it.
A Devil's Chaplain by Richard Dawkins. Love Dawkins, love this book.
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by Richard Dawkins. What a great book! I've always been frustrated that there are very few books which explain current insight into the evolutionary relationships between species and phyla, and this book really came through.
Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist by John Brockman. I'm always interested in what makes people choose the scientific vocation, and this collection of anecdotes from prominent scientists was really enjoyable. One critique: Too many cognitive scientists.
Why We Do It: Rethinking Sex and the Selfish Gene by Niles Eldredge. I really disagree with this critique of Richard Dawkins' selfish gene paradigm. I disagree so much that I'm not sure what else to say about this book.
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James Watson. Watson is, frankly, a huge jerk... but it's entertaining to read about his adventures in jerkiness and the discovery of the double helix.
What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman. Although I had read some of the material in this book before, it was still a welcome companion during the Ohio blackout of 2004.
Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human by Matt Ridley. Ridley is a great writer, and I enjoyed this book of his very much. Genome is still my favorite, though.