Literary Larvae

300 pages

The insect larva in the puzzle, often called a "bookworm," may possibly have devoured its way through 302 pages, if the sophisticated solver wishes to interpret "on page 1" and "at page 300" as 'inclusive.' For sure, the worm would also have to penetrate the covers of Volumes 1 and 2 and the backs of Volumes 2 and 3.

An avid reader of the human variety, often called a "bookworm," will have devoured all nine hundred pages plus some number of the covers and backs -- unless there are dust-jackets.

Epilog

Numerical boundaries plague writers of software (should the loop run from n = 1 to 100 or n = 0 to 99?) and others (duration in years is the difference between the beginning year and this year -- or maybe one less). Consider this question posed by Ketan Bhaidasna in 2003...

Everybody knows that Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on the same day of the week. In 1939, the start of World War
II, Christmas fell on a Monday and New Year’s Day on a Sunday. How is this?

Hint: In the palindromic year 2002, Christmas fell on a Wednesday and New Year’s Day on a Tuesday.

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