Ian Stewart never disappoints and seems related to OP's request. His "Nature of Numbers" is exactly that, also this is the first English book (foreign language for me) which I have read without any need of dictionary. "The Great Mathematical Problems" is about reading a chapter, then taking a rest, then reading another. "Nature of Numbers" can be read in one attempt and my emotion about that is I want this book to be several times thicker. The illustrations are among the best mathematical images I ever seen, despite being monochrome.
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