BioTechniques’ 2024 summer reading list
Now I know what you’re thinking: it’s August and you’re only now putting out a summer reading list? Well, it may be a bit of a selfish pursuit… I’m searching for my next read, and I’m hoping you can help me out by adding your suggestions to this list. I’ve read some synopses, checked the five- and one-star reviews, looked at a multitude of brilliant covers and curated a list of 12 books on my ‘to-read’ list.
Here is a list of books asking you to look within, think outside the box and step into the niches essential to our planet’s survival. These are science stories, with a few exceptions (let’s say science-adjacent stories).
Have you read any of these or have any suggestions? Tell us below!
Looking within: the human body and society
From the complexity of the immune system to the return of race science, these authors ask readers to delve into the biological processes that make us human as well as the political and social structures that weaponize science to propagate racist ideologies.
Here’s a book you’ll love to read as well as display on your coffee table. From the creator of the successful science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt – in a nutshell, comes a beautifully illustrated explanation of the immune system, giving complex biology a narrative of adventure. Bringing us both action and drama without skimping on the science, each chapter highlights a different facet of immunity, from inflammation and antibodies to threats like bacteria.
Read Immune by Philipp Dettmer
Siddhartha Mukherjee is an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University (NY, USA) and a cancer physician and researcher. In his first book, The Emperor of All Maladies – winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction – he tells cancer’s story, from its first documented appearance to the present day. It is described as a story of “human ingenuity, resilience and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism and misperception,” and surely one to add to your reading list.
You may also have heard of his other, more recent books: The Laws of Medicine, The Gene: An Intimate History and The Song of the Cell.
Read The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Charan Ranganath is a professor and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis (CA, USA). After 25 years of researching the mechanisms of memory using brain imaging techniques, computational modeling and studies of patients with memory disorders, Ranganath has written a book exploring how and why we remember. Combining accessible language with cutting-edge research, he reveals memory’s powerful role in nearly every aspect of our lives, from recalling faces and names to learning, decision-making, trauma and healing.
Read Why We Remember by Charan Ranganath
Superior explores the history of racism and racial bias within the scientific community. At a time when racialized nationalism is a resurgent threat throughout the world, science journalist Angela Saini provides a rigorous, much-needed examination of the insidious and destructive nature of race science and a powerful reminder that, biologically, we are all far more alike than different.
Read Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini
Fantastic fiction and where to find it
These are the more science-adjacent stories, but that doesn’t make them any less poignant. We all need to venture outside our comfort zones: to travel to aquariums to meet intrepid octopuses, to transport back in time to a 17th-century English village enduring the plague, to visit a family navigating dementia, and finally, to fall in love.
Did you know that octopuses are remarkably bright?
Here’s a story you didn’t know you needed: a widow working the night shift in an aquarium befriends a giant Pacific octopus who tries to uncover the truth about her son, who vanished on a boat 30 years ago. The unlikely friendship finds both characters in darkness, shedding light on the importance of connection and hope amidst the grief of loss. In a review from author Jamie Ford, he said that you won’t be able to put this book down, because if you’re not reading it, you’ll be hugging it.
Read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
I know what you’re thinking – while we’re still grappling with COVID-19, do I really want to read a book about a pandemic? But at the heart of this tale about a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague in 1666 is a story of community and love, and how sometimes even a year of catastrophe can become annus mirabilis, a ‘year of wonders’.
Read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
After her fiancé leaves her for another woman, 30-year-old Ruth quits her job and moves back home with her parents but is met with a situation more complicated than she’d realized. Her father, a prominent history professor, is losing his memory while her mother, in the absence of a cure, obsesses over the ambiguous health benefits of dried jellyfish supplements and vitamin pills. Told through a series of diary entries, Rachel Khong somehow manages to make a novel about heartbreak and Alzheimer’s disease heartwarming and funny.
Read Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
If you’re looking for a binge-worthy, easy beach read that gets your heart racing, then look no further than The Love Hypothesis. Written by neuroscience professor Ali Hazelwood, this steamy romance novel centers on 3rd-year PhD student Olive and the fake relationship she starts with Adam – a young hotshot professor and well-known ass – to convince her best friend that she’s fine.
Fun fact: the story was originally written as Star Wars fan fiction about Rey and Kylo Ren, before it was picked up and adapted into a STEM romance book.
Read The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
An ode to Earth and its creatures
Finally, we pay tribute to the creatures and plants of past and present that make our planet thrive while acknowledging the extensive role climate change has played and continues to play in Earth’s story.
In this book, Thomas Halliday – “a poet among paleontologists” – transports us to sixteen fossil sites to uncover the stories of the past. He aptly describes the formation of ecosystems and the migration and collaboration of species in an emotive way, creating a historical narrative for how life on Earth has changed. Here, take note of the fragility of ecosystems that seem unperturbable, the persistence of life and the great expanse of time – as we may be able to learn something about Earth’s current state.
Read Otherlands by Thomas Halliday
Ed Yong, science journalist and Pulitzer winner, is the author of An Immense World and I Contain Multitudes. An Immense World provides an insight into the extraordinary sensory worlds of other animals, inviting the reader to step outside their sensory bubble to experience previously unfathomable dimensions of perception.
Read An Immense World by Ed Yong
In an essay for each letter of the alphabet, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert takes us on a journey through the history of climate change and the uncertainties of our future. Beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, the dark themes may make you feel slightly unsettled and alarmed at points, but that feeling is important for the gravity of the situation, and the main takeaway message really is one of hope.
Read H Is for Hope by Elizabeth Kolbert
The last book on our list is dedicated to Earth’s unsung heroes: the insects. For such essential members of our planet, insects sure get a bad rap. Professor of biology at the University of Sussex (UK), Dave Goulson shares the potential consequences of life without insects, referencing a lifetime study revealing the long decline of insect populations. Silent Earth, part scientific analysis – part love letter, calls for change at every level, imploring the reader to respect and care for insects before it’s too late.
Read Silent Earth by Dave Goulson
Have you read any of these books? Are there any books you would add to this list?