Summer reading list

Now that my semester is officially over, I can begin to think about how to spend my summer. Don’t get me wrong – there is plenty to do at home and at the office and there are definitely some things planned – but there is also definitely more down time, free time, time to read some books I want to.
Generally my reading falls into 4 categories – books related to chemistry in some way; other books that have some sort of serious history of science bent; devotional reading; and general fiction (of several types). Ok, not your normal beach reading list, I’ll admit, but that’s what I like to read.
So, with that in mind, here is my list of a couple of books from each category that I’d like to work on this summer:
Chemistry
1. “Periodic Tales” by Hugh Aldersey-Williams – Subtitled “a cultural history of the elements, from arsenic to zinc,” this is a book for a general audience describing the discovery, applications, and interesting and little-known facts about the elements and their key compounds. Not a quick read necessarily, but varied enough to keep my interest each time I pick it up. I’ve scanned a couple of sections, so I know I’ll like it, and I’m sure I’ll learn something, too.
2. “What Einstein told his Cook” by Robert Wolke – As the subtitle reveals, this is about “kitchen science.” So it’s part chemistry, part cookbook, part interesting cooking and nutrition information. The author, a chemist, is also a newspaper columnist, so the sections (more like essays) are short and to the point. Although organized into “chapters,” the topics are wide ranging. So not a page-turner, but it will be easy and keep my attention.
Other science and stuff
1. Not sure – I started  “An Imaginary Tale: The Story of √-1″ by Paul Nihan some time ago. Interesting history of the discovery of imaginary numbers.  (OK, just skip down to the next book since I’m sure I just lost almost everyone right there…) Problem is, well, it describes a lot of math problems, and I can’t just take the solutions at face value – I want to work them all out. So that makes for slow reading. That’s why I only “started” it before.
2. Or maybe I’ll start another book of the same kind, “e: The Story of a Number” by Eli Maor. Same problem – literally – with actual math problems. So, um, same problem with actually getting it read. We’ll see about this category.
Devotional reading:
1. Max Lucado’s new book “Max on Life” – I won a copy of this on Twitter, so I thought I should read it. That’s all. Lucado is easy to read, not to mention profound and practical. I’m sure I’ll like it (when I get it).
2. “The Divine Conquest” – A classic by A. W. Tozer. I read it a few years ago in a Bible study group. I happened to pick it up again recently and was reminded how powerful and true it is. I’ll probably get a lot of Twitter and Facebook posts from the wisdom in this book.
3. If I get a lot of reading done, I may also get back to “Come Thirsty,” another of Max Lucado’s books that I started a few years ago.
Fiction:
1. “Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – I’m not sure if it’s fair to include this in “summer reading” since I started this at Christmas a year ago when Alexander got his Kindle and I have been working on it even more since this past Christmas when I got my Kindle. Just great classic fiction, some of my favorite. What else can I say? It’s Sherlock Holmes! All of it!
2. “Roads to Quoz” by William Least-Heat Moon – A narrative of the author’s travels to quirky places that make up the quilt of America, each quick stop also gives him opportunity to quarrel about conservation, fast food, suburban sprawl, etc. As a result, what could be an entertaining travelogue gets bogged down to a rambling quixotic tale. As the reader can tell, I have read part of this book before. I have expectations that I will enjoy the bulk of the book (and it is bulky) if I get past the author’s personal detours and stick on the main route of the amazing quoz of our country. Oh, yeah, this book isn’t fiction, is it, so maybe it’s a quoz, too.
3. Alexander took a literature class at USC this spring, and I read several of the books as he did. First of all, that is a a lot of reading in a short period. Second, those were some odd books, not ones I would have placed on a summer reading list or even a “bucket list” of must-read books. Again, though, if I get a lot of reading done, there was one more available for Kindle that I might read just because. “Love in Infant Monkeys” is a series of short stories or essays about celebrities, animals, and various experiments and experiences with animals. Also odd (the theme of all six books he read and the four of those I have read so far), but reading outside my normal comfort zone because it’s good literature – I guess.
Happy Summer and Happy Reading!

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