I love to read and learn. Nothing satisfies me more than a new-to-me book that is well written and provides tons of useful information. (I’m still a sucker for the paper version!) I’ve compiled a list of books that I would recommend to anyone, loosely organized into several categories. Please leave your suggestions to add to any of these categories.
Science and Medicine
Fundamentals of Biostatistics by Bernard Rosner
Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (12th ed)
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology by John E Hall
How to Report Statistics in Medicine by Thomas Lang and Michelle Secic
Neuroscience, edited by Dale Purves, George Augustine, et al
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary
The Merck Manual, edited by Robert Porter and Justin Kaplan
Writing
AMA Manual of Style by the American Medical Association
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger
How to Write It by Sandra Lamb
Scientific Style and Format by the Council of Science Editors
Scientific Teaching by Jo Handelsman, Sara Miller, and Christine Pfund
The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook (NIH, NSF, Any Agency) by Stephen Russell and David Morrison
The Science Writers’ Handbook, edited by Thomas Hayden and Michelle Nijhuis
Work-Life Integration and Negotiation
Getting to 50/50 by Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober
So What are You Going to Do with That? by Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius
Women Don’t Ask and Ask for It by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Business and Freelancing
Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss
The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-timers, and the Self-employed by Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan
What to Charge by Laurie Lewis
Science Non-fiction Leisure Reading
Because I Said So! by Ken Jennings
Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by Walter Willett
Several books by Mary Roach, especially Packing for Mars
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot