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Reviews
Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart
chrisbumgardner's review against another edition
5.0
An extremely rewarding read. I would not recommend it to anybody who doesn't particularly like numbers.
tony_t's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.25
I don't think i was the target audience for "Once Upon a Prime" by Sarah Hart. I did find a couple of nuggets of mathematical and/or literary lore in this volume but I found much of it to be a bit trivial or retreads of information presented better elsewhere. That said if you are looking for a good general introduction to mathematics in literature, you may find this book entertaining and educational. For my money one of the best parts were the variety of titles that she either analyzed, mentioned or recommended.
it_smiy_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
As a math major in college - everything number based has my whole heart!! I love learning new perspectives, formulas, and ways to think around the box. Math has always been my favorite subject, so I was beyond excited to see this book on the shelf! Math + Reading?! Yes please!!
If you do not have a math background, this book isn’t for you. But if you’re fascinated with how math can have an impact literature - pick this up now!! I learned so many new topics and insights. I loved it!
If you do not have a math background, this book isn’t for you. But if you’re fascinated with how math can have an impact literature - pick this up now!! I learned so many new topics and insights. I loved it!
loopyjazz's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Excellent book at the intersection of math and literature. The author navigates smoothly between math used in poetry as form and structure, to the use of math and math literacy of various authors, and finally to characters who lean on the strength of their mathematics. One of the major points being that math is fun and creative much like literature. Math isn’t necessarily just arithmetic. Mathematicians aren’t just human calculators. I think that is the failing of how I was taught math in school, which leaned heavily on memorization of our times tables, but also the memorization of the process. The failing was that the fun and creative process doesn’t get introduced early enough. The world is numbers. It is in literature and it is in nature. Seeing the beauty of math is meaningful and I think the author does well to convey this.