There’s no better vacation for the mind than a great book. At Nautilus, we’re lucky to come across multitudes each year—whether it’s a meditation on noise, a dive into new theories of life, or a fresh look at our familiar moon. Many of these we feature in our pages, as conversations with the authors, musings on their “3 Greatest Revelations” in writing their book, or a short selection from the book itself.
We assembled some of our favorites from the past year—a curated, expansive, and sometimes-quirky reading list for your summer. Enjoy!
1. How Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology by Philip Ball
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/duu1JRUO-nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-how-life-works.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
You can read more from Philip Ball about the nature of life here.
2. Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/RAQMBIAP-nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-eve.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Read an interview with Eve author Cat Bohannon by fellow author Lucy Cooke.
3. Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-our-moon.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
Read an excerpt from Our Moon and check out author Rebecca Boyle’s “3 Greatest Revelations” while writing.
4. Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/FTFg44Uz-nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-crossings.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Read the “3 Greatest Revelations” author Ben Goldfarb experienced while writing it.
5. Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous by Caspar Henderson
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/RGhvu7DP-nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-a-book-of-noises.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
Read an excerpt from Book of Noises about onomatopoeia and the origin of language.
6. Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure by Maggie Jackson
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-uncertain.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
Read the “3 Greatest Revelations” author Maggie Jackson experienced while writing it.
7. We Loved It All: A Memory of Life by Lydia Millet
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/ZfAwZbqD-nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-we-loved-it-all.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Read an excerpt from We Loved it All.
8. Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters by Charan Ranganath
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-why-we-remember.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
9. Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life by Jason Roberts
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-every-little-thing.jpg?auto=compress&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=578&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large)
Read an excerpt from Every Living Thing.
10. Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky
![In Body Image](https://assets.nautil.us/sites/3/nautilus/nautilus-summer-reading-list-2024-determined.jpg?auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1)
Read more about the thorny issue of free will here.
Lead image: KindheartedStock / Shutterstock
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Nautilus Editors
Posted on June 11, 2024
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