Einstein's Dreams -- Alan Lightman

This is a fun little book that is easy to read and requires only as much mental heavy-lifting as you care to exert. The book is a novel but would be better described as a collection of about 30 "fables" about time. The author imagines what Einstein was dreaming about as he finalized his special theory of realivity in 1905. The dreams take place in and around Berne, Switzerland (where Einstein was working as a patent clerk at the time). In one dream, people try to capture time in a bell jar, in another time moves more quickly at lower elevations so people try to live at the highest altitudes possible to slow time, in another the passage of time creates increasing order. The dreams aren't just science and physics -- in fact, there is no scientific explanation for each of the different worlds that Einstein dreams about. Rather, the effects of each scenario are played out in people's lives and human nature in general. There is an underlying message of the book, sort of a sieze the day, time passes before you know it idea. But it isn't pushy or preachy.

Each chapter is only about 4-5 pages long and the book is small, maybe 4x6". It's easy to read a chapter every few days and not miss a beat.

On the topic of Einstein, another fun read (non-fiction) is Driving Mr. Albert by Michael Paterniti about a cross-country trip with the author and a pathologist who has Einstein's brain in a tupperware container (no joke).