very simple

I already discussed Bryson when I got to the chapter on earthquakes, but I finally finished the entire book today (which even came as a surprise to me, as I didn’t realize that there were many, many pages of endnotes that I didn’t need to read). It’s an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. In the real world, I’ve even convinced two of my co-workers to read it.

It’s immensely readable, and Bryson really covers, at a basic level, the entire of scientific history, both on a micro (atomic structure and cells) to a macro (the universe) level. But the absolutely most entertaining part were the side anectdotes about various intellectual luminaries’ lives (and intercollegiate conflicts). It turned what could have been a dry science book into, well, an entertaining science book.

Other books that I’ve finished recently include America: the Book, which was as funny as the hype. It’s not something to sit and read all the way through, so I picked it up at random intervals when I wanted something short (and funny) to read.

I’m also updating the reading list – I stopped off at the B&N today amongst my errands and bought a few more books (It’s the finish one, buy four philosophy which will prevent me from ever having nothing to read again in my life).

Tags: books