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Nature and Science October 2025* |
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| The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World... by Samuel ArbesmanScientist Samuel Arbesman waxes rhapsodic about the power and possibilities of code, the digital building block of intelligence, communication, and innovation. Arbesman looks back on what has been accomplished in the past several decades to inform his hopeful predictions for the future, concluding that code is a modern-day metaphor for magic and wizardry. Try this next: Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson. |
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| Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines by Matthew Gavin FrankFolded into author Matthew Gavin Frank’s thought-provoking survey of humankind’s urge to explore the ocean depths from deep-water submersibles lies a much darker obsession -- the “strong undercurrent of violence and misogyny” (Kirkus Reviews) running through the amateur sub community that arguably led to the 2017 murder of journalist Kim Wall. Readers who want more adventures beneath the waves can try The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey. |
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| Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth by Karen G. LloydMicrobial biogeochemist Karen G. Lloyd introduces us to a mind-bending branch of science in her debut. It turns out that most life on Earth is composed of microbes living beneath the Earth’s crust or the ocean floors, derives energy from chemicals rather than light, and might have the ability to survive for eons. Science readers will be enthralled by these ideas that “defy assumptions about the laws of nature” (Publishers Weekly). |
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We should all be birds : (a memoir)
by Brian Buckbee
"A charming and moving debut memoir about how a man with a mystery illness saves a pigeon, and how the pigeon saves the man"
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| The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body by Starre VartanScience writer Starre Vartan, like many women, grew up believing what she had always been told: that women were weaker than men. Not so, according to her book and a decade’s worth of research, which shows that women tend to outperform men in several areas, including endurance, flexibility, and longevity. The Stronger Sex is a valuable, corrective study that asks “why testosterone is considered an unfair advantage” (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: The Better Half: On the Genetic Superiority of Women by Sharon Moalem. |
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Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World
by Peter Godfrey-Smith
Peter Godfrey-Smith’s book on natural history and ecology takes the intriguing perspective of viewing the world’s organisms as causes, as well as effects, of evolutionary progress, with living creatures (humans especially) giving shape to their environment through their actions. Other thought-provoking ecological reads include Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr and Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn.
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| Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor HansonConservation biologist Thor Hanson empowers readers to observe their environment with new eyes, showing us that poking around literally just outside one’s door (city or country, no matter) reveals a surprising diversity of wildlife waiting to be discovered. Hanson gives clues as to where to look while pushing the idea of “citizen science.” If you like this, try Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn. |
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The big fix : 7 practical steps to save our planet
by Hal Harvey
Sharing first-hand accounts of people already making needed changes, an energy policy advisor and longtime New York Times reporter offers everyday citizens a guide to the seven essential changes our communities must enact to bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero. Illustrations.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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