Book Review: How many socks make a pair?

Review by Harriet Howard, age 12,

Woodgreen School

The book I choose to review is How many socks make a pair by RobEastaway. I really loved this book because of the excitement and amazement it gave me. It reveals to me a surprising yet beautiful world of maths. It’s astounding how much everyday maths we never think about and how totally accessible it is to all of us. The book made me feel like I’d been totally oblivious to the maths around me every day. For example, How many socks make a pair? , the answer isn’t two because if you take 2 socks out of your drawer you aren’t guaranteed to get a pair (if you have more than one type of socks). If you have N types of socks then you need to take out N+1 socks to guarantee a pair. To me, this is something that I hadn’t come across before reading this book, and it’s fascinating. From this book I have learned that maths isn’t boring but in fact crucial to our everyday lives. In addition, I’ve learned lots of stunning maths that I never knew before; when you multiply 1089 you actually form palindromes, 1×1089=1089, 9×1089=9801 and 2×1089=2178, 8×1089=8712 and so on . . . . . this is incredible. Also, this book is totally accessible to anyone no matter what your maths skills are because of its such easy to apply facts. I enjoyed all of this book and each of the individual facts had its own charm. From this book I have learnt lots of snippets of information and how much everyday maths there actually is around us. I really recommend this book to everyone.

Our Non-Fiction Book of September: Travels with Epicurus

Little fills us Westerners with so much terror (and consequent denial) as the idea of aging. Our constant pursuit of eternal beauty, energy and health has caused us to see old age as undignified, something to be feared. A shame, really, considering that traditionally in ours and still in many other cultures, our elders were considered a source of wisdom and serenity.

In recent years, a movement called the New Old Age has taken off... and while it surely is commendable to want to remain fit and active into old age, could it be that it is just out of a reaction to that ageist attitude that still prevails, as if one has to prove oneself and justify one's existence past retirement age? Which just goes to show that the original problem is still alive and well.

Klein addresses precisely that when he travelled to the Greek Islands to explore the locals' attitude to aging.

The Huffington Post wrote a fantastic review, which says "Klein returned to the Greek village and philosophers he has visited for decades to discover authentic ways of aging. In his funny and wry account, 'Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life', he concludes that old age is a privilege to be savored, rather than a disease to be cured or a condition to be denied."

And Marcus Berkmann, author of A Shed of One's Own, writes in the Daily Mail: "Reading this book after a period of overwork and high stress, I was bowled over by its easy charm and hard-won wisdom. I shall be buying it in bulk as presents for my equally overburdened peers, and I suspect a few older people will enjoy it, too."
Read the first chapter here.

Patty