If you enjoyed Steve Knopper's take on digital music in Appetite for Self-Destruction, you might like Greg Kot's Ripped, which looks at the same issues but with a focus on how musicians--rather than record labels--have reacted to the shift toward MP3s and the distribution issues that come with that shift. Kot, a Chicago Tribune music critic and the co-host of the radio show Sound Opinions, profiles big-name bands like Radiohead and Metallica, who gave him a great deal of access, as well as other performers like Lily Allen and influential indie music website Pitchfork Media. If you're at all curious about the future (and the present) of popular music, you won't want to miss Ripped.

Paul Newman may have had good looks and natural charisma going for him, but his success was due to diligent hard work on his part. Though biographer Shawn Levy never spoke with his subject, his research presents Paul Newman's life and accomplishments--as an actor, director, philanthropist, husband, and father--in an illuminating and candid light. Newman was not a saint, but his hard work and good deeds outshine his failings; you can read about the good and the bad in this careful biography, which leaves readers with a "surprisingly cheering and inspiring message" (The Washington Post).

In a collection that spans more than three decades, famed humorist and certified gearhead P. J. O'Rourke chronicles his love affair with the automobile from the mid-20th century until now in a hilarious tour of all things on four wheels. From his single days and a 700-mile road trip to the joys of hauling around his kids and all their stuff, O'Rourke doesn't let up on the throttle (he's got a need for speed, after all). Though most of these essays will appeal to the car lover rather than to the casual driver, even those who don't know the difference between the Baja 1000 and a NASCAR series race will enjoy O'Rourke's often-hilarious (if not always sensible) escapades.

One day, Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs decided to read all 32 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2002 edition). Then he decided to write about it, so that others could learn of the humorous and unexpected mishaps that occurred as a result--for one thing, he got shunned at cocktail parties after one too many attempts to share what he'd learned (his coworkers nicknamed him the Great Conversation Stopper). Ultimately, The Know-It-All is part memoir, part trivia compendium, and wholly enjoyable. If you like Jacobs' style, you can read about the year he spent following all the rules of the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically, or keep an eye out for his upcoming book, The Guinea Pig Diaries.

Marathons are hard enough, but running one isn't the most extreme thing a runner can do. There are ultramarathons, for example, with distances of 100 miles or more, or races that take place in inhospitable conditions (like in Antarctica). In Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes explores why he's driven to seek out races in such extreme environments and with such demanding lengths, and describes the tough conditions he's faced during competitions whose distances extend hundreds of miles. Kirkus Reviews says the book is "charming and surprisingly quirky, providing the perfect escapist fantasy for couch potatoes and weekend warriors alike."

Ammon Shea, a self-confessed word lover, took it upon himself to read the Oxford English Dictionary from cover to cover--all 137 pounds of it. It took a year, but he learned a number of obscure, hilarious, and offbeat vocabulary gems (from abluvion--"things that are washed away"--to zabernism--"a misuse of military authority"), which he shares with his readers along with comical commentary. If you're fascinated by the OED, you should try Simon Winchester's mesmerizing The Professor and the Madman.

There are 14 peaks that reach higher than 8,000 meters, all in Tibet, Pakistan, and Nepal--and none of them are walks in the park. Veteran mountaineer Ed Viesturs made it his goal to reach all 14 summits--and to get down safely--and he shares some of his most harrowing and dangerous experiences as well as the close calls and errors in judgment suffered by his fellow climbers. If you've read Jon Krakauer's gripping Into Thin Air, you'll understand and appreciate Viesturs' focus on safety--and be all the more fascinated by his own inspiring feats as well as his own brush with the climbers whose actions are the focus of Into Thin Air.