Doing | Listening | Reading | Watching
To read or not to read…that is the question.
Well, to answer that question let us consider the advice of highly successful journalist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, director, and blogger Nora Ephron…
“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
By now, it should be clear that I’m a huge fan of reading. Below, I’ve tried to point you in some directions–both digital and non-digital–in which you might (hopefully!) find some reading about science that you thoroughly enjoy.
WEBSITES – a digital reading medium, the number of websites devoted to science are now numerous (and growing). I’ve included links to ten or so websites that a) have been around for a number of years already, b) have decent reputations among scientists, and c) contain content that is reasonably accessible by non-scientists (and especially young students).
BLOGS – another digital reading medium, blogs are everywhere nowadays but good science blogs are hard to find. I’ve tried to identify a few that are worth returning too for regular reading and digestion.
BOOKS – a non-digital medium and, personally, my favorite reading medium. I collect popular books about science and technology, so this collection of suggested books are mainly based on books that I have read. Sure, you could read them on something like an iPad or Kindle Fire, but in my experience having an actual paper book in your hands (and on your bookshelf) is soooooooo much more satisfying.