I tend to read a lot of science material especially physics and astronomy as well as books on politics, British history, philosophy and theology.
I'm currently reading The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene and Warped Passages by Lisa Randall. I'm also re-reading the Complete Prose of Woody Allen, which is quite possibly the funniest book ever written.
My dad is an avid geneoligist and although most of the relatives he's discovered have been blacksmiths, boot makers, chimney sweeps or some other mundane characters he's found a 3rd cousin called Rory Stewart who seems to be the most intelligent guy in the family ever.
I'm hoping to pick up his book The Places In Between from the local library tomorrow. Makes me feel like a real under-achiever when I read his biog -
Rory Stewart OBE, born 1973, is a Scottish writer. He was born in Hong Kong, raised in Malaysia and educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied history and philosophy.
After a brief period as an officer in the British Infantry (the Black Watch) , Stewart joined the Foreign Office. He served in the British Embassy in Indonesia from 1997 to 1999, as the British Representative to Montenegro in the wake of the Kosovo campaign and as Coalition Deputy Governor of Amarah and Senior Advisor in Nasiriyah, Iraq during 2003–2004. From 2004, he was a Fellow at the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University, USA. He has travelled extensively, notably in Iraq and Afghanistan. From 2000-2002 he walked on foot across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal, a journey of 6000 miles.
His first book, The Places in Between, was a critically applauded account of his experiences in Afghanistan. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, a Scottish Arts Council prize and the Spirit of Scotland award in 2005 and was short-listed for the Guardian First Book Award and the John Llewlyn Rhys prize.
His second book, The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq, outlines his experiences as deputy governor of the Iraqi provinces of Amarah and Nasiriyah shortly after coalition forces entered Iraq and describes his struggles to establish a functional government in these regions.
Stewart, whose family come from Perthshire, has been awarded the OBE. Stewart currently lives in Kabul, where he is the Chief Executive of The Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which is building a school for traditional masonry, tile-work, wood-work, and plasterwork in Herat, Afghanistan. The foundation has received financial support from Aga Khan IV, the School of Traditional Arts in London, and other sources.