I often find myself wishing that I knew so much more about so many different things. Science, languages, different areas of history… there’s so much that I’m missing out on! Over the past few years I’ve been reading more and more non-fiction to try and fill these gaps, so I thought it would be fun to turn this into a blog feature where I recommend non-fiction books based on a certain theme. These will either be ones I’ve chosen myself because I want to read more about them, or ones suggested in the comments – so if there’s anything you want to learn more about, let me know!
Today’s theme is space. As most of you already know, I absolutely LOVE science fiction – whether I’m reading, watching a film or playing video games, I LOVE SPACE!
BUT – I don’t really know much about it. At least, the real factual stuff. This is something I’ve been wanting to educate myself on for a while (BECAUSE SPACE IS COOL), it is just a matter of finding accessible books because I was never the best at science in school…
So which non-fiction books out there look really good?
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, Cosmos by Carl Sagan, The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
Big Bang by Simon Singh, The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene
Rinn Reads 
It’s a little more about astronauts than space buuuuuut: “Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut”- Astronaut Mike Mullane
Still sounds good – and outrageous! 😉
And, Packing for Mars:The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
I think I might have spotted that one. Was it a tie-in with the TV show?
This book is fascinating. Mary Roach is an awesome science writer. She asks the questions that everyone is thinking, but may not want to bring up in polite company.
Oooh, that makes it sound more intriguing 😛
I read Cosmos as a kid and loved it. Sagan had a way of explaining things that was awesome.
That’s a good thing to hear, it means it’s very accessible – just what I need. 😀
Seconding the recommendation for ‘Riding Rockets’ which is an excellent read!
Haha, it certainly has some interesting Goodreads reviews!
Can’t believe you didn’t put “Why does E=mc2!!! ” That was a good book! Actually anything by Professor Cox is good, he tries to make it simple for his audience so it’s more accessible.
It didn’t appear in my search! Probably because I was searching specifically for space stuff rather than physics/mathematics. Do you have that one?
Oh I have some of these, but only read one! I need to get on that. I think these are great choices though, and a very fitting first theme for this new feature. 🙂
Thanks Charlene 🙂 Which one have you read?
Cosmos! But I have Parallel Worlds and Death by Black Hole which I hope I can get to sometime soon!
I think I will have to look for Cosmos in the library. 🙂