Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut — Vonnegut helps keep the world in perspective.
America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T and the Making of a Modern Nation by Jim Rasenberger — a close looks at the year 1908. The stories of the Wright Brothers and the Model T were the most interesting.
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton — this may not have been his best book, but mediocre Crichton is still better than many.
The Little Book of Big Dividends by Charles B. Carlson — with a rising stock market one is tempted to re-consider owning individual stocks, forgetting lessons learned not so long ago.
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut — Vonnegut helps keep the world in perspective.