Real life can be stranger than fiction when you know where to look. My background is in science, where everything from cosmology (not to be confused with cosmetology) to geology and oceanography has always fascinated me.
I’m currently rereading my old historical geology textbook. Don’t worry, I won’t include that one in this list of book recommendations. I will, however, include what I believe to be interesting scientific literature written for laypeople.
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Perhaps among the best-known science-backed books written for the population at large, A Brief History of Time breaks down cosmology, or the study of the universe and its origins.
A million million million million (1 with twenty-four zeros after it) miles, the size of the observable universe.
― Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
About Time: Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution by Paul Davies
For the more adventurous, About Time delves deep into the bizarre and often baffling world of quantum mechanics. This book is the most intense on the list in terms of wrapping your head around the concepts.
Time is an elusive concept. Einstein turned physics on its head when he published his theories of general and special relativity, where he proposed (among other things) that time is not uniform. Time is a fourth dimension that can be warped like space around dense objects, as well as move differently for two separate people traveling at vastly differing speeds.
Adventures in Volcanoland by Tamsin Mather
A bit of a lighter read than the above-mentioned recs, Adventures in Volcanoland is a play on the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I’m currently listening to this audiobook via my library app, Libby (which I’m not obsessed with at all).
Beautifully written, with vivid descriptions, this book revives a twinge of personal regret of never pursuing my dream career of being a research scientist in the earth sciences. However, it does allow me to live vicariously through the author’s account, who did travel to exotic places in order to record invaluable data to study the earth and climate system.
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley
An insightful tour of human genetics, Genome breaks down a complex topic by highlighting one focal trait per chromosome.
Few debates in the history of science have been conducted with such stupidity as the one about intelligence.
—Matt Ridley, Genome
Thanks for Reading!
Janine Eaby is the author of Beyond the Water’s Edge—a Young adult fantasy book series influenced by her faith, love of nature, and desire for adventure. Ideal for fans of portal fantasies to other worlds like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
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Janine Eaby – Author | Beyond the Water’s Edge Portal Fantasy Series 
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