86 books like Down to Earth

Black Brother, Black Brother doesn’t have science as its main focus, unless you consider the sport of fencing as a science. I’m including this book because of the complexity of the sibling relationship. Trey is white, popular, and athletic. Donte is black and bullied at his school. Even though they share the same parents (Civil Rights lawyer mom and, and computer architect dad), their experiences in school and in the world are completely different because of their skin color. Dante finds his place, his confidence, and himself when he takes up fencing with the help of an inspiring coach. 

I am half-Mexican. My siblings present as white, I do not. This story touched on the many complexities faced by siblings who are physically different -- as with me and my siblings, and with the characters in my book.

Maya shows us readers why so many successful creative and science-loving people tend towards introversion. Maya notices what’s going on around her, and what’s going on inside of her. She absorbs. She ponders. She interprets. Then she acts. Then she repeats the process. I love, love, love how Maya gets support from those around her who see her clearly for who she is and let her know that she’s awesome. “Always remember, Maya,” says her mom, “being yourself is a gift to others around you.” So true.

I loved how original this book was. Stella’s obsessed with space, and when she pays a visit to NASA, a lonely black hole follows her home.

At first, it’s great. The black hole sucks up all the things she doesn’t want around anymore—the stinky school hamster, ugly clothes, and, most importantly, all the sad memories of her recently deceased dad.

One thing I appreciated about this story was that the black hole had its own unique personality. Stella even names it—Larry, short for singularity. Larry is sucking everything into himself to try and take away his emptiness. I found this story touching and sweet, but it also made me laugh. I especially enjoyed the bits where Stella tries to train Larry to be a good black hole, but it’s a big job!

I am a total space nerd. A shortcut to NASA’s exoplanet site is pinned to my toolbar.

I also vividly remember hearing the news of the Challenger disaster in my elementary school cafeteria. (It happened to be my best friend’s birthday. Not a fun coincidence for her.) So it wouldn’t have taken much to hook me on this book about three siblings whose school is following the historic mission.

Ms. Salonga, the middle school science teacher whose enthusiasm sparks both curiosity and courage in her students, is an added bonus. She reminded me of a teacher who inspired my love of physics (in which I eventually earned a master’s degree.)

Told from the perspectives of all three kids, this novel kept me turning pages even though I knew what was coming.

While this book is not written for artists or even about art, I found it very helpful for me as a painter. To achieve the best for my paintings, I realize I need to trust my intuition over intellect. If I get too intellectual about any of my ideas for a painting, the end result is not as fulfilling if instead, I follow my intuition or inner voice. Braden goes into depth in this book about having two sources of intelligence – the brain and the heart. I like his take on this which can also be thought of as right and left brain or intellect vs intuition. By thinking about Braden's ideas on our powerful heart-brain connection, I am able to tap into deeper modalities on what it is that I am painting about. Very interesting read that sticks with you for a long time and easily becomes a… show more.

My father instilled in me a love for books and before he passed away at 92, this was his favorite one. We would read it separately during the day and discuss on our nightly Facetime calls. Being a pharmacologist, Dad loved the breakdowns of how the brain works. And I, who have long been interested in why we do the things we do, was completely drawn to the idea that we could retrain our brain. Consider this book a science-based version of “The Secret” and so much more. And had I known about manifesting when I first came to this country and experienced those first feelings of being an outsider then maybe I could have manifested away that angst. I mean, a girl can dream. 

This is a fantastic read if you want to understand not only the why behind why you feel anxious, but more importantly, what you can do about it.

By understanding how the vicious cycle of anxiety can take root, Dr. Brewer does an incredible job of teaching us how we can change our behavioral patterns, particularly through mindfulness and distress tolerance. This is also a great read if you’ve ever wanted to kick a habit, like smoking, and have been unsuccessful in changing your behavior in the past. 

Like the prior book, this book takes principles from both science and mindfulness and applies them to life in interesting ways that help me feel strong and capable.

I love how it gives me perspective on aging and the various changes that we all undergo, both chosen and inevitable. The book’s concept of “rugged flexibility” applies super well for athletes, but it also reminds me to be resilient at work, in family life, and in all my relationships.

This memoir is a gripping narrative of Eva's survival as a gifted dancer and gymnast in pre-war Hungary, the Nazi concentration camps, and her long journey toward wholeness after immigrating to the United States. 

She details the mental and interpersonal ravages of complex trauma poignantly describes her struggle to gain mental wellness in a world that contains suffering.

She is one of the world's experts on healing from trauma and it shows in her riveting descriptions of how she and her patients learned to bear the pain of great suffering while reclaiming the beauty of compassion, forgiveness, and loving relationships.

Richard Bandler is one of the founders of NLP. So, he knows what he is talking about. After an overview of basic NLP concepts and how the processes work, Bandler provides you with techniques to address what’s holding you back, for example, fears/phobias, bad memories, grief, and bad relationships. He then gives you ways and means to add fun, love, meet people and make money into your life.