\n<\/p>\n
Each year around this time, we ask the staff of Scientific American to recommend the best books they read this year. Here are the 67 new favorites and old classics that kept us turning the pages in 2025.<\/p>\n
Happy reading! Jump to your favorite section here:<\/p>\n
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In alphabetical order<\/p>\n
Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures
by Lizzie Wade
Harper
(Tags: History)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was such an upbeat book about apocalypses! I learned a ton and got a much smarter sense of what people really experienced during these extreme scenarios.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America
by Elie Mystal
The New Press
(Tags: Policy)<\/p>\n
\u201cA clearly structured and compellingly argued takedown of 10 terrible laws that could easily be fixed by simply revoking them. It will make you mad but in the most clarifying way.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
The Black Family Who Built America: The McKissacks, Two Centuries of Daring Pioneers
by Cheryl McKissack Daniel, with Nick Chiles
Atria\/Black Privilege Publishing
(Tags: Memoir)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe author\u2019s great-great-grandfather, an enslaved person brought from Africa, started a construction\/engineering company in North Carolina and Tennessee that is still in the family and is now run by her. An intimate view of courageous Black lives in the midst of ongoing white prejudice and violence.\u201d \u2014Maria-Christina Keller, Copy Director<\/p>\n
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Flatiron Books
(Tags: Memoir)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I finished the prologue of Careless People, I immediately looked up who had the movie rights\u2014the author has a flair for the cinematic in describing her experiences. Besides being a riveting read, this look at the thoughts and thoughtlessness of those running Facebook is crucial to understanding how today\u2019s toxic digital landscape came to be.\u201d \u2014Sarah Lewin Frasier, Senior Editor<\/p>\n
CHART: Designing Creative Data Visualizations from Charts to Art
by Nadieh Bremer
A K Peters\/CRC Press
(Tags: Data Visualization)<\/p>\n
\u201cNadieh Bremer excels at creating captivating and memorable information-rich data displays. If you\u2019re stuck in a world of bar charts and line charts and looking to stretch your own capabilities beyond standard visualization forms, this book is for you. Examples include several graphics commissioned for Scientific American articles!\u201d \u2014Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
The Football: The Amazing Mathematics of the World\u2019s Most Watched Object
by \u00c9tienne Ghys
Princeton University Press
(Tags: Math, Physics, Sports)<\/p>\n
\u201cA fascinating mathematical and physical microhistory of soccer balls and the official FIFA World Cup match balls in particular.\u201d \u2014Emma R. Hasson, 2025 AAAS Mass Media Fellow<\/p>\n
The Harder I Fight the More I Love You
by Neko Case
Grand Central Publishing
(Tags: Memoir)<\/p>\n
\u201cA searing, beautiful memoir by singer-songwriter Neko Case, recalling her lonely, tumultuous upbringing and the way music became a balm and an escape. It is written with the same gut-punching poetic voice that makes her such an incredible lyricist.\u201d \u2014Andrea Thompson, Senior Desk Editor\/Life Science<\/p>\n
I Want to Burn This Place Down
by Maris Kreizman
Ecco
(Tags: Essays)<\/p>\n
\u201cA wonderfully slim collection of essays about growing up, getting angry and choosing to change the world for the better. I cringed at how relatable it was at times, but that\u2019s the point!\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age
by Ada Palmer
The University of Chicago Press
(Tags: History)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may know Ada Palmer as a science-fiction novelist, but she\u2019s also a historian at the University of Chicago who focuses on the Renaissance. This is a chunky book with many parts, but it\u2019s very readable and thought-provoking. You\u2019ll think differently about the Renaissance\u2014and about how history works.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Leaving the Ocean Was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures
by Cara Giaimo. Illustrated by Vlad Stankovic
Quirk Books
(Tags: Humor, Animals)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis charming little book highlights 60 creatures that live in the shallows to the abyssal deep. Each is beautifully illustrated, while the text shares an interesting fact about the animal and a wry inspirational-poster-style motto for human life drawn from its experience. Great for kids five to 10 years old, plus anyone else who wants to be delighted by the ocean\u2019s denizens.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Time
by Helen Gordon
Profile Books
