Dracula -- Bram Stoker

I think Dracula is one of those stories that everyone thinks they know or do know to some extent, but rarely they have read the actual book. At least, this was my case up until now. I have finally actually read this one. It was very good too. It is, however, written in a strange style. That is, the entire book is in the form of diaries or correspondences. Thus, there is no omnipresent narrator and so the information available to the reader is somewhat limited. Not really that this is a good nor bad thing, basically it just is different.

I very much enjoyed the story and I thought it took just the right amount of time to tell the story. There were some seemingly superfluous parts with people speaking in strange local dialects that were unnecessary to some degree. But, all in all, it was quite a good read. I wouldn't really call it "scary", but then again not much really is scary to me. It was written in the 19th century so that scary and today's scary are often very different. I do recommend it though to anyone, it is a quick read because of the style and it is relatively short at only 400 pages.

And Then There Were None -- Agatha Christie

I read this book rather fast and there is good reason. It was a bit dated in language, but it was still riveting. The mystery had me going until the end. I did not fully understand that whole story until the very last page. She broke the book up into smaller sections and there was quite a bit of dialogue, hence it read very easily. The twists and turns were well designed. I haven't read a mystery novel in a long time, this one did not disappoint the genre. I will definitely be reading more mystery and for sure more Christie. I very much recommend this book, it can be read in a couple days and it is a very enjoyable experience.

The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan -- Robert Kanigel

I have wanted to read a book on Ramanujan ever since I heard the basic details of his life story. This book is everything I could have asked for. A complete account of the man's life, as well as everything else one might want to know about the times and places he lived. By this I mean, the book details the lives of those closest to Ramanujan as well as the culture in India and England at the time. It is written for the mathematically unsophisticated and is thus accessible to everyone. Even the layman can appreciate the amazing formulas that are presented and explained very well by the author.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. It gives insight into the workings of professional mathematicians which is something that I think non-mathematicians should be informed of. Further, to the mathematically oriented, this book gives insight into one of the most original and brilliant minds of the 20th century and possibly ever. Furthermore, this book is a wealth of information on the cultural aspects that affect academic achievement from the mid-19th century through to the present.