Hey, there, welcome to this edition of Bookchat. I am your book critic Shiyu. Since people all around the world are about to celebrate the World Book Day on April 23rd, I think it’s high time for us to recommend some wonderful writings for anyone who wants to read and chill.
So joining me in the studio today are two of our regular guests and fellow book lovers, Ningjng and Sirui. Guys, thank you so much for being here.
[Chin chat]
You know, the last time we made our own book recommendation, there were so many books that across vastly different personal preferences. So i wonder if it’s the same case this time.
Question 1:
So Ningjing, tell us which book has brought you attention recently?
The 'autobiography' of Claudius continues (from Claudius' accession after Caligula's death, to his own death in 54) in Claudius the God (1935). The sequel also includes a section written as a biography of Herod Agrippa, contemporary of Claudius and future King of the Jews. The two books were adapted by the BBC into an award-winning television serial, I, Claudius.
his grandmother Livia——Augustus’ cold wife
due to his stammering, limp and other nervous tics, others see him as mentally deficient and also therefore not a serious threat to his ambitious relatives. Even as his symptoms began to wane in his teenage years, he actually discovered his true passion to be a historian….because he establishes himself as the author of the history of his family, and insists on writing the truth…he kinda observes the power play of his predecessors and families —became emproer—-After Claudius killed by his wife, his grand-nephew, adopted son, step son Nero became the emporer, one of the most famous tyrants in the western history.
Question 2:
How about you, Sirui? Tell us which book has been rolling around in your brain?
Break:
After this short break, we are going to be back to talk more about . So stick around.
[the structure of book recommendation]
Brief introduction of the book; why you want to recommend it;
1. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
Intro:
Since both of you talk about history, there is another historical book that i really want to share. But unlike yours, this one is about ecosphere.
Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. And the last extinction, and probably the most-well known one resulted in the demise of dinosaurs. You may believe that extinction has nothing to do with us. But in the pulitzer-prize winning non-fiction, “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History”, American science writer, journalist, philospher, and environmentalist Elizabeth Kolbert tries to tell us, no, the extinction is happening right now.
All the previous five mass extinctions were the results of natural cause and the intervals between each two of them are really long. But by travelling worldwide, talking with various bio experts, delving deep into history, the author is actually telling us that human activities are actually accelerating this process.
Examples:
Human migrations have taken animals and plants to somewhere they originally didn’t belong. Now, every 30 days, a new specie arrives in Hawaii; yet before human settled on the island, it took ten thousand years for one new specie to settle there. A lot of problems come along with this process of biological invasion.
Nowadays the governments around the world always talk about how to control the carbon dioxide emissions. But carbon dixide is not only affecting the atmosphere. one-third of the carbon dioxide we have produced, is actually absorbed by the ocean and is wreaking havoc on earth’s delicately balanced ecosystems. when carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean , the gas transforms into acid. Ocean acidification can result in the crash of the entire ecosystem, less diversity of life in the ocean. Of course, the fittest survive. But the thing is, because of human activities and the ripple effects caused by these activities, the changes have come too fast and the nature doesn’t have enough time to adapt.
In previous three mass extinction, Ocean acidification was a decisive factor.
Why recommend:
有很多学术用语 full of jargons but not boring at all, in stead, Kolbert has done an amazing job by explaining them in an engaging, lucid, accessible prose.
very lively, vivid, graphic examples to explain How we live in a tsunami of extinction and how we are experiencing a catatrophic future _ the current spasm of plant and animal loss that threatens to eliminate 20 to 50 percent of all living species on earth within this century.
How we affect many species, even our kin the Neanderthals.
Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day.
For many of the same reasons, many today find it hard to believe that we could possibly be responsible for destroying the integrity of our planet’s ecology. There are psychological barriers to even imagining that what we love so much could be lost — could be destroyed forever. As a result, many of us refuse to accept the reality.
Some may wonder, why do I care? The mass extinction threatens both the web of living species with which we share the planet and the future viability of civilization. “By disrupting these systems,” Kolbert writes, “we’re putting our own survival in danger. The thing is, we, as a specie, also live in this eco-environment and we are expected to demise with it as well.
[As the Pulizer Prize Jury once said] The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
Further reading:
if you want to see some solution, Rise of the Necrofauna by Britt Wray , a book about de-extinction, what would happen if we try to bring things back
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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."
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 woman is born free from cultural and social restrictions to party, laugh, lead, toil and love.
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!
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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2. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth About the Nordic Miracle by Michael Booth
Intro:
I have to confess that before i touched upon this book, i thought it would be like another Bill Bryson’s travelogue, funny, witty, sarcastic, yet a little bit cheeky. But the book is definitely way beyond my expectation.
Before moving, he had perceived Scandinavians to be a "bearded, woolly jumper-wearing, recycling bunch of people", but afterwards was surprised by how different each of the Nordic countries seemed to be.[2] He wanted to write a book to explore these differences and to explain what he saw as a "fascinating dysfunctional family dynamic" between the five Nordic neighbors.[2] He was further inspired by the "Nordic wave" phenomenon that gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s when the western world became fascinated with the Nordic countries and their ways of life.[1] In particular, he wanted to investigate Denmark's consistently high scores on various happiness indexes, since these figures conflicted with his own observations that "they didn't seem that happy", and also challenge the perception that the Nordic nations as a group are "little jolly green countries in the north”.[1]
In the book, Booth focuses on the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden—dedicating a section of the book to each one. He began writing the book after migrating from England to Denmark, based on his perceptions of the Nordic region before and after moving. He wanted to present an alternative perspective to the extremely positive depiction of the region in British media. The book received mixed reviews: some critics found it to be overly critical with poor humour, others praised its tone and informativeness.
