介绍:
April 23rd marks the World Book and Copyright Day, a date that pays tribute to books and authors while encouraging everyone to discover the pleasure of reading.
So to celebrate this special occasion, in this segment of Ink&Quill, we have put together a list of favourite reads from our colleagues, to find out what sort of stories have moved, inspired, and enlightened them in the past few months.
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1. Claudius the God
It's never too late to go back to some old-time classics. The great-great grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar, Claudius was Roman emperor from 41 to 54 AD. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness from a young age, Claudius was constantly being ignored and even after he assumed the throne, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, and his reputation wasn't particularly great among the ancient writers. Yet British author Robert Graves tried to revise this opinion in his historical fiction, Claudius the God, the sequel of his celebrated novel, I, Claudius. Written in a first-person narrative that gives readers the impression that it is actually Emperor Claudius' autobiography, the novel provides us a wry and human glimpse into the Roman world, a must-read for historical novel lovers.
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2. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Some 65 million years ago, a mass extinction event ended the rule of dinosaurs and ushered in the era of mammals. As a species, we have had a good run so far; yet in her multi-award winning non-fiction, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, American science writer, journalist philosopher, and environmentalist Elizabeth Kolbert tries to warn us that human activities could lead to a near-term extinction of many forms of life on earth, maybe including ourselves. Drawing theories from multiple disciplines and telling stories of a dozen species, she explains how we live in a tsunami of extinction in an engaging, lucid, and accessible prose. In 2015, the author was given a Pulitzer Prize for her writing and the jury praised that this book "is likely to be the mankind's most lasting legacy.”
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3. Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis
American people believe in equality of opportunity. They think that regardless of one's family background, a person could always rely on his or her talents and capability to climb the social ladder. The strong belief that one is always doing much better than one's parents is the essence of American Dream. However, in his book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, American political scientist Robert D. Putnam argues that the conventional American Dream is falling apart. After conducting in-depth research and interviewing families across the country, the scholar concludes that the future of American children is actually highly restricted by their family background and parenting, which will no doubt provoke debate and discussion among some readers.
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4. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth about the Nordic Miracle
Don't be misled by its title. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth about the Nordic Miracle is not another Bill Bryson's travelogue, but rather, a thought-provoking social study on the Scandinavian region. A British journalist who has lived in Denmark for over ten years, Michael Booth tries to unlock many puzzles and secrets surround Nordic exceptionlism, ranging from their ways of life, economy, politics, to some less-known dynamics among all five Nordic neighbors. Informative, thorough, and unquestionably entertaining, this book presents an alternative perspective to the extremely positive, utopian depiction of the region in media.
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5. A History of the World in 100 Objects
A book written by former British Museum Director Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects is not a lofty volume loaded with dry academic introductions, but rather, an enlightening reading full of stories. By selecting 100 objects out of over 8 million collections at the British Museum, this book reveals over 2 million years of development of human civilization and each piece of the objects defines a chapter in human history. From ancient Egypt to China, it covers different continents in different time periods and explores themes as food and sex, early cities and nations, earliest start of literature and science, the makers of empires, rise of religion and much, much more. A Daily Telegraph’s review once commented that “this is a story book, vivid and witty, shining with insights, connections, shocks and delights.”
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6. The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China's Hidden Mountains
Can you imagine a land where a man is never the boss of a household and nuclear family doesn't exist? In her book, The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China's Hidden Mountains, former Singaporean lawyer Choo Waihong recounts her six years' experience living within the Mosuo community, one of the few surviving matrilineal and matriarchal societies around the globe. A personal portrait of a society hidden in the foothills of the Himalayas and teetering on the knife-edge of extinction, the book tries to tell us what a world will be if a women is born free from cultural and social restrictions to party, laugh, lead, toil and love.
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7. A Little Bit of History of Economics
To many, economics may sound like a quite heavy and dull subject that solely deals with numbers. But Niall Kishtainy's book A Little Bit of History of Economics has proved otherwise. Starting from ancient time, this lively, informative, bedroom reading is for everyone and it tells of all the great economic thinkers alongside the historical events that shaped them. Go and explore this book, you will realize how economics gets involved with our lives and the world we live in!
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8. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
While numerous books tell us how great it is to start a business and how to be successful when you start your business, very few books tell us how tough it can be to run a business. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, tells you the hard decisions a CEO will have to make, such as initiating layoffs, firing friends, hiring the right people, and poaching competitor, among others. Written by Ben Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, this is a book full of candid self-exploration while offering tips for navigating the toughest problems.
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Our book critic Shiyu there, speaking with Ningjing and Sirui about their favourite writings. If you want to hear their complete conversation, you can download the podcast by searching the keyword Ink&Quill on iTunes.
In this episode, we got an insight into our colleagues' favourite reads, but it's now time to hand over the baton to you. Remember, all genres are welcome! If you want to share with us the books you love the most, feel free to leave us a message on our Facebook page: China Plus- or simply drop us an email at: inkndquill@qq.com.
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