Gowanus: Brooklyn's Curious Canal

By Joseph Alexiou

I heard about this while attending the installation of Mucky's Return (a sculpture of dolphin that was found in the canal). The author gave an interesting speech about Mucky and other unfortunate marine mammals who were found stranded in the polluted waters of the canal. The book is not about them (a point of disappointment to me). It is about the history of the place that now includes the canal, from the days of the American Revolution to current times. It is interesting, but perhaps a bit too detailed for me, whereby the bigger story kind of got lost. It reads like a research paper, but a very long one. [non-fiction, 398 pp.]

Link to book  

Immune

A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive

By Philipp Dettmer 

The immune system is very complex. I remember how confused I was when I attended immunology class in college and vet school. But this book is doing a decent job simplifying but still describing important aspects. I am by no means an expert in this field, and I felt like I got a good basis to understand what are the different parts of the immune system are, what they do, and how they interact. It also goes into what happens when the immune system turns on the body and possible reasons why. 

Fun(?) fact: Measles is no joke - the virus attacks memory cells, those immune cells that provide long-term immunity to diseases you've survived. Vaccinate your kids! Jeez. [non-fiction, 341pp.]

Link to book