Joy of X - A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity

It was a fun book to read.

Nonetheless, while I appreciated various concepts as I read, I regretfully struggle to recall much of it. I can recall numerous examples and recognize my own errors in forming conclusions. Yet, I find it challenging to replicate the intriguing quadratic equations or mathematical simplifications presented. I wouldn’t be able to show it to you just like that.

I liked the practical techniques for calculating the square of a number close to 50 or manually determining Pi.here were several interesting facts; one that stuck with me is that algebra comes from the Arabic word “al jabr,” which means “reunion of broken parts.” It is the title of a book written by the Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. If you had a fear of math, I suggest reading this book; it will alter your perception. I think this book needs a second read for me.

© 2026 Sindhuja Cheema Enzinger. All Rights Reserved.

The Design of Everyday Things

The first thing that struck me as unusual about the book was its formatting. Chapter headings were right-aligned, sub-chapter headings left-aligned with an indent, page numbers were on both sides, and so on. There seemed to be a lack of consistency. While it didn’t distract me from the content, it was a little off-putting at times. Am I just so accustomed to books formatted a certain way? I picked up a few others I own and noticed their formats were not identical either, though the majority had chapter headings on the left side of the page and there was consistency :-).

© 2026 Sindhuja Cheema Enzinger. All Rights Reserved.