Summer Learning 2026 for Adults

A mix of new and recommended fiction and nonfiction titles.

Updated May 27, 2026
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Atlas of a lost world : travels in ice age America
Childs, Craig
Paper Book
Scientists squabble over the locations and dates for human arrival in the New World. The first explorers were few, encampments fleeting. At some point in time, between twenty and forty thousand years ago, sea levels were low enough that a vast land bridge was exposed between Asia and North America....
Atlas of the World
Map
The only world atlas updated annually, guaranteeing that users will find the most current geographic information, Oxford's Atlas of the World is the most authoritative resource on the market. The Fifteenth Edition remains the finest international reference source of its kind available. Including a...
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life
Jabr, Ferris
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life. "Glorious . . . full of achingly beautiful...
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History
Al-Rashid, Moudhy
Paper Book
Thousands of years ago, in a part of the world we now call ancient Mesopotamia, people began writing things down for the very first time. What they left behind, in a vast region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, preserves leaps in human ingenuity, like the earliest depiction of a...
Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Recreating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations
Kean, Sam
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Disappearing Spoon, a romp through the entire history of humankind-from 75,000 B.C. to the dawn of the modern age. From the mighty pyramids of Egypt to the majestic temples of the Aztec, we have a good idea of...
The dinosaur artist : obsession, betrayal, and the quest for Earth's ultimate trophy
Williams, Paige
Paper Book
In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science...
The dinosaur hunter
Hickam, Homer.
Paper Book
"A fascinating thriller, well crafted and relentless ... A cross between Tony Hillerman and Larry McMurtry, this is one hell of a good read."--Douglas Preston, author ofTyrannosaur Canyonand Blasphemy The cowboys who work on the ranchlands...
Dinosaur odyssey : fossil threads in the web of life
Sampson, Scott D.
Paper Book
This captivating book, laced with evocative anecdotes from the field, gives the first holistic, up-to-date overview of dinosaurs and their world for a wide audience of readers. Situating these fascinating animals in a broad ecological and evolutionary context, leading dinosaur expert Scott D....
Dinosaurs and other prehistoric life
Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya
Paper Book
Travel back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth with this awe-inspiring dinosaur book for curious kids aged 6-8. The prehistoric word of dinosaurs is so much bigger than young minds can fathom and there is always more to learn. Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Life is...
Dinosaurs without bones : dinosaur lives revealed by their trace fossils
Martin, Anthony J.
Paper Book
What if we woke up one morning all of the dinosaur bones in the world were gone? How would we know these iconic animals had a165-million year history on earth, and had adapted to all land-based environments from pole to pole? What clues would be left to discern not only their presence, but also to...
Dragon teeth : a novel
Crichton, Michael
Paper Book
Michael Crichton, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Jurassic Park, returns to the world of paleontology in this recently discovered novel--a thrilling adventure set in the Wild West during the golden age of fossil hunting. The year is 1876. Warring Indian tribes still...
The Emerald Mile : the epic story of the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paper Book
From one of Outside magazine's "Literary All-Stars" comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever through the Grand Canyon, atop the legendary Colorado River flood of 1983. In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River...
Eradication: A Fable
Miles, Jonathan
Paper Book
A blackly comic literary gem in which a broken man confronts a broken world on an uninhabited Pacific island, where a conservation assignment becomes a moral reckoning. "An instant classic." --The Washington Post * "Excellent " --The New York Times * "Urgent and lyrical...
Geology for dummies
Spooner, Alecia M.
Paper Book
Get a rock-solid grasp on geology Geology is the study of the earth's history as well as thephysical and chemical processes that continue to shape the earthtoday. Jobs in the geosciences are expected to increase over thenext decade, which will increase geology-related jobs well...
How to build a dinosaur : extinction doesn't have to be forever
Horner, John R.
Paper Book
A world-renowned paleontologist teams up with a "New York Times" science writer to reveal a new science that trumps science fiction: how humans can re-create a dinosaur.
Jurassic Park
Spielberg, Steven
DVD
Jurassic Park
Crichton, Michael
Paper Book
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Creatures once extinct now roam Jurassic Park, soon-to-be opened as a theme park. Until something goes wrong...and science proves a dangerous toy.... "Wonderful...Powerful." THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK...
Jurassic world. Rebirth
Edwards, Gareth
DVD
Lapidarium : the secret lives of stones
Judah, Hettie
Paper Book
Inspired by the lapidaries of the ancient world, this book is a beautifully designed collection of true stories about sixty different stones that have influenced our shared history The earliest scientists ground and processed minerals in a centuries-long quest for a mythic stone...
The last days of the dinosaurs : an asteroid, extinction, and the beginning of our world
Black, Riley
Paper Book
