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Authors

For as long as I can remember, I've loved reading.

I like books a lot, and I like a lot of books. I have eclectic tastes. Mostly I read math books (not math textbooks, but books about or containing math, math education, or math history), science books, and philosophy books. I also read history, fiction, logic, O'Reilly computer books, Wikipedia, and pretty much anything that I can learn from and/or that is well-written.

Many authors have influenced me, including

Douglas Adams

I was introduced to the Hitchhiker's trilogy (the BBC miniseries and the books) the summer before I started high school. It's full of wacky humor, wonderfully quotable lines, and towels. Besides, who could resist a trilogy with more than three books?

Douglas Hofstadter

I first read Gödel, Escher, Bach in ninth grade while researching for a paper about math and music. I read it again twice in college. It heavily influenced my undergraduate thesis and led me graduate school in philosophy. I have also enjoyed all of Hofstadter's other works, and I've twice had the privilege of hearing him speak.

Plato

The first Plato I read was "The Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic at the beginning of tenth grade. I immediately found it thought-provoking. Later that year I stumbled across a college application. One of the application essays was to write a response to the Allegory. I applied, went to college early and read more Plato. I went on to study philosophy in graduate school, but I don't think I actually read any Plato there.

Neil Gaiman

My freshman year in college I was introduced to Neil Gaiman. He's an amazing story-teller. His Sandman graphic novels are breathtaking works of art, and my roommates and I were somewhat stereotypical Neil fangirls. Gaiman's short stories and children's literature are awesome too. I also enjoy reading his blog.

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll was a mathematician, a logician, and a successful author. I own about half a dozen complete works of Lewis Carroll. Lewis Carroll was another major influence on my thesis, which is loosely based on Alice in Wonderland.

Isaac Newton

I took some excellent history of science classes in grad school. I've read Newton's Principia (I. Bernard Cohen's translation) cover to cover, including all of the commentary. I think this qualifies me for the title of full-fledged Newton geek.

You may also be interested in my recent reading list.