Cover Characteristic: Numbers

Hosted by Sugar & Snark

Each week we will post a characteristic and choose 5 of our favorite cover’s with that characteristic. 

#5
THE MAN WHO LOVED ONLY NUMBERS: ERDOS
Author:  Paul Hoffman
Genre:  Classics, Children, Historical Fiction

Paul Erdos was one of the most prolific and eccentric mathematicians of our time, a man who possessed unimaginable powers of thought yet was unable to manage some of the simplest daily tasks. For more than two decades he lived out of two tattered suitcases, crisscrossing four continents at a frenzied pace, chasing mathematical problems in pursuit of lasting beauty and ultimate truth.

Paul Hoffman's brilliantly inventive, bestselling biography provides an intimate look at Erdos's life, introducing readers to a cast of remarkable geniuses, as well as the most important mathematical discoveries of the twentieth century. Drawing on years of interviews with Erdos and his friends and collaborators, Hoffman has composed a vibrant portrait of the fascinating philosopher-scientist whose accomplishments continue to enrich and inform our world.

 

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#4
SIGN LANGUAGE
Author:  Amy Ackley (Twitter) 
Genre:  YA, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Twelve-year-old Abby North's first hint that something is really wrong with her dad is how long it's taking him to recover from what she thought was routine surgery. Soon, the thing she calls "It" has a real name: cancer. Before, her biggest concerns were her annoying brother, the crush unaware of her existence, and her changing feelings for her best friend, Spence, the boy across the street. Now, her mother cries in the shower, her father is exhausted, and nothing is normal anymore. Amy Ackley's impressive debut is wrenching, heartbreaking, and utterly true.

 

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#3
NUMBERS
Book Series: Numbers, Book #1

Author: Rachel Ward (Twitter) 

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal

Countdown to a blowup! A gripping debut psycho-thriller that pairs futuristic sci-fi with frighteningly real themes of global terrorism!

Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!

 

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#2
COMPULSION
Author:  Heidi Ayarbe (Twitter) 
Genre:  YA, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Mental Illness

Today has to be perfect.
Magic.
I look at the clock.
10:14 AM.

Ten fourteen. One plus one is two plus four is six plus ten is sixteen minus one is fifteen minus two is thirteen. OK.

I turn from the clock and walk into the hallway. "Ready."

Saturday will be the third state soccer champion­ship in a row for Jake Martin. Three. A good number. Prime. With Jake on the field, Carson City High can't lose because Jake has the magic: a self-created protection generated by his obsession with prime numbers. It's the magic that has every top soccer university recruiting Jake, the magic that keeps his family safe, and the magic that suppresses his anxiety attacks. But the magic is Jake's prison, because sustaining it means his compulsions take over nearly every aspect of his life.

Jake's convinced the magic will be permanent after Saturday, the perfect day, when every prime has converged. Once the game is over, he won't have to rely on his sister to concoct excuses for his odd rituals. His dad will stop treating him like he is some freak. Maybe he'll even make a friend other than Luc.

But what if the magic doesn't stay?

What if the numbers never leave?

 

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THE TIME MACHINE
Author: H.G. Wells 
Genre: Classics, Science Fiction

“I’ve had a most amazing time....”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.