Culture
文藝版塊
The best books of 2024
2024年最佳圖書
Treat your shelf
給書柜的款待
Biography and memoir
傳記和回憶錄類
The Editor. By Sara Franklin.
《傳奇編輯》,薩拉·富蘭克林著。
Judith Jones edited literary and culinary greats and saved Anne Frank’s diary from a “slush” pile of rejected manuscripts.
朱迪絲·瓊斯編輯過文學和烹飪學巨著,并從一堆“爛泥”般的被拒絕手稿中救出了安妮·弗蘭克的日記。
This biography posits that the people who shape iconic books often do so invisibly.
這本傳記認為,塑造了標志性書籍的人往往是在無形之中做到這一點的。
Metamorphoses. By Karolina Watroba.
《變形記》,卡羅琳娜·瓦特羅巴著。
Franz Kafka’s fame is not only the product of literary excellence.
弗蘭茨·卡夫卡的名聲不僅是因為卓越的文學成就。
He also got lucky, as this study of the writer’s afterlife reveals.
他也很幸運,對這位作家身后事的這本研究揭示了這一點。
It traces his metamorphosis from sickly lawyer to global literary icon.
這本書追溯了他從一個病懨懨的律師到全球文學偶像的變形記。
Business, economics and technology
商業、經濟與技術類
How Economics Explains the World. By Andrew Leigh.
《經濟學如何解釋世界》,安德魯·利著。
In fewer than 200 pages, the author canters through the history of human progress, pausing to explain the economic forces that drove it.
在不到200頁的篇幅中,作者走馬觀花地回顧了人類進步歷史,并駐馬停留,解釋推動這些進步的經濟力量。
Playing with Reality. By Kelly Clancy.
《玩轉現實》,凱利·克蘭西著。
A wide-ranging survey of how games shape reality.
這是一項關于游戲如何塑造現實的廣泛調查。
By turns philosophical and polemical, this is a provocative and fascinating book.
時而富有哲理,時而充滿爭議,這是一本發人深省且引人入勝的書。
Slow Productivity. By Cal Newport.
《慢生產力》,卡爾·紐波特著。
In this diatribe against “pseudo-productivity”, a sage of the post-pandemic workplace offers practical advice on how to “protect” your time.
在這本針對“偽生產力”的抨擊中,一位后疫情時代職場智者就如何“保護”你的時間提供了實用建議。
Culture and arts
文化藝術類
The Haunted Wood. By Sam Leith.
《鬧鬼的森林》,山姆·利斯著。
At once light and learned, this tour of children’s literature from Aesop to Harry Potter takes you back to your delighted first years of reading.
既輕松又淵博,這場從《伊索寓言》到《哈利·波特》的兒童文學之旅,將帶你回到最初的快樂閱讀時光。
Origin Uncertain. By Anatoly Liberman.
《起源不確定》,阿納托利·利伯曼著。
A tour through the annals of words’ origins.
一場穿越詞匯起源史冊的旅行。
This book will appeal to logophiles and even true-crime fans, because it feels like a detective story.
這本書會吸引詞語愛好者,甚至真實犯罪案件愛好者,因為它讀起來就像一個偵探故事。
Stranger Than Fiction. By Edwin Frank.
《比虛構更離奇》,埃德溫·弗蘭克著。
Essential for anyone who loves novels, this book examines how writers translated the seismic and bloody 20th century into memorable fiction.
對于任何熱愛小說的人來說,這本書都是必讀的,它探討了作家們如何將影響深遠、充滿血腥的20世紀轉化為令人難忘的小說。
Fiction
虛構類
Going Home. By Tom Lamont.
《回家》,湯姆·蘭蒙特著。
Three men become responsible for a motherless toddler.
三個男人要對一個失去母親的幼兒負責。
In an unsentimental evocation of fatherhood and male friendship, this novel explores the glory and sacrifice involved in learning to love.
