Bargain @ $1.99-$2.99 each from mostly Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins imprints in the US and sometimes Canada (prices should be the same at the other usual stores):
- Connections & Twin Tracks: The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World by British science historian James Burke (Wikipedia), the former a tie-in to his vastly popular classic TV documentary series (Wikipedia) which IMHO, is one of the best explaining how various discoveries and inventions spark other discoveries and inventions in turn. This edition contains a new preface. The latter expands on his usual sorts of ideas with the notion of showing how two branching paths from a single point end up converging after all. US-only discount, but worth traveling for, IMHO. Highly recommended.
ETA: a little pricier @ $3.99 USD is his most recent book, which is more social history-oriented: American Connections: The Founding Fathers. Networked. showcasing more human figure connections than scientific ones.
- Speaking of Journalism: 12 Writers and Editors Talk About Their Work (US-only) & Extraordinary Lives: The Art and Craft of American Biography (couponable/VIP discount-eligible; available in Canada) edited and presented by the late William Zinsser (Wikipedia), who was a newspaper columnist and writing teacher at Yale University, and also wrote a number of well-regarded classic how-to writing guides.
SoJ consists of essay-lectures at a course Zinsser presented with several of his former students who went on to success in their fields, EL has prominent biographers showcasing how they work to reconstruct their subjects lives, etc.
- Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The 4th, Definitive Edition (available in Canada) & Drawing on the Artist Within ($2.99, US-only) by art teacher Betty Edwards (Wikipedia), her much-reprinted classic DIY artistic self-improvement manual and tie-in sequel. NB: Apparently there's a also Deluxe version of DoTRSotB available, which contains embedded video of Edwards herself demonstrating the techniques, but it costs significantly more at the moment.
I have both of these in paper (technically only a 3rd edition, so I sprang for the ebook-ized 4th). While I can't claim that I'm any good as an artist since I didn't try it for very long, I did manage to get pretty decent at copying Usagi Yojimbo cartoon rabbit heads by following her suggested technique of turning images upside down to make them appear more abstract and replicate the lines as they actually were, rather than trying to draw them rightside up, which tended to distort the proportions in the mind's eye when putting pencil to paper. Anyway, they're full of useful practical advice and I'd certainly recommend giving them a try at these discount prices.