Shelf Control #8

Shelf  Control is a feature that I borrowed from Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and this is my eight week participating. This feature is all about celebrating the books on your TBR (not ones you simply want to add). To participate, you pick one of the books on your TBR each Wednesday and write a post about it (what it’s all about, what makes you want to read it, where you got it, etc.). I am beginning to read the books that I’ve been featuring on this series now and finished Snobs by Julian Fellowes which was my first Shelf Control featured book, last month. My review is here. 

This week’s featured book is something that’s actually been sitting on my TBR for quite a while–over four years actually, despite being one I’m very keen to read. And that is

The first of these books Alex in Numberland was recommended to me by a ‘book’ friend who also enjoys reading popular science and maths books. And  I enjoyed that so much that I bought the second almost as soon as it was out, but then simply haven’t got down to reading it because mostly of all the various group reads and challenges that I keep taking up.

 

What its all about: Maths, of course, but not your text-booky maths. Rather, its about numbers and maths in our daily lives–from books and newspapers to buildings and technology, from the work of a private detective to secret clubs, from pricing on restaurant menus to names of products. As the blurb as the back of my ed says: “A true celebration of the joy of mathematical discovery and the eureka moments that come with thinking in numbers, this book will surprise you, bring a smile to your face and make you think again about the world you see everyday.”

My edition: Bloomsbury paperback, 337 pages, published 2014.

When and Where I got it: I don’t again remember the exact date but it was fairly soon after it came out, and I ordered a copy online.

Why I want to read it: For one, because I enjoyed the first book so much, and of course because I enjoy reading popular maths books which aren’t terribly technical and which can explain things in more understandable terms. This I know should fall in this category because of how simply the first book explained all of what it dealt with. I am really looking forward to reading this one.

Do you like popular maths and science books? Which are your favourites? Do let me know, and do let me also know whether you’ve read this one and what you thought of it!