Besides read

So last night I went home and I read from 6pm to almost 2am. I finished The Code book (about 80 pgs) and I did a little research on the Cipher Challenge ($15,000 to the person that can break the code in the back of the book). Then I read about 100 pgs in Stephen Hawking’s book. I only have 40 pgs to go, but I put it down to give my brain a rest; I didn’t want to lose the content in the last sections.

Then what? Well I was doing laundry…something I loath because I hate folding it and putting it away. Separating it and the actual washing/drying part is fine. I ended up doing 5 loads and folding each load as I took it out…apparently I was in a systematical phase last night!

So I glanced over at the book on John Harrison and his creation of the maritime clock for accurate longitude measurement. I figured it wasn’t too late, so why not start reading? At 1:30 am I closed the book and clicked off my light. So I was a total geek and read the book cover to cover (200 pgs) and the funny part is the book wasn’t that great! It could have been shorter or longer and been much better. How is that? Well there was not as much information about the actual clocks, how they worked, why the worked – things you would think would be part of the story. However, there was random facts about Harrison and some personal drama in his life (some strung together very loosely). I would say that if a lot of the drama was taken out the book would have been a little better, but it would have come off more as an essay or an introduction into his life rather then a book. On the flip side the book is focused on him and only a portion of his life that deals with the construction of these maritime clocks, I would have expected more elaborate explanations as to the engineering of the clocks…which would have made the book longer and more technical – not for every reader.

“Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter.”

– Paxton Hood

Current Book(s):

• A Brief History of Time: The Updated and Expanded Tenth Anniversary Edition; By: Stephen Hawking

Recently finished book(s):

• The Code Book; By: Simon Singh
• Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time; By: Dava Sobel