Recent books:
Talk Talk Talk by Jay Ingram
A very interesting discussion of what was known about the biology and history of speech at the point in time that it was written (1994). How do we talk, how do we learn to talk, how have languages converged and diverged over time...

Journey to the Ants by Bert Holldobler and E.O. Wilson
I picked this up when I was at my PILs for Thanksgiving (my FIL is taking a class on the social insects). I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly when he explained the display we saw of the fungus farming ants in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest 4 years ago.

The Barmaid's Brain by Jay Ingram
Another book of essays about odd points of everyday science. I particularly like his side comments on social issues.