the library

med/science

  • The Emperor of All Maladies - Mukherjee
    this is the book that made me want to be a doctor. not kidding. amazing and accessible book about what cancer is, why we treat it with poison, and how we've come to understand it over the course of human history.
  • The Hot Zone - Preston
    about the ebola virus, various ebola pandemics, and the scary cave full of dead elephants that it came out of. very graphic descriptions of how a virus can make you fucking explode. THIS IS A GROSS BOOK! but it is REALLY GOOD.
  • You Look like a Thing and I Love You - Shane
    by THE janelle shane of AIweirdness.com. an amazing and simple explanation of what AI actually does, and why it isn't that smart.

neuro/psych

  • Phantoms in the Brain - Ramachandran
    how does the brain perceive and communicate with the body? why can you point to your bellybutton with your eyes closed? FIND OUT.
  • The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat - Sacks
    this one is a CLASSIC. the late dr. sacks was an incredible clinician and scientist- read anything by him if you care about neuroscience or medicine. i'm so serious.
  • The Body Keeps the Score - van Der Kolk
    yes, i know he is sketchy. it's still a good book that i would recommend to anyone with complex trauma.
  • Good Morning Monster - Gildiner
    a therapist's account of five patients who overcame incredible psychological trauma.
  • Hidden Valley Road - Kolker
    the story of a family with six (out of twelve!) schizophrenic children. a bit too sensationalist for my liking but still contains valuable insight into how psychosis impacts patients and families.
  • Dying to be Ill - Feldman
    the best, non-sensationalized, and most empathetic examination of factitious disorder (Munchausen's) that i've found in literature as of yet.
  • The Nocturnal Brain - Leschziner
    this one is dense. but if you are curious about what the brain does when you're asleep, read it.
  • Never Enough - Grisel
    addiction from the perspective from an addict who is also a neuroscientist! amazing, empathetic, so informative.

fiction

  • Gideon the Ninth + the rest of the Locked Tomb series - Muir
    lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic castle IN SPACE!
  • The Dispossed - le Guin
    communist planet.
  • The Left Hand of Darkness - le Guin
    what ifs everyone was non binery and also super horny once a month.
  • Babel - Kuang
    revolution baby! lots of linguistic fun facts too
  • All Tomorrows
    FREE/AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE! speculative evolution. what if a bunch of fucked up aliens abducted humans, did weird stuff like turn us into flesh cubes, and then dumped us on random planets? surprisingly optimistic.

other nonfic

  • The Tragedy of Heterosexuality - Ward
    how misogyny hurts heterosexual relationships. straight people, this book is for you. i promise we're not shitting on you, we just feel bad for you.
  • Real Queer America - Allen
    copium for those stuck in red states. honestly, it's heartwarming and speaks to my experiences in the south. it's not all doom and gloom! i promise!
  • Men Who Hate Women - Bates
    so what's the deal with all these misogynists? (laugh track) haha seriously though. like why have so many incredibly virulent misogynistic groups popped up in the past 2 decades? what is wrong with incels? where did they come from? it's all here.