The best science books to read in 2025 non-fiction are the latest scientific discoveries and innovative research shaping our world. We shall briefly scan seven of the best science books to read in 2025 non-fiction that will keep you informed and inspired.
1. Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Technology, particularly the Internet, has suddenly plunged humanity into a new world, with entire industries morphing at the speed of light. However, Cal Newport makes a point for productivity at the speed of thought. Contrary to the popular praise of multitasking and hyper-productivity in the modern workplace, Slow Productivity makes a point for creative slowness.
Newport’s other popular science titles, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work, are also best sellers. Consequently, it is no surprise that these science books made our 2025 book recommendations list.
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2. Influence at Work by Steve J. Martin
Psychology experts posit that social connections in the workplace directly impact career fulfillment. This is why Steve J. Martin’s Influence at Work made it to this 2025 book recommendation. Interestingly, Martin highlights the ability to negotiate and influence people as one of the top attributes employers look for in new recruits. Without sociability, an individual may even find it difficult to get a foot in the door at prestigious workplaces.
If the ability to guide and move others has been lacking in your career so far, all hope is not lost; as Martin suggests, influence is a skill that can be learned. This non-fiction science piece could take you on a promotion streak in 2025.
3. The Algorithm by Hilke Schellmann
Let’s take a break from work-related books. Well, it’s not an outright departure but an area of innovative research. We speak of the recent ubiquitous and sometimes conspiracy-laden field of artificial intelligence (AI). Hilke Schellmann’s The Algorithm discusses future science trends, particularly the relevance of AI in recruitment.
Schellmann is a leading author on artificial intelligence, and his book is one of the must-read science books of 2025. At the dawn of the industrial age, physical automation on the factory floor caused a massive onslaught of job losses. Similarly, the advent of AI has caused several disruptions in the job market and how companies fill their vacancies.
4. Over Work by Brigid Schulte
Over Work is another non-fiction science book about work dynamics in our present society. Brigid Schultz’s book is a pseudoscience education title that harps on the need for a lasting solution to burnout in the average workplace. Schultz utilized innovative research methods to identify factors that make a workplace toxic.
Over Work also understudied organizations that tried to nip workplace toxicity in the bud. Organizations like the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration introduced cuts to late-night emails and after-hours work. Finally, Schulte’s book looked at a country considered the model for workplace practices — Iceland.
Over Work undoubtedly deserves its place on this 2025 book recommendations list.
5. Never Not Working by Malissa Clark
Just like Over Work, Malissa Clark’s Never Not Working takes a swing at the pervasive workaholism in the average workplace. However, Clark approaches the issue from an entirely different perspective, a personal one. The book holistically assesses cases of self-induced workaholism and how it can be corrected.
Clark’s book is one of the popular science titles to read in 2025 because it tackles an issue by subjecting it to the analytical rigors of science. Clark, an industrial-organizational psychologist with tenure at the University of Georgia in Athens, is one of the top science authors and a top voice in workplace human psychology.
6. Leaving Academia by Emma Williams
Emma Williams’s Leaving Academia is a science education title targeted at post-docs struggling to find an economic footing. In her book, Williams explains that this category of academics does most of the work on projects while the principal investigator (PIF) gets the lion’s share of the pay. The most discouraging aspect of this arrangement is that the form post-doc contracts take is glaring to everyone.
So, if you know a post-doc candidate hopping from one project to another, making scientific discoveries for a PI, Leaving Academia should go to the top of their must-read science books for 2025.
If and when a postdoc decides to leave Academia, they will require a profound paradigm shift. This shift would emancipate them from the narrow worldview of scientific discoveries and help them see employability from a broader perspective, allowing both genders more opportunities.
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These six popular science titles offer a fascinating glimpse into the latest scientific discoveries and innovative research shaping our world. We unreservedly recommend them as the best books to read in 2025.
From artificial intelligence to the scientific dynamics of human behavior, these must-read science books cover future science trends and are written by top science authors. So, whether you’re a scientist, a student, or simply a curious reader, these are science books everyone should read, even more essential if you are interested in science literature and popular science titles.