Winner of the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books! "This is top-drawer science writing." --Publishers Weekly, starred review In The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Riley Black walks readers through what happened in the days, the...
The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder
Preston, Douglas
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER * A GOODREADS READER'S CHOICE AWARD FINALIST From the #1 bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God, a jaw-dropping discovery of an Egyptian tomb opens up a slew of archaeological mysteries and deadly tales...
The map that changed the world : William Smith and the birth of modern geology
Winchester, Simon.
Audiobook
From the author of the bestselling The Professor and the Madman comes the fascinating story of William Smith, the orphaned son of an English country blacksmith, who became obsessed with creating the world's first geological map and ultimately became the father of modern geology. ...
The Monster's Bones : The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World
Randall, David K.
Paper Book
In the dust of the Gilded Age Bone Wars, two vastly different men emerge with a mission to fill the empty halls of New York's struggling American Museum of Natural History: Henry Fairfield Osborn, a privileged socialite whose reputation rests on the museum's success, and intrepid Kansas-born...
The National Audubon Society field guide to North American fossils
Thompson, Ida.
Paper Book
The most comprehensive field guide available to North American fossils--a must-have for any enthusiast's day pack or home library--from the go-to reference source for over 18 million nature lovers. Featuring a durable vinyl binding and over 500 stunning identification photographs...
Origin : a genetic history of the Americas
Raff, Jennifer
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From celebrated anthropologist Jennifer Raff comes the untold story--and fascinating mystery--of how humans migrated to the Americas. ORIGIN is the story of who the first peoples...
Otherlands : A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds
Halliday, Thomas
Paper Book
"Immersive . . . bracingly ambitious . . . rewinds the story of life on Earth--from the mammoth steppe of the last Ice Age to the dawn of multicellular creatures over 500 million years ago."--The Economist LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE * "One of those rare...
The rise and fall of the dinosaurs : a new history of a lost world
Brusatte, Stephen
Paper Book
"THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BIOGRAPHY," hails Scientific American: A thrilling new history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists. "A masterpiece of science writing." --Washington Post A New York Times Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards ...
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals : A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
Brusatte, Steve
Paper Book
By the author of the acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, a "brilliant" and "beautifully told" new natural history of mammals, illuminating the lost story of the extraordinary family tree that led to us [New Scientist; The Times UK] ...
A short history of nearly everything
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER, UPDATED FOR 2025 * A wonder-filled quest to understand everything that has happened in the history of the Earth, from the Big Bang theory to the rise of civilization and beyond--revised to reflect the last two decades of scientific advancement ...
The story of birds : a new history from their dinosaur origins to today
Brusatte, Stephen
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ​​​ From the renowned paleontologist and bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, a sweeping evolutionary history of birds, from their dinosaur origins to the 10,000+ extraordinary species...
Them Bones: A McKenzie Novel
Housewright, David
Paper Book
A stolen dinosaur skull is at the center of a complex mystery laid at the feet of unofficial P.I. Rushmore McKenzie. There are two things that Rushmore McKenzie hates to turn down--a request from a friend and a challenge. Both of them show up in his wife's nightclub in the...
Time song : journeys in search of a submerged land
Blackburn, Julia
Paper Book
Julia Blackburn has always collected things that hold stories about the past, especially the very distant past: mammoth bones, little shells that happen to be two million years old, a flint shaped as a weapon long ago. Shortly after her husband's death, Blackburn became fascinated with Doggerland,...
Tyrannosaur Canyon
Preston, Douglas J.
Paper Book
A moon rock missing for thirty years... Five buckets of blood-soaked sand found in a New Mexico canyon... A scientist with ambition enough to kill... A monk who will redeem the world... A dark agency with a deadly mission... The greatest scientific discovery of all time... What fire bolt from the...
The Whispers of Rock: The Stories That Stone Tells about Our World and Our Lives
Khatwa, Anjana
Paper Book
A geologist's revelatory account of how our planet's seemingly inert bones pulse with unexpected vitality "Poetic and heartfelt."--Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? A New Scientist Best Book of the Year
Why dinosaurs matter
Lacovara, Kenneth
Paper Book
What can extinct dinosaurs teach us about our future? Plenty, according to paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara, who has discovered some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth. By tapping into the ubiquitous wonder that dinosaurs inspire, Lacovara weaves together the stories...
Written in stone : evolution, the fossil record, and our place in nature
Switek, Brian.
Paper Book
"Switek seamlessly intertwines two types of evolution: one of life on earth and the other of paleontology itself."--Discover Magazine ""In delightful prose, [Switek] . . . superbly shows that '[i]f we can let go of our conceit,' we will see the preciousness of life in all its forms....

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