Why recommend:
very informative, knowlege-packed, cover almost every aspect , and some less-known facts of those five scandalivan nations, such as collapse of iceland’s largest bans, far-right politics in norway, the justice system in sweden..
make readers to contemplate how to build a better society, the pros and cons of wellfare state promises
i know this book receives mixed reviews, but i find it hilarious without losing a touch on serious discussion
The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China’s Hidden Mountains by Choo Waihong
2. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth About the Nordic Miracle by Michael Booth
Intro:
I have to confess that before i touched upon this book, i thought it would be like another Bill Bryson’s travelogue, funny, witty, sarcastic, yet a little bit cheeky. But the book is definitely way beyond my expectation.
Before moving, he had perceived Scandinavians to be a "bearded, woolly jumper-wearing, recycling bunch of people", but afterwards was surprised by how different each of the Nordic countries seemed to be.[2] He wanted to write a book to explore these differences and to explain what he saw as a "fascinating dysfunctional family dynamic" between the five Nordic neighbors.[2] He was further inspired by the "Nordic wave" phenomenon that gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s when the western world became fascinated with the Nordic countries and their ways of life.[1] In particular, he wanted to investigate Denmark's consistently high scores on various happiness indexes, since these figures conflicted with his own observations that "they didn't seem that happy", and also challenge the perception that the Nordic nations as a group are "little jolly green countries in the north”.[1]
In the book, Booth focuses on the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden—dedicating a section of the book to each one. He began writing the book after migrating from England to Denmark, based on his perceptions of the Nordic region before and after moving. He wanted to present an alternative perspective to the extremely positive depiction of the region in British media. The book received mixed reviews: some critics found it to be overly critical with poor humour, others praised its tone and informativeness.
Why recommend:
very informative, knowlege-packed, cover almost every aspect , and some less-known facts of those five scandalivan nations, such as collapse of iceland’s largest bans, far-right politics in norway, the justice system in sweden..
make readers to contemplate how to build a better society, the pros and cons of wellfare state promises
i know this book receives mixed reviews, but i find it hilarious without losing a touch on serious discussion
The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China’s Hidden Mountains by Choo Waihong
2. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth About the Nordic Miracle by Michael Booth
Intro:
I have to confess that before i touched upon this book, i thought it would be like another Bill Bryson’s travelogue, funny, witty, sarcastic, yet a little bit cheeky. But the book is definitely way beyond my expectation.
Before moving, he had perceived Scandinavians to be a "bearded, woolly jumper-wearing, recycling bunch of people", but afterwards was surprised by how different each of the Nordic countries seemed to be.[2] He wanted to write a book to explore these differences and to explain what he saw as a "fascinating dysfunctional family dynamic" between the five Nordic neighbors.[2] He was further inspired by the "Nordic wave" phenomenon that gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s when the western world became fascinated with the Nordic countries and their ways of life.[1] In particular, he wanted to investigate Denmark's consistently high scores on various happiness indexes, since these figures conflicted with his own observations that "they didn't seem that happy", and also challenge the perception that the Nordic nations as a group are "little jolly green countries in the north”.[1]
In the book, Booth focuses on the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden—dedicating a section of the book to each one. He began writing the book after migrating from England to Denmark, based on his perceptions of the Nordic region before and after moving. He wanted to present an alternative perspective to the extremely positive depiction of the region in British media. The book received mixed reviews: some critics found it to be overly critical with poor humour, others praised its tone and informativeness.
Why recommend:
very informative, knowlege-packed, cover almost every aspect , and some less-known facts of those five scandalivan nations, such as collapse of iceland’s largest bans, far-right politics in norway, the justice system in sweden..
make readers to contemplate how to build a better society, the pros and cons of wellfare state promises
i know this book receives mixed reviews, but i find it hilarious without losing a touch on serious discussion
The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China’s Hidden Mountains by Choo Waihong
2. The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth About the Nordic Miracle by Michael Booth
Intro:
I have to confess that before i touched upon this book, i thought it would be like another Bill Bryson’s travelogue, funny, witty, sarcastic, yet a little bit cheeky. But the book is definitely way beyond my expectation.
Before moving, he had perceived Scandinavians to be a "bearded, woolly jumper-wearing, recycling bunch of people", but afterwards was surprised by how different each of the Nordic countries seemed to be.[2] He wanted to write a book to explore these differences and to explain what he saw as a "fascinating dysfunctional family dynamic" between the five Nordic neighbors.[2] He was further inspired by the "Nordic wave" phenomenon that gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s when the western world became fascinated with the Nordic countries and their ways of life.[1] In particular, he wanted to investigate Denmark's consistently high scores on various happiness indexes, since these figures conflicted with his own observations that "they didn't seem that happy", and also challenge the perception that the Nordic nations as a group are "little jolly green countries in the north”.[1]
In the book, Booth focuses on the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden—dedicating a section of the book to each one. He began writing the book after migrating from England to Denmark, based on his perceptions of the Nordic region before and after moving. He wanted to present an alternative perspective to the extremely positive depiction of the region in British media. The book received mixed reviews: some critics found it to be overly critical with poor humour, others praised its tone and informativeness.
Why recommend:
very informative, knowlege-packed, cover almost every aspect , and some less-known facts of those five scandalivan nations, such as collapse of iceland’s largest bans, far-right politics in norway, the justice system in sweden..
make readers to contemplate how to build a better society, the pros and cons of wellfare state promises
i know this book receives mixed reviews, but i find it hilarious without losing a touch on serious discussion
The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China’s Hidden Mountains by Choo Waihong
