## Wednesday, March 11, 2009

### where there are books, i find maths books.

earlier in my holiday, i was in portland, or. in one of my last days, i learned that powell's has separate specialised bookstores.

when i went to "powell's technical books" and found three bookcases full of mathematical analysis books, it was like going to a candy store ..

.. an expensive candy store,
but you get the idea.

it was also like a mathematics library, except the books were for sale, at varying prices. i suppose many mathematicians rely on resources like these to build their own shelves of maths books.

if it weren't for dinner plans, i might have stayed around until the store closed,

browsing through first editions by ha1mos and carathéadory, comparing the dover edition of rie$z-sz.na9y's fun¢tional ana1ysis book with an original, weighing various dilemmas -- is beard0n's a primer on riem@nn$urfaces worth $36, if i never have time to read it? -- searching for the elusive mea$ure the0ry and fine pr0perties of fun¢tions by evan\$ and 9ariepy ..

but sometimes, holidays get in the way of mathematics. then again, they are supposed to interrupt, if only for a oft-forgotten but important time for rest.