(Tags: Space, History)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never had such an emotional reaction to reading about rocks, but the prose is beautiful, and the passion of the authors pours off every page.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley\u2019s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity
by Adam Becker
Basic Books
(Tags: AI, Technology)<\/p>\n
\u201cA fascinating look at the so-called philosophies that Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs use to justify sacrificing the present to build a future that will never exist. Equal parts fascinating and infuriating, this book sheds light on the way some of the most powerful people in the world think and also shows you how to argue against it.\u201d \u2014Ian Kelly, Product Manager<\/p>\n
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been against This
by Omar El Akkad
Knopf
(Tags: Memoir, Politics)<\/p>\n
\u201cA powerfully written, thought-provoking book with deep moral clarity.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left
by Eoin Higgins
Bold Type Books
(Tags: Political Science)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe story of how tech billionaires are buying out their most vocal critics and trying to change the journalistic landscape. This book helps explain not just how narratives are changing in front of our eyes but why.\u201d \u2014Ian Kelly, Product Manager<\/p>\n
Phenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science around Us
by Felice Frankel
MITeen Press
(Tags: Young Adult, Photography)<\/p>\n
\u201cPhotographer Felice Frankel explores the science behind visual characteristics through a series of images paired with artist statements and succinct scientific explanations. Together, this prompts the reader to ponder light and shadow, form, transformation and surfaces.\u201d \u2014Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global
by Laura Spinney
Bloomsbury Publishing
(Tags: History, Linguistics)<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura Spinney tells engaging tales of archeologists traipsing through fields, linguists working toward professional vindication and many others active in the search for understanding of how these ancient languages traveled, fragmented, warred and traded to eventually became the dominant Indo-European languages today.\u201d \u2014Rich Hunt, Managing Production Editor<\/p>\n
A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting
by Casey Johnston
Grand Central Publishing
(Tags: Memoir)<\/p>\n
\u201cA gripping combination of memoir and exploration of the history and science of weight lifting. Casey Johnston\u2019s background as a science journalist comes through clearly in the fascinating explanations of how and why lifting can be so beneficial.\u201d \u2014Sarah Lewin Frasier, Senior Editor<\/p>\n
Raising Hare
by Chloe Dalton
Pantheon
(Tags: Memoir)<\/p>\n
\u201cAn atmospheric and cozy memoir about a city slicker workaholic who rescues a newborn abandoned hare and awakens to nature. A great one for animal lovers.\u201d \u2014Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor<\/p>\n
Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival
by Lisa Gardiner
Princeton University Press
(Tags: Science, Environment)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a love letter to past, present and future coral reefs. Gardiner is a close friend of mine. Her stories of fossil and modern polyps\u2014as well as the people that study them\u2014prompted me to think more deeply about resilience.\u201d \u2014Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Our Place in the Solar System
by Dagomar Degroot
Harvard University Press
(Tags: Science, Space)<\/p>\n
\u201cA fascinating tour of the environmental history of the inner solar system and how centuries of changes to our neighboring worlds have shaped the human experience.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age
by Vauhini Vara
Pantheon
(Tags: AI, Technology)<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved this philosophical look at how and why artificial intelligence and broader technological developments have changed our world and our artistic practice within it.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
The Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationships
by Nathan Lents
Mariner Books
(Tags: Sexology, Zoology)<\/p>\n
\u201cSurprisingly funny and eye-opening book about how the animal kingdom is more sexually diverse than previously understood.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Sociopath: A Memoir
by Patric Gagne
Simon & Schuster
(Tags: Memoir, Mental Health)<\/p>\n
\u201cI picked up this book after I read our own July\/August 2025 article about treating childhood psychopathy and wanted to know more. The author describes with vivid honesty how it felt to grow up as an undiagnosed sociopath and how she came to learn about herself and create her own path to treatment. As someone who is fascinated by different neurotypes, I was hooked from the start and came away with (somewhat ironically) a newfound empathy for those who don\u2019t themselves experience empathy like most people do.\u201d \u2014Amanda Monta\u00f1ez, Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
