年TED書店最受歡迎的10本書

如去年一樣，今年我又一次有幸爲TED書店出品的以“青年、智者、未知”爲主題的《TED 2013》一書推薦精選書目。

《火尾的孔雀》

I SAW A PEACOCK WITH A FIERY TAIL

A die-cut masterpiece, two years in the making, I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail (public library), one of thebest art books of 2012, is based on a 17th-century British “trick” poem and illustrated in the signature Indian folk art style of the Gond tribe by Indian artist Ramsingh Urveti. It comes from Indian independent publisher Tara Books , who for the nearly two decades have been giving voice to marginalized art and literature through a community of artists, writers, and designers collaborating on remarkable handmade books.

歷時兩年完成的經典之作，《火尾的孔雀》堪稱2012年最佳藝術書籍之一，它以17世紀英國"僞詩"爲基礎，配以印度藝術家Ramsingh Urveti簽名的、具有印度岡德民間藝術風格的插畫。此書由印度獨立出版商Tara Books髮型，在過去的二十多年間該出版商通過團結起一批藝術家、作者和設計師合作製作手工書來扶植邊緣藝術和文學。

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS[qh]
《美麗小東西》[qh]
When an anonymous advice columnist by the name of “Dear Sugar” introduced herself on The Rumpus on March 11, 2010, she made her proposition clear: a “by-the-book common sense of Dear Abby and the earnest spiritual cheesiness of Cary Tennis and the butt-pluggy irreverence of Dan Savage and the closeted Upper East Side nymphomania of Miss Manners.” But in the two-some years that followed, she proceeded to deliver something tenfold punchier, more honest, more existentially profound than even such an intelligently irreverent promise could foretell. Collected in Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar (public library), one of the best psychology and philosophy books of 2012, is her no-bullshit, wholehearted wisdom on life’s trickiest contexts — sometimes the simplest, sometimes the most complex, always the most deeply human — published under Sugar’s long-awaited real name.[qh]
2010年3月11日當一位匿名答疑專欄作家以“Dear Sugar”的名號出現在“The Rumpus”上時，她就提出了自己的主張：有着“Dear Abby循規蹈矩的認知，Cary Tennis真摯的高尚的粗鄙和Dan Savage對同性戀的無所謂態度，以及Miss Manners私下談到的上東區女性色情狂風氣。”而在之後的兩年多時間內，她繼續發佈了一些內容，其風格的強烈、內容的真實和存在深遠更十倍於之前的那 則文筆狡黠不敬的發言。《美麗小東西：Dear Sugar對愛與人生的建議》是2012年最佳心理和哲學書籍之一，收錄其中的內容是她對人生微妙情境的不憤世、全心全意的智慧解讀——這些情境有時很簡單，有時很複雜，但總是與最深處的人性相關——並且以大家長久期待的Sugar的真名發表。[qh]

BIG QUESTIONS FROM LITTLE PEOPLE[qh]
《小孩大問題》[qh]
The questions children ask are often so simple, so basic, that they turn unwittingly yet profoundly philosophical in requiring apple-pie-from-scratch type of answers. To explore this fertile intersection of simplicity and expansiveness, Gemma Elwin Harris asked thousands of primary school children between the ages of four and twelve to send in their most restless questions, then invited some of today’s most prominent scientists, philosophers, and writers — including TEDsters like Alain de Botton, Mary Roach, and Richard Dawkins — to answer them. The result isBig Questions from Little People & Simple Answers from Great Minds (public library), among both the best children’s books of 2012 and the year’s overall reader favorites. A portion of the proceeds from the book benefits Save the Children.[qh]
孩子們問的問題總是很簡單，很基礎，但他們對答案"打破砂鍋問到底"的探求精神總是不經意地帶有深刻的哲學意義。爲了探索這一充滿了簡單與開拓交織的情 況，吉瑪·埃爾溫·哈里斯邀請數千個4歲至12歲年齡段的小學生把他們最孜孜探求的問題寫下來寄給她，然後再邀請一些當今最權威的科學家、哲學家和作者 --包括TED簽約作者阿蘭·德波頓，瑪麗·羅切和理查德·道金斯--來回答這些問題。而這些問答內容就形成了《小孩大問題，大人小答案》。這本書是 2012年最佳兒童讀物和2012年最受歡迎讀物之一，書中的一些內容給《救救孩子》一書以啓迪。[qh]

