Non-fiction--

Almost anything by Karen Armstrong. I especially liked Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, A History of God, Muhammad, and Holy War (about the Crusades). She has two volumes of autobiography, which I really enjoyed. Fascinating woman.
Color: A Natural History of the Palate,Victoria Finlay
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi
Lise Meitner, A Life in Physics, Ruth Lewin Sime. A biography of the "mother" of nuclear fission.
Marie Curie, A Life, Susan Quinn. Mdme. Curie was an early hero of mine.