Speak Data: Artists, Scientists, Thinkers, and Dreamers on How We Live Our Lives in Numbers
by Giorgia Lupi and Phillip Cox
Chronicle Books
(Tags: Data)<\/p>\n
\u201cA collection of thoughtful interviews with people who spend their days thinking about and working with data\u2014including scientists, artists, activists and business leaders. I loved that each interviewee defines data in a different way.\u201d \u2014Amanda Monta\u00f1ez, Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
Strata: Stories From Deep Time
by Laura Poppick
W. W. Norton
(Tags: Geology)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe deep history of Earth can be overwhelming\u2014the sheer scale of billions of years, with only the opaque names of eras and epochs to navigate by\u2014but Strata is different. In it, geologist-turned-science-journalist Laura Poppick carries the reader on our planet\u2019s adventure by highlighting four pivotal phenomena: air, ice, mud and heat.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Sweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Lover
by Sarah Perry
Mariner Books
(Tags: Essays, Food)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sweetest essays about some of my favorite candy indulgences. It was sometimes funny, touching and even educational. This would be a nice palate cleanser to get someone out of a reading slump. The illustrations and formatting, with sections broken up by candy color, was a cute touch.\u201d \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
Tigers Between Empires: The Improbable Return of Great Cats to the Forests of Russia and China
by Jonathan C. Slaght
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(Tags: History)<\/p>\n
\u201cA heart-in-your-mouth saga that tells the stories\u2014terrifying, riveting and sad\u2014of the adventurer scientists who saved the disappearing Amur tiger. Slaght gives us an inspiring account of a wilderness where brown bears fight tigers and the too-brief geopolitical thaw that reshaped the lives of both man and tiger.\u201d \u2014Dan Vergano, Senior Editor, Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
In alphabetical order<\/p>\n
Among Friends
by Hal Ebbott
Riverhead Books
(Tags: Literary Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is simply about a birthday weekend spent between two families that goes wrong, but I was locked into the drama right away. Lesson learned: some friendships are best left in the past.\u201d \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
The Antidote
by Karen Russell
Knopf
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cThrilled my book club made me read this! I loved this new take on a witch in the American West.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Atmosphere
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ballantine Books
(Tags: LGBTQ+, Astronauts)<\/p>\n
\u201cA gorgeous romance interspersed with a thrilling mission story about fictional astronauts in the space shuttle program in the 1980s.\u201d \u2014Clara Moskowitz, Chief of Reporters<\/p>\n
The Botanist\u2019s Assistant
by Peggy Townsend
Berkley
(Tags: Mystery)<\/p>\n
\u201cA fun murder mystery steeped in the world of scientific research and botany.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Eat The Ones You Love
by Sarah Maria Griffin
Tor Books
(Tags: Fantasy)<\/p>\n
\u201cCreepy and weird in all the best ways! More horror stories should examine violence through botany and abandoned malls.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Emily Wilde\u2019s Compendium of Lost Tales
by Heather Fawcett
Del Rey Books
(Tags: Fantasy)<\/p>\n
\u201cI find the world and characters so endlessly endearing I\u2019d read about them if they were just sitting around having tea! The combination of monster hunting, academic woes and romantic high points was just what I was looking for.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
For Whom the Belle Tolls
by Jaysea Lynn
S&S\/Saga Press
(Tags: Romance, Erotica)<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman dies of cancer, explores the afterlife, enjoys customer service and finds two kinds of love. It\u2019s a nice blend of romance, plot and characters that feels like a warm cozy hug of a book.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I\u2019m Trapped in a Rom-Com
by Kimberly Lemming
Berkley
(Tags: Erotica, Science Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a longtime Lemming fan, I was still shocked to see her foray into science fiction. She satirizes the field\u2019s desperation and tunnel vision for experimentation and documentation well while still showcasing hysterically self-aware protagonists and introducing new, weird and hot aliens.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Isaac\u2019s Song
by Daniel Black
Hanover Square Press
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cA heart-wrenching read on grief, love, family and identity. Set in the 1980s, it\u2019s a poetic journey about dealing with generational trauma and writing your own story.\u201d \u2014Fonda Mwangi, Multimedia Editor<\/p>\n
