Non-Fiction Books
A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhism
Rating: 
This is the must-have manual for any Westerner trying to understand the Vajrayana path. In the introduction, Newman says he wanted to call this book “Tantra for Dummies” because he hoped to write that kind of straightforward guide that “leads you through everything you have to do, step by step. It doesn’t assume you know anything and it leaves nothing out.” He has definitely succeeded in creating that kind of book.
Bonding with Your Dog
Rating:
The premise of this book is that no matter how much training you put into your dog, if a strong bond is not built between the two of you the training will not result in the behavior or the relationship you are hoping for.
A Land So Strange
Rating:
This is a must read for anybody with the slightest interest in early American history. It tells the little-known story (why isn’t this story taught in schools?) of four men who were shipwrecked in Florida in 1528
Listening to Whales
Rating:
Listening to Whales is part memoir and part nonfiction. It’s about whale and dolphin communication, the environment of coastal British Columbia, and orca society, but in addition to the must-know history, science,
Eye of My Heart
Rating:
This collection of essays is exactly what the title promises—a whole bunch of grandmothers writing about their experiences as grandparents. Because the stories are all very well-written,
Nine Parts of Desire
Rating:
Before writing Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks worked as a reporter (Middle East correspondent) for The Wall Street Journal and lived in numerous countries throughout the Middle East for almost a decade.
Fruitless Fall
Rating:
Echoing Rachel Carson’s Silent Snow, Jacobsen’s Fruitless Fall informs us of the plight of honey bees and the disaster that is in store for us if we continue to abuse them. Before reading this book my understanding of honeybees was limited pretty much to that of a third grader—we need them to pollinate things.
The Big Year
Rating:
The topic of the “big year” (a competition in which birders throughout the world compete to see who can spot the most species of birds within one calendar year) is very compelling,
Animals Make Us Human
Rating:
Temple Grandin believes her autism gives her a unique perspective on the ways animals perceive and experience the world. With her book Animals Make Us Human (as well as her previous book Animals in Translation) she makes a very good case for this claim.
Pot Bellies and other Miniature Pigs
Rating:
This book was a huge disappointment. I was looking for some basic information on pot bellies—what it’s like to live with them, how to choose one, and how to care for one, in order to determine whether or not a pig would fit into my life.