My booklist
In primary and middle school education, reading books often signifies engaging with literary works. However, I must admit that I am not an enthusiast of literature; hence, there are few literary works on this booklist. I believe that literature constitutes only a small fraction of human knowledge, and it cannot be equated with ‘books’. There are many fascinating areas with books that are equally worthy of exploration.
The sequence of books is unrelated to my evaluations and comments.
《极简欧洲史》约翰•赫斯特 (The Shortest History of Europe by John Hirst)
《乌合之众》古斯塔夫•勒庞 (The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon)
《万历十五年》黄仁宇 (1587, a Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline by Ray Huang)
《动物庄园》乔治•奥威尔 (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
《球状闪电》刘慈欣 (Ball Lightning by Liu Cixin)
《三体》刘慈欣 (The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin)
《当呼吸化为空气》保罗•卡拉什尼 (When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi)
《推理的迷宫》威廉•庞德斯通 (Labyrinths of Reason: Paradox, Puzzles, and the Frailty of Knowledge by William Poundstone)
《What If》兰道尔•门罗 (What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe)
《本书书名无法描述本书内容》埃里克•卡普兰 (Does Santa Exist?: A Philosophical Investigation by Eric Kaplan)
《论人类不平等的起源和基础》让-雅克•卢梭 (Discourse on Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
《公正 当如何是好》迈克尔•桑德尔 (Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel)
《金钱不能买什么》迈克尔•桑德尔 (What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel)
《How To》兰道尔•门罗 (How to: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe)
《你的第一本哲学书》托马斯•内格尔 (What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy by Thomas Nagel)
《维特根斯坦传 天才之为责任》瑞•蒙克 (Wittgenstein: Duty of Genius by Ray Monk)
《极简算法史：从数学到机器的故事》吕克•德•布拉班迪尔 (Homo informatix by Luc de Brabandere)
《生命是什么》薛定谔 (What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell by Erwin Schrödinger)
《2001太空漫游》阿瑟•克拉克 (2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke)
《民主的細節》劉瑜 (The Details of Democracy by Liu Yu)
《信息简史》詹姆斯•格雷克 (The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick)
《對權威的服從》斯坦利·米爾格拉姆 (Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View by Stanley Milgram)
《正信的佛教》聖嚴法師 (Orthodox Chinese Buddhism by Master Sheng Yen)
《流浪地球》刘慈欣 (The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin)
《哥伦比亚的倒影》木心 (Reflection of Colombia by Mu Xin)
《孤独深处》郝景芳 (In the Depths of Loneliness by Hao Jingfang)
《去远方》郝景芳 (Going Far by Hao Jingfang)
《圆圈正义》罗翔 (The Circle Justice by Luo Xiang)
《贫穷的的本质》阿比吉特·班纳吉 埃斯特·迪弗洛
(Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit V.Banerjee and Esther Duflo)
Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction by Samir Okasha
Faith vs. Fact-Why Science and Region are Incompatible by Jerry Coyne
Logic: A Very Short Introduction by Graham Priest
Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by David Miller
Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrant Russell
Darwinian Aesthetics: Sexual selection and the biology of beauty by Karl Grammer et al.
1984 by George Orwell
《我的二本学生》黄灯
《悖论研究》陈波
《薛兆丰经济学讲义》薛兆丰
《进击的智人》河森堡
《汪洋战争》何夕
《伤心者》何夕
《完美末日》刘洋
(Updated to 2022)
Many of these books are ones I read many years ago, and the majority of the details within them have faded from memory. If the books I’ve read are forgotten, what’s the meaning of reading? I believe it lies in the initial impact of “knowing” for the first time, in the sudden flash of insight when recalling a certain viewpoint years later, and in the shaping of one’s perspective on the world as knowledge flows through the mind, just like water flowing through pipes and taking away stains.