Rejection
by Tony Tulathimutte
William Morrow Paperbacks
(Tags: Short Story Fiction, Satire)<\/p>\n
\u201cAs someone who spends way too much time on the social Internet, this book made me spiral. It\u2019s a scathing look at Internet losers, woke politics and a self-hating generation of people just looking to be accepted.\u201d \u2014Carin Leong, Editorial Contributor<\/p>\n
\u201cThis book was as startling as it was eye-opening. Going to be hard to forget this one.\u201d \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
The Rest Is Silence
by Augusto Monterroso. Translated by Aaron Kerner
New York Review of Books
(Tags: Academic Satire)<\/p>\n
\u201cA hilarious and touching bludgeoning of the provincial \u00e9minence-grise-type, in translation from the original Spanish. A short, savage antidote to every unblemished saccharine Festschrift of the scholarly world. Will make you want to go back and read Don Quixote, around which the critic at the center of the story has mislaid his entire oeuvre.\u201d \u2014Dan Vergano, Senior Editor, Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
The Salvage
by Anbara Salam
Tin House
(Tags: Historical Fiction, Mystery)<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are ghosts in the icy waters east of Scotland. In 1962 a marine archaeologist raises them to the surface from a century-old shipwreck. But she is haunted by ghosts of her own. Dead men\u2019s shadows, creaking cupboard doors and poisoned relationships make for a gothic takeover of the science in this tale. I liked the way our archaeologist is gradually convinced of the supernatural terrors, even while a supposedly superstitious islander counters with evidence rooted in the everyday world.\u201d \u2014Josh Fischman, Senior Editor\/Special Projects<\/p>\n
Small Boat
by Vincent Delecroix. Translated by Helen Stevenson
Hope Road Publishing
(Tags: Philosophical Tragedy, Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cA minimalist and morally complex retelling of the 2021 English Channel disaster that suggests there\u2019s no one to blame but us all.\u201d \u2014Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service Assistant<\/p>\n
Sunrise on the Reaping
by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic Press
(Tags: Dystopian Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cSuzanne Collins really delivered with Sunrise on the Reaping. The backstory of Haymitch, Katniss\u2019s mentor during the Hunger Games, is finally revealed, and the result is gutting\u2014it is rip-out-your-heartstrings devastating.\u201d \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
Vanishing World
by Sayaka Murata
Grove Hardcover
(Tags: Science Fiction, Dystopia)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis dystopian tale imagines a world where sex for procreation has become obsolete, replaced entirely by artificial insemination and clinical reproduction. Here intimacy is viewed as unnecessary, unsanitary and even taboo. It\u2019s an unsettling exploration of how the erosion of romantic love and pleasure and the human bonds they forge can profoundly reshape the meaning of family, friendship and society at large.\u201d \u2014Sunya Bhutta, Chief Audience Engagement Editor<\/p>\n
We Love You, Bunny
by Mona Awad
S&S\/Marysue Rucci Books
(Tags: Fantasy, Thriller)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the perfect spooky-season read\u2014and dare I say, I preferred this to the prequel. Mona Awad hits the nail on the head with this dark academia freaky fever dream. The origins of this New England MFA student clique are revealed, and we get all the witchcraft and laughter that bring the \u2018Bunnies\u2019 to life. \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
Where the Axe Is Buried
by Ray Nayler
MCD
(Tags: Science Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s less interested in the apocalypse than it is in those who shape its course. No perspectives are off limits in this far-too-familiar future, a prospect that\u2019s as chilling as it is riveting.\u201d \u2014Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service Assistant<\/p>\n
Wild Dark Shore
by Charlotte McConaghy
Flatiron Books
(Tags: Climate Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cA riveting drama set on a remote island near Antarctica, where a man and his three children are caretakers for an underground vault protecting vital samples of the world\u2019s plant seeds. Personal mysteries and dangerous climate-change-induced weather make this a suspenseful page-turner.\u201d \u2014Clara Moskowitz, Chief of Reporters<\/p>\n
In order of publication year<\/p>\n
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters
by John Steinbeck
Penguin Books, 1990
(Tags: Diary, Creative Writing)<\/p>\n
\u201cA fascinating look into an author\u2019s process, especially his insecurities and what he believed the story of East of Eden was truly about. It inspired me to write more in pencil!\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
