(Lack of) progress report

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

I'm trying to read this book. I really am. I picked it from Raidergirl3's list because it's been on my shelf for ages and it's high time I learned a thing or two about science.

I'd planned to listen to the audio version because I love listening to Bill Brysn read, but I got fooled -- Bryson *doesn't* read the unabridged edition. This seriously complicates things. I really don't have time to wade through the print version, and the narrator -- a slightly stuffy British fellow -- isn't doing a darn thing for me. Mostly, I just sit in the car and imagine how much better the book would be if Bryson were doing the reading instead....

A Short History of Nearly Everything

You have to figure that even a short history of everything is still going to be very long. And this is. Fortunately it is also an extremely interesting exploration of the people, places and events that have furthered human understanding of the natural sciences.

Bryson touches on everything from astronomy to paleontology to plate tectonics and makes it all not only fascinating, but also intensely personal.

"Every atom you possess has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to becoming you. We are each so atomically numerous and so vigorously recycled at death that a significant number of our atoms...probably once belonged to Shakespeare."

See? We are immortal. Our atoms cannot die. They just move on to become an atom in a dew drop, or a cat, or a piece of of celery. I think that's a wonderful way of looking at the world.

Bryson does over-explain certain things, but I suppose if you start reading this book with little or no scientific knowledge, you would need that information. But no matter how much you think you know, I guarantee you will learn a lot from reading this and I recommend you do.

This book was chosen by raidergirl3 to represent her for the Something About Me Challenge, and I'm not a bit surprised. She is extremely bright and curious and this seems like exactly the kind of thing that would excite her. Thank you for choosing this raidergirl.