"Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction" by Timothy Gowers

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780192853615

This book was a good read. It was much more complex and technically complicated that the other VSI titles I've read - but don't let that deter you. There was nothing in this book as difficult as anything you'd tackle at a university level. In fact, an explanation of calculus isn't even attempted. This is a book about math, though, so the author assumes - understandably - that the reader has at least a passing interest in the subject matter.

The book was how the presentation continually hints at much more complex continuations of many of the concepts. Math is a subject I personally hold dear, but I am far from an expert in any of the fields.

Something I quite liked was the author's ability to mix the ancient roots of Math, with modern, cutting edge, discoveries. Today's technology and society makes it much easier for scholars to get access to the all-important mathematical foundations of those who came before.

Logic: A Very Short Introduction by Graham Priest

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780192893208

Brilliant. This book covers most of the main aspects of Logic in a concise, but striaght forward manner. I admit, the book does assume some mathematical ability on the readers part, and in you are unfamiliar with any logic/math notation then the book could move at a quick pace. (I am quite familiar with all of the notation used in the book, so I had no trouble keeping up.)

In a way I can't really explain, reading this book felt a little bit like reliving a part of my life all over again. This book was basically a very short introduction to the Philosohpy Minor I did at UBC. It covered, in brief, almost every Philosophy class I took - Modal Logic, Game Theory, Symbloic Logic, ect. - each as their own chapter. Also, as a central theme running through-out the book, the writer continually approached different arguments for the existence of God from a logicians point of view - basically the idea behind the Philosophy of Religion class I took. Additionally, there was a chapter on proability which mirrored a Math class I took at UBC.

Reading the book was a little bit like a quick refresher in logic for me. I liked that. One of the later chapters even dealt with some topics I hadn't come across before and introduced some new concpets to me. The book is an excellent read for anyone interested in studying logic, or anyone who has studied logic - but I don't know if it would be very enjoyable to someone with no interest in the subject.

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction by Damien Keown

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780192853868

This was a different read then I am used to. Appropirate seeing as how it is the first book on Buddhism that I've ever read.

It was not as interesting a read as the previous Very Short Introduction (VSI) I read. It was very dry, and the author seemed overconcerned with pronounciations; after a while the phoenetic letters became quite a distraction. As a consequence I didn't read this book straight through, but I had to read it in stages over the last month whilst reading a novel. (I suppose that this is a book about a major world religion, so I shouldn't have expected a page-turning read.)

I still enjoyed the book, and it contained a lot of interesting facts that I didn't know. It was a wealth of information about many aspects of Buddhism and I am certain to return to passages occasionally. I thought that some of the meditaion practices seemed especially practical for everyday relaxation.

I chose this book specifically to read because I have decided to try to educate myself about major world religions. Too often in movies, television, and literature I come across characters with belief systems I know nothing about, and I want to change that. I am far from an expert on Buddhism now, but at least I have had an introduction (albeit briefly).

"The Elements: A Very Short Introduction" by Philip Ball

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780192840998

You don't have to be a chemistry geek to understand this book - heck you don't even have to be a science geek. (Being one probably just adds to your enjoyment.) This book is more of historical overview of how our understanding of chemicals and elements has evolved from ancient times to the present day.

The book contains a lot of interesting facts and trivia associated with many of the elements. I sure that Troë will atest to the number of times I stopped reading for a moment to tell her some random bit of information - like that South Africa is responsible for 40% of all the gold ever mined.

Overall I found it very engaging, and difficult to put down at times.

(This book is number 104 in the "Very Short Introduction" series published by Oxford University Press, and the first book of the series I've read. Book 104 may seem like an odd place to start - and that's probably because it is.)