You know how I've been learning a statistical programming language? (If not, now you do!) In a fit of nerdiness, I decided yesterday to take a crack at visualizing some of my Goodreads data from the last three and a half years of my reading life, and... I found something horrifying.

OK. This needs to get fixed pronto. pic.twitter.com/GcU5IzJrQw

— Shaina (@shainareads) May 20, 2015

I honestly had no idea that my nonfiction reading has declined so steeply over the years until I saw this graph. I decided to see how this compared to my fiction reading over time.

I've learned: 1) I didn't read much in 2013, 2) my fiction reading skyrocketed in 2014, 3) it's fun to make graphs. pic.twitter.com/347Yx9mlQ7

— Shaina (@shainareads) May 20, 2015

I'm not sure what happened in 2014 to make my fiction reading take off so significantly. Maybe I finally realized that I was done with college and could devote myself to all the non-assigned fiction I'd missed over the years. I do know that I started making a sincere effort to read more classic literature, so that could account for some of the increase. Still, the imbalance! I wrote recently that I want to get back to reading nonfiction, and now the impulse is even more urgent.

So, what do I want from you, dear reader?

All the nonfiction recs, please!

I usually describe my taste in nonfiction as "science, history, and social justice, and even better if all three are combined." Here are some of my favorite nonfiction reads from over the years. This might give you a better idea of the types of books I enjoy:

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot


• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, by Tracy Kidder


• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson (my review)


• The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan, by Jenny Nordberg (my review)


• Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, by Johann Hari (review hopefully coming someday)

And here are a few recommendations I've received recently that sound up my alley:

• Caro recommended Letters to a Young Scientist, by Edward O. Wilson.


• Heather recommended The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures, by Christine Kenneally.


• Lauren recommended Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle, by Douglas J. Emlen.

P.S. I'm heading to Chicago today for a friend's wedding, so things are going to get quiet around here. My comment replying and blog visiting will also be even slower than usual due to inconsistent Internet and food coma from deep dish pizza. Be back soon!