Book Review: 100 Essential Things

      Hi everyone! Each month I'll be reviewing a book on my YouTube channel, and this time it's the incredible 100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know  by John D. Barrow.
      It's a math book.
      Please don't freak out.

ISBN 978-0-393-33867-6

      The first thing you see on the interesting graphic-filled cover is a humongous 100 made of different objects: coins, a bear, a tennis ball, playing cards and a diamond. What do they have in common? The next thing that catches your eye is the phrase "MATH EXPLAINS YOUR WORLD". Intimidating, eh?
      I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover. However for visual people like me, and obviously my mom, who picked this up from the bookstore, book covers play an important role in attracting readers. Which in my case, I think was very worthwhile!

      The back-of-the-book-thingamajig (which I have found out is actually called the synopsis, commonly called the blurb, from my wonderful first subscriber Lauren) reads: "Have you ever wondered why you always seem to get stuck in the longest line? Why two's company but three's a crowd? Or why there are six degrees of separation instead of seven? ..." My attention captured, I read on in rapture as Barrow explained different aspects of life with a small problem, often not more than two pages each, accompanied by simple ink, hand-drawn diagrams.

      If you don't have time, do what I'm doing: Read a problem a day and you'll be finished in 100 days!

Here's the video:

Yours truly,