These are some of the recent books that I’ve enjoyed, sorted by genre / genre groups.

Science fiction

Other fiction

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Definitely a page turner! I read this the week that I had my PhD qualifying exams, and it was a great book to read before bed to relax and not think about science.
Song of Solomon - good character development
Animal Farm - metaphorical

Becoming by Michelle Obama - She is such a good writer and tells a great story. Way better than Barack’s memoir in my opinion.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - This was an interesting and funny read by the comedian Trevor Noah.
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy - Jeanette, the actress who played Sam in iCarly, talks about the effect her mom had on encouraging her eating disorder and controlling her life as a young actress.

Bonk - I’ve really liked the couple Mary Roach books I’ve read, including this one. She writes about the human body and other science topics in an engaging way with humor mixed in.
An Immense World - I learned so much about how different animals percieve and experience the world around them. There are a lot of facts, though - beware.
Four Laws that Drive the Universe - Atkins dives into how thermodynamics works and what all the terminology really means. It helped clarify a lot for me while also making me realize there was a lot I didn’t fully understand! It is supposedly written such that someone without a scientific or thermodynamics background can easily understand it, but I read it after having already taken several thermodynamics courses and am a little doubtful of that claim.
Absolutely Small - This quantum mechanics book uses very minimal math, with a focus on basic conceptual understanding. Some of the material is a little hard to fully process without drawing it out or reviewing a little math yourself I think, but Fayer does a good job at repeating and re-explaining the trickier parts to help readers understand.
Why We Sleep - I learned a lot about sleep from this book. There has been a lot of backlash and criticism about this book, though … the facts might not be that credible. But I still liked it so am keeping it on the list.

Strong Towns - A short, engaging book about how cities work and the effects of car-dependent infrastructure and development in America.
Dopesick - I found it really interesting to learn about the history of the opiod crisis in America and the role of big pharma in it.
Sidecountry - This is a compilation of articles of inspiring stories about lesser-known sports and athletes. Because who doesn’t love a good sports story?
Freakonomics - For someone with limited economics background like me, this was an entertaining read.
Born to Run - This book is focused on Tarahumara culture and tradition of long distance running and argues that humans evolved to run long distances.
Deep Survival - What makes some people survive and some not in disasters in the wilderness? It turns out that it is mostly mental.
Quiet - This book discusses extrovert and introvert tendencies and how this differs by culture, as well as the values that both groups bring and how the two can best interact with each other.
The Pyschopath Test - This book describes the tests used to determine if someone is a psychopath (it is blurry), how pyschopaths differ from non-psychopaths, and rehab center strategies and history.