Science and Inquiry discussion

Please post a comment below to nominate a book for the group to read for October 2025.

Please do not nominate a book unless you have read it or you have the sincere intention to read it if it is selected.

Please use the "add book/author" link just above the comment box to insert a link to the Goodreads book page for the book you are nominating, so other members can more easily assess it. Apparently this only works on the desktop version of the site; if you use the app, the link is not available yet, so just be sure to put the full title and author.

To check whether a book has been previously read or already selected to be read, check the following list: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

You may nominate a book which has been suggested previously and did not win. You may nominate more than one book, but we might not include all of your nominations in the voting.

Authors and publishers may not nominate their own books.

Please do not nominate a book which is unlikely to be available to most members, such as one which was just published within the last four months or which is only available on Kindle in the U.S. We will be checking availability more strictly than we have before. Any book nominated should be available in at least one print version (hardback and/or paperback), at least one ebook edition, and at least one audio edition.

A nominated book should have at least 500 ratings in Goodreads and it's average rating should be at least 3.5.

Nominations will close on August 21 or when we have about 7 good nominations, whichever occurs first.

The Lost City of the Monkey God https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Yes, Douglas Preston sometimes writes nonfiction books. And this one is about archeology and exploration.

I am choosing Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World based on how wonderful Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life was.

Alternatively The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World looks intriguing. I've visited many places that bear the Humboldt name but know little about the how and why this is the case.

Undeleeb wrote: "I am choosing Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World based on how wonderful Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life was. Alternatively [book:The Inv..."

All good books. But we've read them already.

Here is the discussion thread for Blue Machine: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

And here is the discussion thread for Invention of Nature: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I have Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution lined up for the coming month so that's my suggestion.

Looks like Vince Beiser's 2024 book Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future has finally crossed the 500-review mark, so I will nominate it this month. Here is my review. It's likely to be of interest to those who enjoyed prior book club reads like Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future and Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization, and those interested in sustainability and supply chain in technology and manufacturing.

I’d like to nominate Our Virtual Hearts (Through Us Series). This novel is a reflective, speculative exploration of how memory, love, and human connection endure in a world increasingly shaped by technology.

It bridges literary depth with scientific inquiry—examining what it means to remain human in the digital age, a question that feels particularly timely.

The book is accessible via Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), making it easy for members worldwide to read. I believe it would spark thoughtful discussions in our Science and Inquiry group.

📖 Kindle: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

📘 Paperback:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Guillermo wrote: "I’d like to nominate Our Virtual Hearts (Through Us Series). This novel is a reflective, speculative exploration of how memory, love, and human connection endure in a world increasingly shaped by t..."

Interesting nomination. But this book was published only a week ago. And as of today, there are no ratings on the Goodreads site. We should give this nomination a few months, before reconsidering it.

Oh ... I forgot to add that we do not allow authors to nominate their own books.

We only have three nominations, so I'm going to extend the nomination period until August 26.

Remember, you can renominate something you nominated previously that didn't win.

I also think I'll nominate Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl Zimmer.

Yes we need more for the poll. This one could be fun. How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

My nomination is Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

Empire of AI by Karen Hao.

I'd like to nominate an author who, whatever else his faults, can't be accused of dumbing down for his audience: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Hayley wrote: "Empire of AI by Karen Hao."

Looks interesting, but it's just a little bit too new, having just been published about three months ago. Maybe you could wait a couple months and nominate it again.

Nominations are now closed. I'll be posting a poll in a day or two.

Please vote for the book you would like the group to read, at the following poll:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

which will be open through September 1.

Please vote - again - for the book you would like the group to read, at the following poll:

https://www.rcv123.org/ballot/CvGXCjv...

which will be open through September 4, at 11:45 pm PT.

This is a different poll, but for the same selection of books. This poll uses ranked choice voting, in which you may vote for up to four different books, ranking them according to your first choice, second choice, third choice, and fourth choice. You can vote for fewer than four books if you wish.

Please note, I made a typo in the name of one book. It's "Air-borne" by Carl Zimmer, not Sir-Borne. 😏

Once the voting is done and the poll is closed, there will be up to four rounds of result calculations. If there is a clear winner (over 50%) immediately, among the first choice selections, it stops there. If not, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is dropped, and the votes by the members who voted for that candidate will be switched to their second choice candidate. If there is still not a clear winner, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes in the second round will be dropped and the votes from the members who voted for that candidate will be switched to their next choice. It continues similarly through the fourth round.

I know you've already voted once. But I'd appreciate if you would vote again in the RCV poll. This will help us to determine how well it works, and whether it makes much difference. We're hoping that Ranked Choice Voting will result in more people being happy with the result and more willing to read and discuss the book.

Thanks for you patience during this process.