What I'm reading ...

I have started Infinite Powers: The Story of Calculus - The Language of the Universe by Steven Strogatz. It was time for some non-fiction and this is a topic that I really feel I should understand more fully. Here's the blurb:

This is the captivating story of mathematics' greatest ever idea: calculus. Without it, there would be no computers, no microwave ovens, no GPS, and no space travel. But before it gave modern man almost infinite powers, calculus was behind centuries of controversy, competition, and even death.

Taking us on a thrilling journey through three millennia, professor Steven Strogatz charts the development of this seminal achievement from the days of Archimedes to today's breakthroughs in chaos theory and artificial intelligence. Filled with idiosyncratic characters from Pythagoras to Fourier, Infinite Powers is a compelling human drama that reveals the legacy of calculus on nearly every aspect of modern civilisation, including science, politics, medicine, philosophy ...

Grandmothers - by Salley Vickers

A well-written book and straightforward read, with chapters of a modest length that always said “just one more”. The book starts out as three stories about each of the grannies, following events over about a year. But it also explores their characters and histories in a very natural way. I was pleased when their stories began to intertwine, as this seems to happen in real life. 

All in all an enjoyable read that will make me come back to this author.