Summer may not really be a season of leisure, but somehow it always feels a little more relaxed. And there could be a vacation in your future, or at least a lazy weekend. So why not spend it with a good book?
At 384 pages, Toby Segarian and Jeff Hemmerbacher’s Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions is not the typical beach book—but it’s packed with interesting ideas and unexpected topics. Among the twenty articles: a look at the emerging interest in personal data collection, a view into the “deep web,” an exploration of the data in DNA, and an account of how data visualization built a video for the music group Radiohead.
Next: What would a mystery be without some data analytics? From Sherlock Holmes to today’s tough-guy detectives, analysts have always been at the heart of mystery fiction—and there’s nothing better than a mystery for summer reading. In the spirit of the season, go on an off-beat adventure with a character who thinks about data all the time. The mystery itself is minor, but fifteen-year-old savant/sleuth Christopher is an unforgettable character, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (by Mark Haddon) is darkly hilarious.
And finally: Take a break from Harry Potter and get the kids into data with Great Graphs and Sensational Statistics, an activity book by Lynette Long. Filled with games and projects, this colorful entry in the Magical Math series will keep the 8-11 crowd entertained–and might even teach the grown-ups a thing or two.
