A City on Mars★★★★★
Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Accessible and intricately researched, with scattered humor to keep the reader’s interest. Getting to space is the easy part. Staying there is going to be a lot more complicated.
The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)★★★★★
Katie Mack An engaging read for the general audience about what we currently know about the history and structure of the universe and what that knowledge – and the pieces we don’t know – might mean for its future and eventual end.
Four Lost Cities★★★★★
Annalee Newitz Fascinating look at how cities form, live and die, seen through archaeological discoveries at Pompeii, Angkor, Cahokia and Çatalhöyük.
iNaturalist (App)★★★★★Streamlines the basic use case of posting an observation from your phone and narrowing down the plant or animal you’re looking at.
Under Alien Skies★★★★★
Philip Plait A fun look at what it would be like to visit other planets or star systems, weaving together sci-fi scenarios, the science behind them, and the history of how those discoveries were made.