Wider Reading
Sometimes it's a good idea to delve a little deeper into your A level subjects, so that you can get a little more context out of your lesson or your textbook. Also, hopefully you chose your A-levels because you are interested in them, so reading a little more about them could not only be enjoyable but also give you an advantage. This page is updated monthly with 5 different books for all STEM subjects.
1. Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity by Carlo Rovelli
Do space and time truly exist? What is reality made of? Can we understand its deep texture? Scientist Carlo Rovelli has spent his whole life exploring these questions and pushing the boundaries of what we know. In this mind-expanding book, he shows how our understanding of reality has changed throughout centuries, from Democritus to loop quantum gravity. Taking us on a wondrous journey, he invites us to imagine a whole new world where black holes are waiting to explode, spacetime is made up of grains, and infinity does not exist -- a vast universe still largely undiscovered.
2. How Not to Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life by Jordan Ellenberg
The maths we learn in school can seem like an abstract set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In fact, Jordan Ellenberg shows us, maths touches on everything we do, and a little mathematical knowledge reveals the hidden structures that lie beneath the world's messy and chaotic surface. In How Not to be Wrong, Ellenberg explores the mathematician's method of analyzing life, from the everyday to the cosmic, showing us which numbers to defend, which ones to ignore, and when to change the equation entirely. Along the way, he explains calculus in a single page, describes Gödel's theorem using only one-syllable words, and reveals how early you actually need to get to the airport.
3. Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski
In Storm in a Teacup, Helen Czerski links the little things we see every day with the big world we live in. Each chapter begins with something small – popcorn, coffee stains and refrigerator magnets – and uses it to explain some of the most important science and technology of our time.This is physics as the toolbox of science - a toolbox we need in order to make sense of what is around us and arrive at decisions about the future, from medical advances to solving our future energy needs. It is also physics as the toy box of science: physics as fun, as never before.
4. The Hidden Life of Trees: The International Bestseller – What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wolleben
Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings?In The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.
A walk in the woods will never be the same again.
5. Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist by Christopher Hollings , Ursula Martin , Adrian Rice
Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of romantic poet Lord Byron and his highly educated wife, Anne Isabella, is sometimes called the world's first computer programmer and has become an icon for women in technology. But how did a young woman in the nineteenth century, without access to formal school or university education, acquire the knowledge and expertise to become a pioneer of computer science? Although an unusual pursuit for women at the time, Ada Lovelace studied science and mathematics from a young age. This book uses previously unpublished archival material to explore her precocious childhood, from her ideas for a steam-powered flying horse to penetrating questions about the science of rainbows.
These 5 books are updated monthly - but don't worry if you missed last month. These can all be found on our blog.