Recs if you like Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees...

Niche nonfiction, aka micro-histories!

This list was a winner of the Q2 2026 Community Voting event - if you'd like to participate in the Quest, a link is pinned in the comments.

compliments and credit for this incredible idea go to @leshka.

has this ever happened to you? do you read a bunch of smutty smut and feel guilty bc it’s not “proper books”? well, do i have a answers for you!

find below a curated list of smutty smut titles paired with complimentary classics and/or nonfiction smarty books to make your brain bigger!*

*individual bigger brain results may vary

🚧this list is under construction🚧

A nonfiction list dedicated to learning about the most numerous animals on our planet - the tiny and mighty minibeasts!

"Minibeasts" is an informal term used to describe small invertebrates - this includes, but is absolutely not limited to, insects, arachnids, snails, slugs, and worms! Would you call it a creepy crawly or a bug? Then it's probably a minibeast!

List name has been altered to differentiate it from the quest. I'll likely remove the list soon, as a heads up 💚

Books in this list are in at least two quests. Thus helping to earn more badges. Books will span different genres. Once I scan through all the quests, I plan to further organize the list. I am thinking of creating a seperate list and moving the books with three or more quests to the new list and keeping the two badge books in this list. Are there other ways you would organize a list this big?

Niche nonfiction books that dads are still likely to enjoy that either 1) are not military history at all or 2) a niche area of a war that is not military history

Did you know that male bees explode after mating? And they also explode if they get too hot. You're welcome.

These books are about bees in some way, with cameos from their ancestor, the wasp.

(TW: for insects)

The perfect biology book blends informative science and an interesting writing style. This ideal blend is hard to find and I’m thankful every time. I hope you like these, too!

my list of books on 2+ quests, continued!

Books pictured in the "Bibliography of Recommended Titles" at the end of Insectopolis

Read these books first! Take a deep dive into the wonderful ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years and realise that humans are not as unique as we like to think.

It’s much cheaper than a degree (coming from a conservation and ecology major) 🤪

Not all insects make us to go “ooooo” and “ahhhh” with glee and fascination. From spiders to wasps, cockroaches to scorpions, they can instill the heebie jeebies on sight, but are they actually worthy of our fears or simply misunderstood?

This list compiles some reads to help us better understand these creatures which, in spite of our bruised egos at being scared of something much smaller than us, deserve our respect for their importance in myriad ecosystems. Recommendations always welcome!