Once I’m snuggled up in bed and the electric blanket is kicking in, it takes a lot to tear me away from the flimsy pages of National Geographic, Fortune and North & South.

But over the past couple of weeks, two books have succeeded: Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries - a birthday present from dearest Kathy - and The Elegant Universe of Albert Einstein, a new collection of science essays based on the National Radio series E=mc2.

TEUoAE, as I’m afraid I shall have to call it, is a newbie from Awa Press. And one’s first impression is that this slim paperback has serious class, thanks to a sublimely understated design by Wellington outfit The Letterheads (we love your work, Gus and Kris).

The essays have been written by some of New Zealand’s top scientists and historians, and the level of intellect required on the part of the reader is just right for me – several notches down from Hawking, and a couple of notches up from three-year-old Tom’s How Machines Work.

This is a very, very engrossing book for anyone with a passing interest in matters scientific. We get wise words from Tom Barnes, Paul Callaghan, Hamish Campbell, Lesley and Richard Hall, Robert Hannah, John Stenhouse and Matt Visser, with an introduction by Rebecca Priestley.

And there are some great anecdotes, such as the tale of the Imperial Russian Olympic Team, still using the Julian Calendar, arriving twelve days late for the 1908 London Games.

Some of these writers are better than others – Robert Hannah and the Halls are especially good – but the subject is strong enough to carry the odd lapse of prose. The need to use Einstein as a common thread creates repetition now and then, and there is the occasional air of transcription rather than actual writing. But let’s not be picky. This is a good ‘un.

It’s also good to see that standards remain high at Awa Press, even though it is less than two years old: the company has just been declared New Zealand’s most exciting publisher by the National Business Review. To date, 15 titles have been published and 9 more are planned for the year ahead

Incidentally, one of Awa Press’ first titles was Embracing the Dragon: A Woman’s Journey Along the Great Wall of China by Polly Greeks. We hear that this book will be re-issued in a new edition in August, to coincide with the publication of The First Pass Under Heaven by Nathan Gray. Mr Gray, you may remember, was Greeks’ companion and lover during her trek on the Great Wall.

And one last thing: Embracing the Dragon is under consideration for a motion picture by Warner Bros. Fingers crossed …