Monthly Non-Fiction Reading List 6.2025
We have seven books for this month’s reading list, and they span some fantastic topics. We have a book about the science of revenge, a book about how NIMBYs exclude the lower classes from housing, a book on how to help your kids with their anxieties, and much more. Enjoy!
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The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction--and How to Overcome It by James Kimmel
Yet another amazing book that manages to get so high on its own supply that it just gets ridiculous. I’ve personally been very curious about the topic of revenge and other bad human behaviors, so this seemed interesting. When the book started, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. Then, I couldn’t put it down because it just got silly.
James Kimmel’s theory is that revenge triggers the same reward system as addiction. I found this interesting because I’m a recovering addict with 13 years sober. He sells it pretty well, too, and I think he’s onto something. Not only does it make sense because people get obsessed with revenge, but Kimmel has done a ton of studies showing how it affects the brain.
The issue with this book comes in the second half of the book, where he just says everything is due to revenge addiction. It starts off with some theories like Hitler and Stalin being addicted to revenge, but then Kimmel just reaches so far that you can’t help but laugh. For example, he says the Atlantic Slave Trade was the result of revenge addiction…what? It was capitalists getting free labor and dehumanizing people. This is just one example where it was a reach, but there are dozens more.
Aside from the whacky theories that tried to make everything fit within his “revenge addiction box”, I was really bummed out that he didn’t touch on status at all. Status is another topic I’m super interested in, and many people crave revenge after their status has been challenged or taken away.
Overall, there are some good ideas throughout the book, but you’ll need to weed through some of the ridiculousness later on.
When We're in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership by Amanda Litman
This book was recommended by David Hogg, so I thought it was going to be about the younger generation stepping up to become political leaders. It’s not that, but there are hints of it throughout. Amanda Litman runs an organization that helps progressive candidate campaigns around the country, but the book isn’t really about that. It’s about being a good millennial boss. The book did a decent enough job with that, and it’s a pretty progressive book, so it throws out some big ideas like 4-day work weeks, good paternity leave, and all that.
There were some ideas in the book that I didn’t totally agree with, but I think it’s a good read overall. Definitely something people should check out if they want to be more progressive with their leadership style.
Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty by Adam Kucharski
I really enjoyed this book. This book is a bit more philosophical than I expected, but it’s primarily about what’s considered “proof” in the scientific community. Kucharski goes through the history of what “proof” has meant during different times throughout history and how it’s changed as science and our understanding have progressed. Typically, I’m not a big fan of books that have a ton of stories about history, but this topic intrigues me, so it held my attention, and I loved it.
The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea by Helen Lewis
I absolutely loved this book and hope everyone reads it. Helen Lewis wrote about a topic that’s extremely important in this day and age, which is what we consider “genius” to be. She instantly hooked me by discussing the idea of Elon Musk being a genius in the intro, and then she started going through the history of various people who have been considered geniuses. She critically discusses why these figures were called geniuses and why we need to challenge that idea.
My only critique is purely personal preference, and it’s that I wish it used a few more modern-day examples. I didn’t know who most of the people were that she discussed, so it was cool learning about them. But I do wish she touched on more people from recent years aside from Elon Musk. Again, that’s nothing against this book because it’s just hard to sell me on historical stuff. At the end of the day, I highly recommend this book because there are far too many public “intellectuals” held in high regard, and they’re not as smart as people think they are.
Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times by Melinda Wenner Moyer
Melinda Wenner Moyer managed to do it again! I don’t read parenting books, but I jumped at the chance to read this new one from Melinda. My son is 16, and our family tradition of insane amounts of anxiety has finally hit him, so the timing for this book was excellent. While this book is more for parents of tweens and adolescents, there were a ton of practical tips that I can use when it comes to helping my son with his anxieties.
The book discusses all of the stresses and fears kids deal with in modern times, and the best part about Melinda’s writing is that she uses a ton of scientific research. Throughout the book, there is evidence-based tips that can help kids deal with self-esteem, social anxieties, and so much more. One of the tricky balances that I’ve dealt with is validating my son’s feelings while also trying to teach him to be resilient, and this book has a great section on that.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the section on social media and technology. Melinda could have easily played into the idea that social media is destroying our children, but she cares about what the actual research says. Jean Twenge and Jonathan Haidt are by far the loudest voices on how social media is destroying our children, but Melinda explains what the actual science says and points out how Haidt and Twenge’s regularly discussed correlations don’t equal causation. Wenner Moyer does discuss some potential dangers of social media and technology, but she does it in a rational, science-based way.
This is a fantastic book and a must-read for any parent.
Excluded: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See by Richard D. Kahlenberg
This book is what Abundance wishes it was. For those who don’t know, Abundance was a book that was recently released in 2025 by “leftists”, and the long and short of it is that we should deregulate a ton of things to create more housing, renewable energy, and all that good stuff. The problem is that deregulation is the wet dream of capitalist billionaires, and that would turn real bad real quick.
In this book from Kahlenberg, he goes through the history of how the lower classes have been excluded from housing. While he acknowledges and discusses the history of racism, he did a phenomenal job discussing class discrimination. Too often, people on the left shy away from the class discrimination discussion and will even say, “I don’t care about that until we handle the racial discrimination aspect.” The reality that Kahlenberg discusses is that class discrimination is just a sneaky way for people to be racist. In case you didn’t know, due to racism, many minorities are lower-class.
What the author points out is that while we have a ton of laws around racism, like the Fair Housing Act, we don’t have any laws against class discrimination. This allows NIMBYs and racists to create laws that keep out people of all races if they’re lower class while not getting into trouble with the law.
This was definitely one of those books that I couldn’t put down just because I was so furious. This book taught me so much about how NIMBYs and local governments restrict housing, and it totally screws people who don’t make insane amounts of money or weren’t born into generational wealth. I’ve had a lot of questions about housing, and this book answers most of them.
This book succeeds where Abundance failed by discussing deregulation in a mindful way. It points out all of the potential problems that deregulation can lead to, but the author makes strong arguments to back his ideas up. The fact that he even acknowledges this is miles ahead of the Abundance book. While I don’t know if his ideas would work, it’s done in a much more thoughtful way while acknowledging all of the race and class discrimination that our country has been dealing with for ages.
Hater: On the Virtues of Utter Disagreeability by John Semley
I hate on a lot of things and criticise a lot of things. Sometimes I feel like a jerk by doing it, and when that happens, I re-read this book. John Semley explains why being a hater is needed and goes through the benefits. So, if you’re a hater like me, give this book a read.
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