As a child, I re-read The Number Devil constantly. It introduced me to some really cool mathematical ideas, couched in a cute story. The very last chapter inclu

As a child, I re-read The Number Devil constantly. It introduced me to some really cool mathematical ideas, couched in a cute story. The very last chapter includes a picture of the Principia Mathematica's proof of 1 + 1 = 2 -- mostly for shock value, I think, but also "even this is within your reach". I recently got to see a friend's copy of the Principia, and I realized just how much of it I actually did understand, which was a really nice closing of the loop. As an adult, Imre Lakatos' Proofs and Refutations gave me a much richer understanding of definitions in mathematics -- what job they're meant to do, and when it makes sense to change your definitions instead of adding premises to your theorems.