Hey!
Do you guys have recommendations for interesting books on niche subjects? I want to explore some topics I don’t usually read about and mix it up a bit.
I tend to read mostly books about economics, non-fiction history books or science fiction.
I think it would be interesting to read something about architecture, sports, travel or romance - simply something outside what I usually read. Have you guys read anything niche recently that was good?
I enjoyed Human Errors by Nathan Lents. It’s a pretty light read on the garbage parts of the human body.
Sports, eh? found Leonard Koppet’s The New Thinking Fan’s guide to Baseball pretty interesting and I am not particularly a baseball fan.
What about biology?
There’s the Empire of Ants by E.O. Wilson (ants)
Entangled Life by Sheldrake (fungus)
The Genius of Birds by Ackerman (birds)
Hidden life of Trees by Wohlleben (forests)
Other Minds by Godfrey-smith (Octopus)
A fun fiction about octopus and dragons is Dragon Dreamer by Jenny Burke
And a nice fantasy adventure is Melidora by Ryan Z Dawson.
Try Fantasy Life by Matthew Berry, it’s about the world of fantasy football leagues and I really liked it.
Oh also the nonfiction book the Feather Thief by Kirk Johnson. It’s about the world of salmon fly-tying and stolen feathers, can’t get more niche than that and the story is totally gripping !
Interesting and entertaining sports history books:
Loose balls
Ball four
Football for a buck
Off the top of my head - good books on niche topics
Concrete Planet
Sand Talk
Ancient Brews
H2O a biography of water
Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge : a Radical History of Plants, Drugs and Human Evolution
Pihkal
The book of dead philosophers
Anything by Michael Pollen but perhaps especially the Omnivores Dilemma
If you like architecture I feel that the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is a must read. Rand gets a lot of hate, perhaps deservedly but this book is a solid novel and mysteriously intriguing.