INTERNAL TIME[qh]
《內部時間》[qh]
“Six hours’ sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool,” Napoleon famously prescribed. But despite the laughably sexist hierarchy, his rule of thumb turns out to be grossly unsupported by science. In Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You’re So Tired (public library), one of the best science books of 2012, German chronobiologist Till Roenneberg demonstrates through a wealth of research that our sleep patterns have little to do with laziness and other such scorned character flaws, and everything to do with biology.[qh]
拿破崙有句名言:“男人每天睡6個小時,女人睡7個小時,而白癡睡8個小時”這段廣爲流傳的名言除了可笑的性別歧視主義成分外，它也被證明毫無科學依據。在2012年最佳科學書籍之一的《內部時間：生物鐘，社會時差和爲什麼你會累》中，德國時間生物學家蒂爾·羅內伯格通過廣泛研究得出了一個結論：我們的睡眠模式與懶惰以及其他類似的人格缺陷無關，它只是同我們的生物構造有關。[qh]

WHERE THE HEART BEATS[qh]
《心在何處跳動》[qh]
In Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists (public library), also one of the best philosophy books of 2012, longtime art critic and practicing BuddhistKay Larson constructs an exceptional intellectual, creative, and spiritual biography of John Cage — one of the most influential composers in modern history, whose impact reaches beyond the realm of music and into art, literature, cinema, and just about every other aesthetic and conceptual expression of curiosity about the world, yet also one of history’s most misunderstood artists. Fifteen years in the making, this superbly researched, exquisitely written tome weaves together a great many threads of cultural history into a holistic understanding of both Cage as an artist and Zen as a lens on existence.[qh]
2012年最佳哲學書籍之一的《心在何處跳動——藝術家約翰·凱奇，一位佛教禪宗徒的生活》，是由長期擔任藝術批評家和佛教修行者的凱·拉森撰寫的內容深刻、角度創新、揭示約翰·凱奇精神世界的傳記。約翰·凱奇是現代歷史上最有影響力的作曲家之一，他的影響力跨越了音樂界，遍及藝術、文學、電影及其他各美學領域，還有其他表達對世界好奇探索的概念領域，同時他也是歷史上遭到最多誤解的藝術家之一。歷經15年的研究，廣泛的調查，精準的筆風將文化史上的短篇殘章織補完整，爲我們整體展現了一個同時作爲藝術家和禪宗徒存在的凱奇。[qh]

AS CONSCIOUSNESS IS HARNESSED TO FLESH[qh]
《意識受制於肉體》[qh]
The second published volume of Susan Sontag’s diaries, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980 (public library), one of the best history books of 2012, offers an intimate glimpse of the inner life of a woman celebrated as one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable intellectuals, yet one who felt as deeply and intensely as she thought. Oscillating between conviction and insecurity in the most beautifully imperfect and human way possible, Sontag details everything from her formidable media diet of literature and film to her intense love affairs and infatuations to her meditations on society’s values and vices. Especially enchanting is the evolution of her relationship with love over that decade and a half, as Sontag settles into her own skin not only as a dimensional writer but also as a dimensional human being.[qh]
作爲第二部發布的蘇珊·桑塔格日記集——《意識受制於肉體：1964－1980年間日記與筆記》是2012年最佳歷史類書籍之一，它讓我們得以一窺蘇珊·桑塔格在作爲20世紀最著名的女性知識分子之一的光環背後的生活，閱讀此書你會跟着她的思路一起進行深刻而廣泛的思考。桑塔格一直以一種最美的不完美和人性的方式在信任和不安全感間徘徊，她在文字中詳細記錄所有的一切，從她最愛的電影、文學等媒體大餐到最熱烈的愛情經歷和她對於社會價值和罪惡的思考。尤其令人欣賞的是她與愛人近20年相處時間中情感變化的記錄，桑塔格用自己的文字展示給大家的不僅是一個立體的作家更是一個豐滿的人。[qh]

THE WHERE, THE WHY, AND THE HOW[qh]
《在哪裏，爲什麼和怎麼做》[qh]
In The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science (UK;public library), one of the best science books of 2012, some of today’s most celebrated artists create scientific illustrations and charts to accompany short essays about the most fascinating unanswered questions on the minds of contemporary scientists across biology, astrophysics, chemistry, quantum mechanics, anthropology, and more. The questions cover such mind-bending subjects as whether there are more than three dimensions, why we sleep and dream, what causes depression, how long trees live, and why humans are capable of language. Above all, the project is a testament to the idea that ignorance is what drives discovery and wonder is what propels science — a reminder to, as Rilke put it, live the questions and delight in reflecting on the mysteries themselves.[qh]
《在哪裏，爲什麼和怎麼做：聽75名藝術家解釋科學謎題》一書是2012年最佳科學類書籍之一，一些當今最知名的藝術家爲當代科學家公認的奇妙的科學謎團創作散文，並配以個人闡釋和圖表，這些問題涵蓋了生物、天體無力、化學、量子理學、人類學及其他學科領域。這些問題包括了令人頭疼的主題，比如，有沒有超過三維的結構存在；爲什麼我們會睡覺和做夢；爲什麼會抑鬱；樹究竟能活多久和爲什麼人類能使用語言。最重要的一點，這本書的創作宗旨是爲了證明一個觀點：無知促使人去發現，想法推動科學發展——里爾克引出這個觀點，提示了我們這些問題存在的意義以及思考科學謎團帶來的快樂。[qh]

