Monday, October 9, 2017

The Buried Giant

Kazuo Ishiguro 石黑一雄
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Mr. Kazuo Ishiguro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2017.

From one of the most preeminent writers of our times comes The Buried Giant, an extraordinary new novel that poses powerful questions about love, loss, and mortality. The novel centers around an elderly couple, Beatrice and Axl, who set out on an epic journey through war-torn lands in hopes of finding their son. As they contend with the physical hardships of their journey, they also encounter danger from a variety of mystical elements: ogres, demons, and an ever-present fog that makes memory elusive. With the help of a brash yet determined knight and a mysterious young boy, they travel across lands familiar and strange, ever closer to learning their son’s fate. What they end up discovering along the way, though, leads them in surprising directions that will forever alter the fabric of their relationship—as well as the history of their embattled homeland.

At once both brutal and affecting, Ishiguro’s novel is a fresh take on the hero’s journey. With unforgettable characters and a pace that rivets, The Buried Giant is sure to resonate as a classic for years to come.

(Excerpt from knopfdoubleday.com)

星際效應 : 電影幕後的科學事實, 推測與想像 (The Science of Interstellar)

基普.索恩 (Kip S. Thorne)
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作者基普.索恩 (Kip S. Thorne) 與萊納·魏斯 (Rainer Weiss) 及巴里·巴里什 (Barry Barish)共同獲得2017年諾貝爾物理學獎。

所有讓你瞠目結舌的宇宙奇景,
所有推動劇情的天文物理理論,
解開劇情設計與時空旅行之謎!

◎世界頂尖物理學家寫給大家的天文學通識課!
◎電影幕後,科學家的「裡」設定大公開!

《星際效應》導演──克里斯多福.諾蘭:
本書繽紛展現了基普生氣蓬勃的想像力,以及他想提高科學親和性的不懈努力,讓我們這群不具備他那般高強智慧或淵博學識的普通人,也都能親近科學。

《星際效應》科學顧問──基普.索恩:
電影一開始就根植於現實科學:位於人類知識的最前端,或稍微超前一些的科學……這是部從導演、編劇到製片,所有人都尊重科學的電影,而且整個劇情徹頭徹尾從科學擷取靈感,將之編織融入電影的素材中……帶領觀眾稍事領會物理定律可以與可能在我們的宇宙創造出哪些奇妙現象……

美國加州理工學院知名天文物理學家基普.索恩 ╳ 好萊塢大導演克里斯多福.諾蘭
動員眾多科學家+好萊塢頂尖電影人,打造世上第一部忠實呈現宇宙間各種天體現象的電影
從校園到會議室,從網路到小酒館,掀起全世界前所未有的物理學討論熱潮

● 最簡明清晰的時間與空間理論入門讀本
本書中,原本艱澀的天文物理知識,在索恩以淺白易懂的文字下依著電影劇情的推展娓娓道來,一一破解劇中所有設定之謎,還為讀者就內容的真實性將書中的科學知識大致分為三種:嚴謹科學、有根據的推測、想像臆測,並在各章節前標示出該章或該節的內容屬於何者,使本書成為最簡明清晰的太空科學入門讀本!

● 科學理論與電影工藝完美結合
索恩是當今世上研究重力、宇宙學、廣義相對論的權威,為《星際效應》架構科學基礎,也在本書中竭力以最鮮明的手法生動解釋電影中涉及的科學,並揭露所有相關人士如何經過多少努力,使科學理論與電影工藝完美結合,令事實的呈現比虛構與幻想更令人覺得離奇與驚豔。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, October 2, 2017

How Will You Measure Your Life? (你要如何衡量你的人生?)

Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon
online access from EBSCOhost Audiobook Collection (audiobook)
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From the world’s leading thinker on innovation and New York Times bestselling author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen, comes an unconventional book of inspiration and wisdom for achieving a fulfilling life. Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma, notably the only business book that Apple’s Steve Jobs said “deeply influenced” him, is widely recognized as one of the most significant business books ever published. Now, in the tradition of Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture and Anna Quindlen’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Christensen’s How Will You Measure Your Life is with a book of lucid observations and penetrating insights designed to help any reader—student or teacher, mid-career professional or retiree, parent or child—forge their own paths to fulfillment.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

被討厭的勇氣 : 自我啟發之父「阿德勒」的教導

岸見一郎 (Ichirō Kishimi), 古賀史健 (Fumitake Koga)
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★榮獲日本2014年商業書大賞第三名,作者古賀史健榮獲評審特別獎!
★與佛洛依德、榮格齊名,並稱「心理學三巨頭」。阿德勒除了是心理學發展承先啟後之人,更堪稱自我啟發之父!


