鈥淚 have to confess that most of the time I am reading my own books,鈥� says Peter Atkins, professor of chemistry at the University of Oxford. But it鈥檚 not as a Wildean indulgence, he says, but because his books flow continuously across his desk as proofs of forthcoming editions: Physical Chemistry is now in its seventh edition (Oxford, 2001). But Winston Fletcher鈥檚 Beating the 24/7 (Wiley) shows how others can work ceaselessly but still have a life, he says.
One 鈥渟parkling pleasure鈥� is The Unfortunates by Laurie Graham (Fourth Estate). This is the fictional biography of a wayward heroine in the mould of Elizabeth Bennett, set in early 20th-century New York. Further back in time is Norman Davies鈥� The Isles (Macmillan, 1999), a sweeping history of Britain. At a few pages a day, he says, it has taken an age to reach 1648 from the year dot.
He keeps science books at his elbow, too. One of the most entertaining is Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World by Nick Lane (Oxford). Most enthralling of all, he says, is Milton Abramowitz and Irene Stegun鈥檚 Handbook of Mathematical Functions (Dover, 1967): 鈥渃ertainly the book I would take to a desert island for spiritual solace鈥�.
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