TStevens top Non-fiction for 2010

Even more choices for you. I tried to stick with only five books that were also published in 2010, but I added a bonus for you at the end (it was published 2009). My favorite non-fiction books for 2010 in no particular order



In the Neighborhood: The search for community on an American street, one sleepover at a time. By Peter Lovenheim

The author came home to his quiet street to find the police at a neighbor’s. It turns out that the husband murdered the wife and than killed himself, all the while leaving the kids upstairs. He soon realized he didn’t know his neighbors, any of them, at all. So he began a project to get to know them, mostly by having a sleepover. You will slowly realize how little you know your neighbors when you read this book, and how much you should need them.

The Invisible Gorilla and other ways our intuitions deceive us. By Chris Chabris and Dan Simons.

Our mind deceives us all the time; it is the only way we can cope with all the stimuli that surrounds us. Go watch this short video on YouTube to understand exactly what they are talking about.

Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void. By Mary Roach.

Once again Mary tackles a science topic by asking all the questions we want to ask, but most of us are to embarrassed to actually do it. How do you go to the bathroom in space? What about showers? Sex? And all is done with a good sense of humor.

As Good As Gold. By Kathryn Bertine.

How hard is it to get on the Olympic team? What about the “easy” sports. Well Kathryn was already a national caliber athlete (unlike the couch potatoes most of us are), and through funding from ESPN she gives it here best shot. A great motivator and humbler all rolled into one.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the meaning of things. By Randy Frost and Gail Steketee.

Maybe it’s only me, but hoarding is endlessly fascinating and this book delves into the roots of the problem with some compelling examples. It is about the relationship with stuff, not the actual stuff that matters. That is why throwing out the junk won’t solve the problem.

Born to Run: A hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen. By Christopher McDougall

If you have ever run, wanted to run, or even tried to run this book can change your life. It is the best treatise on the minimalist movement I have read, plus you get a whole side story on a small tribe of Indians from the Copper Canyon area of Mexico who are among the best distance runners ever (by distance I am talking 50 plus miles at a time)