It isn’t common that I do a non-fiction book for a book review, but this might be one of the first times because this book felt so interesting to read. In this book, Mark Miodownik briefly explains why some liquids are dangerous, and why some aren’t, as well as why coffee and tea tastes bitter, all in the course of one flight.

The book starts with a brief introduction to all the liquids the author has had taken away from him during airport security. At the start, The author boards a plane to attend a conference in San Francisco, he begins to explain how jet fuel has more energy than nitroglycerin, an extremely volatile explosive substance. Here, he also introduces Susan, a woman sitting next to him. Throughout the flight, he goes on to explain how the TV he is watching works, how airplanes went from being made of plywood to being made partially using glue. The journey ends with Miodownik realizing that the person he sat next to the whole time was actually the whole reason why he came to the meeting in the first place, as she was the keynote speaker of the conference

In my opinion, this book was really interesting as it took usually mundane things we use in our everyday lives, and delves deeper into how they work. Miodownik makes all of these things very fascinating through his very thorough explanations of how each of these things work, as well as their chemical properties. I would 100% recommend this book for anybody who is very interested in science.

Liquid Rules by Mark Miodownik is available to download for free from Libby.