Super Curricular

• A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

Worth a read to give a broad overview of cosmology. A little out of date now, and a little mind blowing in places but it certainly opens your eyes to the principles of cosmology. There's nothing really in the way of scary mathematics. There's only 1 equation in the entire book, as Hawking likes to point out

• The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene

Another of these mythical "must read" book. Make no mistake that it is not an easy read. It's pitched at quite a high level but does give just about everything on string theory you could possibly want to know, without the mathematical complexities inherent in string theory. As you'd expect it's very biased towards string theory.

• The First Three Minutes - Steven Weinberg

This is a book that is always highly recommended. It's very well explained to the lay person (but with glossaries and mathematical derivations at the end for those who want it) and concentrates more on a step by step occurrence of what happened in the first 3 minutes after the big bang, in a level of detail not covered elsewhere. It does have one drawback - it is seriously starting to show its age.

• In Search of the Big Bang - John Gribbin

Very much a pop science book, an enthralling read about the history of the universe and how the theories we believe today came about. It includes a bit on string theory, and in particular a discussion of the forces as signalling and requiring the existence of other dimensions.

• QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Richard Feynman

Feynman has encapsulated this utterly baffling topic in just 4 short lectures/chapters, and QED is a very good read. He refrains from the torrent of maths and formulae that other books might throw at us, and more focuses on the actual method behind his calculations, whilst giving us a unique insight into his though processes. Feynman even brings himself down to the reader's level, and reassures us that it's quite alright to not really understand QED, since "not even I do - nobody does". The level of the content is such that most people with even a slight interest in Physics or the Quantum will be able to grasp, and simple diagrams with descriptive annotations aid this greatly.

• Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown

This is a very simple, very easy to read and understand book. It is quite short and gives you foundation understanding of quantum theory for those who are not quite sure where to begin. A great read for those who want to become interested in the subject or who already know a bit about it but want to know how to explain it.

• How to teach Quantum Physics to your dog - Chad Orzel

Orzel explains the key theories of QP. From quarks to gluons to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, it is an entertaining way to grasp basic QP.

• Six Easy Pieces/Six Not So Easy Pieces - Richard Feynman

These are the best bits from the Feynman Lectures In Physics. The first is clealy simpler to read than the not so easy ones, as should be obvious from the title. I would definitely advise reading 6 easy pieces, just for the discussions of quantum theory. Feynman sees things differently too everyone else and his analogies are excellent.

• A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

A really interesting read that tells the story of science, right back from the beginning when the philosophers were thinking about the stars, to the latest theories on unifying quantum mechanics with general relativity. its filled with all sorts of anecdotes and really makes you interested in how all these discoveries came about!

• Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman? - Richard Feynman

First things first, this book has little or nothing to do with physics and I believe you could quite easily read this with a GCSE knowledge of physics. This is not a book on physics, but a collection of extracts and anecdotes from one of the greats (and certainly one of the great characters), Richard Feynman.

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Written by the creator of online comic XTCD (a great source of science humour) is a book of blueprints from everyday objects such as a biro to the Saturn V rocket and an atom bomb.

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life

Helen Czerski links the little things we see every day with the big world we live in. Each chapter begins with something small popcorn, coffee stains and refrigerator magnets and uses it to explain some of the most important science and technology of our time.

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? is the latest compilation of readers' answers to the questions in the 'Last Word' column of New Scientist, the world's best-selling science weekly. Yet again, many seemingly simple questions turn out to have complex answers. And some that seem difficult have a very simple explanation.