這部小說不煽情地喚起了父愛和男性友誼,探討了學習去愛時所涉及的榮耀和犧牲。
Help Wanted. By Adelle Waldman.
《招聘啟事》,阿黛爾·沃爾德曼著。
Employees of a “dungeon-like” warehouse in upstate New York are threatened by greedy employers, monopolistic online retailers and the prospect of automation.
在紐約州北部的一家“地牢般”的倉庫里,員工受到貪婪雇主、壟斷性在線零售商和自動化前景的威脅。
Intermezzo. By Sally Rooney.
《間奏曲》,薩莉·魯尼著。
The Irish star’s fourth book may be her best.
這是這位愛爾蘭文學明星的第四本書,也可能是她最好的一本。
This story focuses on a fraternal rather than romantic bond: the characters are recently bereaved, mutually uncomprehending brothers.
這個故事聚焦于兄弟情誼而非愛情羈絆:故事中的人物是剛剛失去親人、彼此互不理解的兄弟。
James. By Percival Everett.
《詹姆斯》,珀西瓦爾·埃弗里特著。
A literary retelling of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” that is destined for the big screen.
這是對馬克·吐溫的《哈克貝利·費恩歷險記》的文學性新編,注定要被搬上大銀幕。
Told from Jim’s perspective, this National Book Award winner feels surprising and new.
這位美國國家圖書獎得主從吉姆的視角講述了這個故事,他的作品給人以驚喜和新鮮感。
Long Island. By Colm Tóibín.
《長島》,科爾姆·托賓。
An entrancing follow-up to “Brooklyn”, a moving coming-of-age story and a portrait of the plucky immigrants who fuelled America’s post-war boom.
《布魯克林》的迷人續篇,一個動人的成長故事,也是一幅給勇敢移民的畫像,這些移民為美國戰后繁榮提供了動力。
History
歷史類
Every Living Thing. By Jason Roberts.
《生命萬物》,杰森·羅伯茨著。
The story of a forgotten rivalry that shaped the modern world.
這是一段被遺忘的競爭故事,這場競爭塑造了現代世界。
Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon raced to categorise all life.
卡爾·林奈和喬治-路易·布封競相為所有生物分類。
The Invention of Good and Evil. By Hanno Sauer.
《善與惡的發明》,漢諾·紹爾著。
What makes people good, evil or a bit of both?
是什么讓人變得善良、邪惡,或者兩者兼而有之?
This rich narrative blends anthropology and evolutionary biology to show how morality has changed.
這種內容豐富的敘述融合了人類學和進化生物學,展示了道德是如何變化的。
Science and health
科學健康類
The Anxious Generation. By Jonathan Haidt.
《 焦慮的一代》,喬納森·海特著。
Gen Z is suffering from unprecedented levels of poor mental health.
Z世代正在遭受前所未有的不良心理健康。
An eminent social psychologist considers the “great rewiring of childhood”.
這位杰出的社會心理學家思考了“童年的重大重塑”。
This book is compassionate in tone and rich in data.
這本書的語氣充滿同情,且數據翔實。
Gray Matters. By Theodore Schwartz.
《灰物質》,西奧多·施瓦茨著。
A neurosurgeon goes on a tour through different types of brain surgery—from seemingly crude emergency treatments to high-precision surgeries—weaving explanations of procedures together with personal and historical anecdotes.
這位神經外科醫生帶讀者領略了各種類型的腦外科手術——從看似粗糙的緊急治療到高精度手術——在對手術過程的解釋中穿插著個人和歷史軼事。
Tits Up. By Sarah Thornton.
《挺胸抬頭》,莎拉·桑頓著。
Breasts are both ogled and overlooked.
乳房既被人凝視,又被人忽視。
The author’s double mastectomy and reconstruction set off a four-year quest to undress breasts’ “multifarious meanings”, ranging from strip clubs to milk banks.
作者經歷了雙側乳房切除術和重建手術,這引發了她長達四年的探索,以揭開乳房從脫衣舞俱樂部到母乳庫的“多重含義”。