HENRI’S WALK TO PARIS[qh]
《亨利走路去巴黎》[qh]
Saul Bass is considered by many — myself included — the greatest graphic designer of all time, responsible for some of the most timeless logos and most memorable film title sequences of the twentieth century. In 1962, Bass collaborated with former librarian Leonore Klein on his only children’s book, which spent decades as a prized out-of-print collector’s item. Exactly half a century later, Henri’s Walk to Paris (public library), one of 2012′s best children’s books, was brought back to life.[qh]
索爾·貝斯被許多人（包括我）認爲在任何時代都稱得上是最偉大的圖標設計師，他設計出了二十世紀許多傳世的品牌圖標和令人難以忘懷的電影片名圖標。在1962年，貝斯與前圖書館員萊奧諾拉·克萊恩合作創作了個人兒童書籍，數十年間這本書在絕版書收藏界中享有極高的名氣。就在此書出版50年後，《亨利走路去巴黎》再版問世，一舉成爲2012年最佳兒童書籍。[qh]

A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING IDEAS[qh]
《創造想法有技巧》[qh]
Originally published by an ad man named James Webb Young in 1939, A Technique for Producing Ideas (public library) is a forgotten gem that lays out with striking lucidity and clarity the five essential steps for a productive creative process, touching on a number of elements corroborated by modern science and thinking on creativity: its reliance on process over mystical talent, its combinatorial nature, its demand for a pondering period, its dependence on the brain’s unconscious processes, and more.[qh]
《創造想法有技巧》一書最初由一位名叫詹姆斯·韋伯·楊的廣告人在1939年發表，此書如同滄海遺珠一般，裏面清楚明晰地羅列了產生創造性生產效應概念的五個關鍵步驟，他談到的關鍵因素不少都獲得了現代科學和創造思維理論的支持：依靠流程而不是玄妙的天才；組合的本質；思考的時間；大腦無意識思考的幫助和其他一些東西。[qh]

THE BIG NEW YORKER BOOK OF DOGS[qh]
《大紐約客們的狗之書》[qh]
The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs (public library) is a remarkable collection of canine-themed treats — fiction, poetry, feature articles, humor, cartoons, cover art, manuscript drafts — by a slew of titans culled from the magazine’s archive, including E. B. White, Maira Kalman, John Updike, Jonathan Lethem, and Roald Dahl. Divided into four sections — Good Dogs, Bad Dogs, Top Dogs, and Underdogs — and spanning such subjects as evolution, domesticity, love, family, obedience, bereavement, language, and more, this lavish tome embodies what Malcolm Gladwell eloquently observes in the introduction: “Dogs are not about something else. Dogs are about dogs[qh]
《大紐約客們的狗之書》是一本引人入勝的以犬類爲主題的書——裏面收錄了從雜誌檔案中挑選出的一些知名人物創作的關於狗的小說、詩歌、特色文章、幽默語錄、卡通畫、封面藝術和作品草稿，包括E·B·懷特，麥拉.卡爾曼，約翰·厄普代克，約翰遜·萊西和羅爾德·達爾。書本分爲四個部分——好狗，壞狗，貴族狗和平民狗——文章主題涵蓋了進化、家庭生活、愛、家庭、服從、喪親之痛、語言和其他內容，此外這本大部頭在引言中收錄了馬爾科姆·格拉德威爾富於表現力的觀察描寫：“狗不是其他別的什麼。狗就是狗。”[qh]

BONUS: ADVICE TO LITTLE GIRLS[qh]
額外推薦：《給小女孩的建議》[qh]
In 1865, legendary satirist Mark Twain did something unexpected — he penned a children’s story, in which he challenged kids to digest the intelligent humor he was, and still is, known for among his adult audiences. Nearly a century and a half later, beloved Russian children’s illustratorVladimir Radunsky and Brooklyn independent publisher Enchanted Lion (?) are bringing Advice to Little Girls (public library) to life, envisioned in the style of the scrapbooks and small albums that children of Twain’s era used for doodling and collecting various curious ephemera.[qh]
1865年傳奇諷刺作家馬克吐溫做了件大家想不到的事情——他寫了一本兒童故事書，他嘗試讓孩子們也能消化他的幽默感，而且這本書還爲他的成人讀者所熟知。在150年後，親愛的俄國兒童插畫家Vladimir Radunsky攜手布魯克林獨立出版商 Enchanted Lion一起出版了《給小女孩的建議》一書，書本運用了馬克吐溫時代的孩子們塗鴉剪貼畫本風格，記錄了往昔時光中那些有趣的瞬間。[qh]