There's no better vacation for the mind than a great book. At Nautilus, we're lucky to come across multitudes each year—whether it's a meditation on noise, a dive into new theories of life, or a fresh look at our familiar moon. Many of these we feature in our pages, as conversations with the authors, musings on their "3 Greatest Revelations" in writing their book, or a short selection from the book itself.
We assembled some of our favorites from the past year—a curated, expansive, and sometimes-quirky reading list for your summer. Enjoy!
1. How Life Works: A User's Guide to the New Biology by Philip Ball
You can read more from Philip Ball about the nature of life here.
2. Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Read an interview with Eve author Cat Bohannon by fellow author Lucy Cooke.
3. Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle
Read an excerpt from Our Moon and check out author Rebecca Boyle's "3 Greatest Revelations" while writing.
4. Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
Read the "3 Greatest Revelations" author Ben Goldfarb experienced while writing it.
5. Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous by Caspar Henderson
Read an excerpt from Book of Noises about onomatopoeia and the origin of language.
6. Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure by Maggie Jackson
Read the "3 Greatest Revelations" author Maggie Jackson experienced while writing it.
7. We Loved It All: A Memory of Life by Lydia Millet
Read an excerpt from We Loved it All.
8. Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters by Charan Ranganath
Read our article, "Your Memories Are Like Paintings," based on Charan Ranganath’s work.
9. Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life by Jason Roberts
Read an excerpt from Every Living Thing.
10. Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky
Read more about the thorny issue of free will here.
Lead image: KindheartedStock / Shutterstock
