In Absolutely Small (McGraw Hill, 2010), chemist Michael Fayer explains the weird microscopic behaviour of matter. Favouring everyday examples over formulae, he makes quantum mechanics palatable, from wave–particle duality to the uncertainty principle. Beer, soap and fat are the ingredients he chooses to explain how chemical bonds work. With summaries of the chemistry of greenhouse gases, hydrocarbons and the electrical properties of materials, Fayer's book provides a useful overview.

Former scientist and film-maker Julia Whitty relates a personal view of ocean ecology in Deep Blue Home (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010). Travelling from the Sea of Cortez to Newfoundland and the Galapagos Islands, she describes encounters with whales and turtles, and the work of the scientists who are trying to protect and understand them. While explaining how the world's oceans are unified by deep currents, she also reveals their effect on Earth's climate.

Dwindling fish stocks form the focus of Paul Greenberg's book. Four Fish (Allen Lane, 2010) looks at the quartet of species that we eat most — salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. The writer travelled from Norway to the South Pacific to see how these animals reach our plates and how they are threatened by overfishing. Posing pragmatic questions such as how to find sustainable seafood on a supermarket shelf, he weaves together the biology of sea fish, fisheries and conservation issues. He ends with a proposal for choosing the species that we can farm without disrupting wild ecosystems.