所謂的自由,就是被別人討厭。
有人討厭你,正是你行使自由、依照自己的生活方針過日子的標記。

為什麼人們一直無法改變?
為什麼自卑感總是揮之不去?
為什麼我們總是活在別人的期待之下?
為什麼現在無法真實感受到幸福?
或許是因為,我們缺少了被別人討厭的勇氣!

一名憤世嫉俗的年輕人來到哲學家的小屋。
當他聽聞哲學家主張「世界無比單純,人人都能幸福」,便決心前來推翻這種謬論。
這個世界明明複雜混亂,哪裡單純了?
如果幸福真的這麼容易,為什麼他還會過得這麼痛苦?

他們開始了你來我往的思考與論辯。
年輕人原以為哲學家不過是昧於現實的昏庸老頭,
但是一夜又一夜過去後,年輕人反而陷入沉思:這世界到底是什麼樣子?
「所謂的自由,就是被別人討厭。」哲學家說。
怎麼會這樣?怎麼會有人想被別人討厭?
想得到真正的自由,又為什麼非得被別人討厭不可呢?
這個世界,究竟是單純,還是複雜?人,到底能不能得到幸福?……

問題不在於「世界」是什麼樣子,而在於「你」是什麼樣子。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, September 25, 2017

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

Adam Grant, with foreword by Sheryl Sandberg
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2016 NAUTILUS AWARD Gold Winner

The #1 New York Times bestseller that examines how people can champion new ideas—and how leaders can fight groupthink, from the author of Give and Take and co-author of Option B

Originals is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas. It will not only change the way you see the world; it might just change the way you live your life. And it could very well inspire you to change your world.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of Lean In

With Give and Take, Adam Grant not only introduced a landmark new paradigm for success but also established himself as one of his generation’s most compelling and provocative thought leaders. In Originals he again addresses the challenge of improving the world, but now from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent. Learn from an entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him, and a TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved Seinfeld from the cutting-room floor. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

紫禁城100

趙廣超
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香港出版雙年獎 藝術及設計最佳出版獎

《紫禁城100》講述紫禁城一百個關於建築空間、宮廷生活等故事,成功把中華文化的普遍意義,帶給廣大的海內外觀眾。

紫禁城(故宮)這個空間內建築的變化,其功能的演變,以及建築背後的思想、設計、藝術、功能等方面的因素,都在作者的關注範圍之內。書中圖片,全部是作者團隊繪製,精彩呈現故宮每一個元素美妙的細節之處。大到全景的地圖,小到瓷器上的一個紋理,無不在生花妙筆下活靈活現,精彩動人。圖片與文字結合,從肌理到內核,從紋樣到思想,一一深入剖析,細節呈現。

紫禁城(故宮)不僅是空間,也是人生活於其中的地方。這裏有前朝事,宮院事,花園事,心靈故事等等,事事非同尋常。人在空間內居住,也受空間的約束,這裏上演的既有帝王豪情,也有無奈辛酸,把一個文化中的活力、可能性和自身弱點,通過這些人物折射出來,引人深思。

此書內容不止如此,呈現的也不僅是紫禁城(故宮)的一百個細節,而是涉及方方面面,並且對文化的思考貫穿其中。正如作者所說:「歷史給我們留下這座六百年前的天下和宇宙的中心,明月清風,與我們一起見證這悠長的文化如何無有間斷。」文化的基因嵌入我們每一個人的行為之中,在有意無意之間,都會表露出來。而通過這本書,我們更能明白紫禁城(故宮)的基因,傳統文化的基因,看到文化如何不間斷地成長,看到故宮以及每一個人,如何更好地走向未來,走向下一個六百年。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)