Killing Rage: Ending Racism
by bell hooks
Holt Paperbacks, 1996
(Tags: Essays)<\/p>\n
\u201cA necessary confrontation with the realities of racism that demands to be read. Be ready to question yourself and the country you live in.\u201d \u2014Charlotte Hartwell, Marketing Manager<\/p>\n
To Live
by Yu Hua
Vintage, 2003
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cSet in 20th-century China, it\u2019s an unforgettable reminder of what\u2019s left when relentless misfortune and tragedy strike. There are plenty of moments that are unsettling, but you can\u2019t help but keep reading such a human story.\u201d \u2014Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service Assistant<\/p>\n
The Thing around Your Neck
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Vintage, 2009
(Tags: Short Stories)<\/p>\n
\u201cI find I barely have any time to read these days, but Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\u2019s 2009 collection of short stories about postcolonial Nigeria is an absolute page-turner. I finished it in just two days, but each narrative has the potency that will keep me coming back to read them over and over again.\u201d \u2014Claire Cameron, Breaking News Chief<\/p>\n
The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Vintage, 2012
(Tags: Fantasy)<\/p>\n
\u201cA beautiful love story told through secrets, magic and circuses. Erin Morgenstern is the kind of spectacular writer who can convince me to follow her anywhere, no matter how fantastical the plot may seem at first glance.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party
by Heather Cox Richardson
Basic Books, 2014
(Tags: History)<\/p>\n
\u201cA history of the Republican Party that helps explain how we got to our current political situation.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee
Grand Central Publishing, 2017
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best books I\u2019ve ever read. Isak\u2019s life story completely broke my heart, and just thinking about it makes me teary-eyed all over again.\u201d \u2014Brianne Kane, Associate Editor\/Books & Rights Manager<\/p>\n
The Apollo Murders
by Chris Hadfield
Mulholland Books, 2021
(Tags: Space Thriller)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis riveting thriller by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield imagines a cold-war-era Apollo mission gone wrong, with lots of exciting intrigue between astronauts and cosmonauts.\u201d \u2014Clara Moskowitz, Chief of Reporters<\/p>\n
This Time Tomorrow
by Emma Straub
Riverhead Books, 2023
(Tags: Science Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cI normally don\u2019t go for time-travel books, but this had just the right sprinkle of magical realism. The book is rooted in the relationship between a father and daughter and hooked me with its tenderness and humor. It reminded me of The Midnight Library, [by Matt Haig], too.\u201d \u2014Isabella Bruni, Digital Producer<\/p>\n
Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win
by Jessica Valenti
Crown, 2024
(Tags: Health, Politics)<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything you need to know about the antiscience tactics being used to keep people from the health care they need. It\u2019s a supersmart guide to seeing the whole context of how abortion is treated in the U.S.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Always Bring Your Sunglasses: And Other Stories from a Life of Sensory and Social Invalidation
by Becca Lory Hector
Self-published, 2024
(Tags: Parenting)<\/p>\n
\u201cA beautifully honest account of the author\u2019s experience growing up as an undiagnosed autistic person\u2014part memoir, part guide for parents and other caregivers who want to better understand and support the autistic children in their lives.\u201d \u2014Amanda Monta\u00f1ez, Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive
by Eliot Stein
St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2024
(Tags: Society and Current Affairs)<\/p>\n
\u201cA lovely adventure profiling 10 nearly lost traditions from around the world. It explores the history of each one and the handful of people fighting to keep them alive.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Faux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop
by Serene Khader
Beacon Press, 2024
(Tags: Politics)<\/p>\n
\u201cA detailed reckoning of how white feminism has failed everyone, this book paints a beautiful picture of the way the world could be instead.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan\u2019s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
by Timothy Egan
Penguin Books, 2024
(Tags: History)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a beautifully written book about a terrifying period in U.S. history. It\u2019s also a reminder that there are always those whose hearts, corrupted by racism and power, would happily trade in freedom to enact their own tyrannical white supremacist fever dreams. Egan reminds us that the privilege of living in a democracy is the unending work that goes toward maintaining it.\u201d \u2014Kendra Pierre-Louis, Editorial Contributor<\/p>\n
