I like books that give a broad overview of many aspects of a subject that I’m interested in. Ideally, they will touch on as many parts of the subject as possible, without being weighed down with intensive, academic level detail. At the same time, I don’t like things to be totally dumbed down.
I have some interest in learning more about linguistics, music and electricity, to name a few subjects. I’m always open to new subjects to read about, especially if the book is particularly engaging.
Any recent favorites that opened your eyes on an everyday subject? The two best examples that come to mind in this area are “The Story of English” and “On Food and Cooking”. I’ve read and re-read these over the last decade, and if I’m not mistaken they are two perennial doper faves.
I was also quite fascinated by “Longitude”, the story of the quest to build an accurate seafaring clock to determine the ship’s location.
What’s on your bookshelf that I should look into?