New On My TBR List This Month
Eight new books I came across in April
This month is heavy on the history – of garbage, New York City, women’s contributions, our neck… with a little AI and education thrown in for good measure. Interestingly this month I have no science on the TBR list. What good new science books am I missing out on? LMK in the comments.
Happy reading!
Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America
By Russell Shorto
Published March 2025 from W. W. Norton & Company
In my phase of reading gilded-age narrative non-fiction I learned lots of tidbits of history about New York City. When I came across this new book it was an instant add to my TBR list. Curious what new history I’ll learn from this.
The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History
By Kent Dunlap
Published February 2025 from University of California Press
The human body is fascinating, and I love deep dive books into a specific organ or aspect of our anatomy and physiology. This is also a book that I added with significant influence from it’s cover. I really like flamingos.
Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth, and Power
By Victoria Bateman
Publishing September 2025 from Seal Press
I’ve been on a kick of women’s history the last, I don’t know, two years or so? This one doesn’t come out for months, but I’m anxiously awaiting its release.
Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly
By Hannah Selinger
Published March 2025 from Little, Brown and Company
I came across this book in the New York Book Review a couple weeks back, and the review made it sound interesting. I worked in a restaurant for years and know that it’s a whole different world in there. Excited to dive in.
Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash
by Alexander Clapp
Published February 2025 from Little, Brown and Company
Where does all our trash go? We all probably have vague ideas of it ending up in a landfill but since this is an entire book I assume there is a whole other ‘wild’ journey it goes on. I guess I’ll find out when I read it.
What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
By Donovan Moore
Published March 2020 from Harvard University Press
This book is a few years old but I came across it in a list of women’s history month reads, and I was instantly intrigued. Women don’t get the same credit for their discoveries in science, and I love to find dedicated books to their life and contributions.
The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future
By Keach Hagey
Publishing May 2025 from W. W. Norton & Company
I don’t often read much on AI despite it being now ubiquitous in our digital lives. Sam Altman also seems like a reasonable man and I think his takes are interesting. Would like to learn more.
Bad Education: Why Our Universities are Broken and How We Can Fix Them
By Matt Goodwin
Published January 2025 from Bantam Press
Working in higher ed, I’m always on the lookout for new books that diagnose problems and offer solutions for how we can ensure our universities remain a net benefit for our country.