The Javelin Program
by Derin Edala
Self-published, 2024
(Tags: Science Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Web-series-turned-book has everything one could ask for in character-driven hard science fiction. It\u2019s a compelling snapshot of a potential future society, full of gripping mysteries, anthropological intrigue and complex but (as far as I can tell) accurate physics. But be warned: because it was initially released as a chapter-by-chapter web series, the ending of the first book on its own will not be satisfying.\u201d \u2014Emma R. Hasson, 2025 AAAS Mass Media Fellow<\/p>\n
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
by Zo\u00eb Schlanger
Harper, 2024
(Tags: Botany)<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people think of plants as mindless, unfeeling creatures. Zo\u00eb Schlanger\u2019s compelling, lucid tour of the latest research on the \u2018plant experience\u2019 proves this is far from the case.\u201d \u2014Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Time
by Kaliane Bradley
Avid Reader Press\/Simon & Schuster, 2024
(Tags: Science Fiction, Time-Travel Rom-Com)<\/p>\n
\u201cA really fun premise of historical figures plucked from their own eras and unwillingly expatriated to present-day London, where they\u2019re forced to reckon with modern technology and with the moral legacy of the British Empire that brought them there. I love a character who yearns!\u201d \u2014Carin Leong, Editorial Contributor<\/p>\n
The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center
by Rhaina Cohen
St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2024
(Tags: Lifestyle)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis book is about a type of relationship that we have no set vocabulary for: friends who have chosen to become life partners. Rhaina Cohen, who has herself experienced one of these platonic partnerships, profiles pairs of friends whose relationships have broken out of the conventional molds. It was so striking how each of these pairs felt like they were inventing something wholly new with their love and commitment to each other\u2014even though, historically, there\u2019s nothing new about it at all.\u201d \u2014Allison Parshall, Associate Editor\/Mind & Brain<\/p>\n
The Phoenix Keeper
by S. A. MacLean
Orbit, 2024
(Tags: Fantasy)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was such a delightful read! It\u2019s billed as cozy, which I don\u2019t think is fair\u2014a couple guns do eventually show up\u2014but it\u2019s a very heartwarming story set in a magical zoo, following the revival of a defunct phoenix-breeding program.\u201d \u2014Meghan Bartels, Senior Reporter<\/p>\n
The Safekeep
by Yael van der Wouden
Avid Reader Press\/Simon & Schuster, 2024
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis novel absolutely slammed into me. Set in the postwar era of the Netherlands, it features a sour central character, a family history slowly oozing out onto the pages and an interloper who isn\u2019t what she seems. I read this in one sitting\u2014it is richly written, breathless and surprising! You\u2019ll be as obsessed with this as the two main characters are with each other.\u201d \u2014Arminda Downey-Mavromatis, Former Associate Engagement Editor <\/p>\n
The Vaster Wilds
by Lauren Groff
Riverhead Books, 2024
(Tags: Historical Fiction)<\/p>\n
\u201cA lyrical tale of survival in a harsh undeveloped version of colonial America. Groff seamlessly blends a psychological exploration of oppression and class with a naturalist\u2019s view of the living world. It is both a feminist story and an ode to freedom.\u201d \u2014Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor<\/p>\n
What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures
by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
One World, 2024
(Tags: Climate, Technology)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interviews, poems, essays and artwork by a wide range of contributors, including scientist Kate Marvel, artist Erica Deeman, journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis and architecture and design curator Paola Antonelli provide frameworks and nudges to propel us forward. The book provided me with much needed hope and an energy boost.\u201d \u2014Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Each year around this time, we ask the staff of Scientific American to recommend the best books they read this year. Here are the 67 new favorites and old classics that kept us turning the pages in 2025. Happy reading! Jump to your favorite section here: On supporting science journalism If you’re enjoying this article,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[473,1001,4349,2477,20137],"class_list":{"0":"post-35864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-favorite","11":"tag-scientific","12":"tag-staffs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}