RanaldClouston

@ivovanvulpen.bsky.social @bookstodon my son: "Hi, I really enjoyed your book 'how to find a Higgs Boson and other big mysteries in the world of the very small', as it was probably the most understandable physics book I've ever read (which is a surprising amount for my age). I also have a few questions. First of all, I wasn't entirely sure what a Higgs Boson does. Is it a force carrier of the Higgs field? Second of all, I want to know what some interesting but understandable things to look into. Thirdly, I want to know what the S(10) set contains. Is it 6 pairs of quarks and leptons and the four forces? I wasn't entirely clear in the book. Finally, I want to know what some first steps to start a career in particle physics or astrophysics would be, as both really interest me. I loved your book, and I thank you in advance for any reply."

@ivovanvulpen.bsky.social @bookstodon my 14yo son just finished this and enjoyed it also. I'll ask him when I see him tomorrow if he has any questions!

@n_dimension @bookstodon I couldn't get into House of Leaves because I wasn't enjoying the Johnny Truant character, but XX did remind me of The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, which I definitely recommend for similar typographical pyrotechnics (although it is a lot lighter!).

@oleastra @kimlockhartga @bookstodon I finished The Familiar a couple of days ago! I'm currently reading Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges. I'm also half way through XX by Rian Hughes, a 970 page doorstop that I had to pause because the Borges needs to go back to the library, and am *also* half way through Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake, which my 11yo daughter has me reading to her as her bedtime story.

@FrancescaJ @bookstodon having just finished this I can join in this thread: there is no way a book this short should be this repetitive. It was boring.

@factolvictor @bookstodon Calvino is on my (long, and not actually written down anywhere) list of authors I mean to read one day. I'm going to a library today, so thanks for the reminder!