Recs if you like Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family...

All of his picks since 2008, both summer reading lists and yearly round-ups.

A harrowing examination of the times when science abandoned ethics in the name of progress. These books document the exploitation of vulnerable bodies, exposing the systemic racism, sexism, ableism, and unchecked power that have historically hidden behind the white coat. These are the true stories of the "evil scientists" who operated not in gothic castles, but in government and university settings getting paid to make the rich richer.

a collection of memoirs by individuals who have lived with and survived (and continue to survive) debilitating mental illnesses. these are their stories.

Accessible non-fiction titles that are a good intro to the genre—suggestions always welcome! As an added bonus, most of the audiobooks are also great 🎧

Joining my two greatest loves: psychology and society. These books explore how our minds are shaped by culture, history, and social structures, challenging our most ingrained beliefs about human behavior and mental health.

This selection of books examines the field of medicine, exposing its history of exploitation, bias, and failure, often reinforcing social inequalities.

ask large questions in small spaces! avoids (but not void of) memoirs/biographies, some case studies, and the macro i'm not a historian or an expert by any means but i am salty. a lot of contemporary lists for microhistory reads contain a lot of books that are absolutely not micro. At. All. think mark kurlansky ("milk", "salt", "cod" etc.), anything that starts with "a short history of [incredibly complex geopolitical event]", or literally any historical account that spans centuries/countries/cultures/individuals. while there is definitely some gray areas and overlap, a good way to attempt to distinguish micro from the macro is macrohistory looks at how an individual/event/object/place changed and influenced the world/society/culture -- an outward expansion of one idea that proliferates time and space. microhistory is the inverse. how did the contemporary society, culture, and world change and influence a specific, tangential individual/place/event? the micro attempts to answer that! so let's reduce the scale of investigation! focus on the ones history would have otherwise forgotten if not for the diligent note takers! we're talking footnotes! anecdotes! indexes! the hot goss! EA-NASIR! macrohistory is about everyone but microhistory is about you and me baby!

niche nonfiction deep dives

I truly believe that there’s nonfiction for everyone out there; here’s some I’ve read & enjoyed

I spend a lot of time on social media (more than I'd like to admit)... here are some cool books I've discovered on Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram! Hopefully my algorithm is as curated as it's supposed to be ;)

A list of all the books I've read that have felt life altering, made me cry or angry or, even happy. All genres just the feels.