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I love mathematics, but have always been turned off by books that jump right into the theorems and stuff. I suggest to keep your interest kindled, you should read books that deal with these theorems on the sideline. Most mathematical methods are developed for some reason anyway, and some of them are just developed cos people were looking for challenges.
To this end, i think you should read the book on fermat's last theorem by Dr Simon Singh. It's an amazing book covering lots of stuff on number theory and algebra. The concepts introduced are not difficult to grasp, and it's got the authority and of an ancient mystery to keep u gripped. Apparently, Fermat, the man, saw the proof for this last theorem of his but felt that he did not need to write it down as it was too simple (or because he didn't have enough space on his little pieces of parchments, i can't remember the specifics). It turns out that Dr Simon Singh and friends (well not exactly friends because Dr Singh went the mile alone) had to introduce some mind boggling conjectures to deal with it. Whether fermat really knew a simple proof is beyond us, but heck, he sure left one big legacy neatly summed up and solved by one of the brightest minds in our generation.
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