Monday, July 12, 2021

Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

Mariana Mazzucato
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"She offers something both broad and scarce: a compelling new story about how to create a desirable future." (New York Times)

An award-winning author and leading international economist delivers a hard-hitting and much needed critique of modern capitalism in which she argues that, to solve the massive crises facing us, we must be innovative - we must use collaborative, mission-oriented thinking while also bringing a stakeholder view of public private partnerships which means not only taking risks together but also sharing the rewards.


Capitalism is in crisis. The rich have gotten richer - the one percent, those with more than one million dollars, own 44 percent of the world's wealth - while climate change is transforming - and in some cases wiping out - life on the planet. We are plagued by crises threatening our lives, and this situation is unsustainable. But how do we fix these problems decades in the making?

Mission Economy looks at the grand challenges facing us in a radically new way. Global warming, pollution, dementia, obesity, gun violence, mobility - these environmental, health, and social dilemmas are huge, complex, and have no simple solutions. Mariana Mazzucato argues we need to think bigger and mobilize our resources in a way that is as bold as inspirational as the moon landing - this time to the most "wicked" social problems of our time.

We can only begin to find answers if we fundamentally restructure capitalism to make it inclusive, sustainable, and driven by innovation that tackles concrete problems from the digital divide, to health pandemics, to our polluted cities. That means changing government tools and culture, creating new markers of corporate governance, and ensuring that corporations, society, and the government coalesce to share a common goal.

We did it to go to the moon. We can do it again to fix our problems and improve the lives of every one of us. We simply can no longer afford not to.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

莫斯科紳士 (A Gentleman in Moscow)

亞莫爾.托歐斯 (Amor Towles)
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暢銷小說《上流法則》(Rules of Civility)作者最新作品,
一個終身遭軟禁在飯店的紳士,怎麼活出精彩的一生?


★銷售破一百五十萬冊,售出27國語言版權
★2016年出版後,高踞《紐約時報》暢銷榜將近一年
★「美國國家公共廣播電台」年度最佳書籍
★《華盛頓郵報》年度最佳書籍
★《芝加哥論壇報》年度最佳書籍
★《舊金山紀事報》年度最佳書籍
★《費城詢問報》年度最佳書籍
★《泰晤士報》年度最佳書籍
★《週日郵報》年度最佳書籍
★《每日快報》年度最佳書籍
★《愛爾蘭時報》年度最佳書籍
★2018年入圍都柏林文學獎

有趣、聰明,出奇的樂觀……這本小說是部迷人故事,內容包羅萬象、細節豐富。有很棒的愛情故事、政治局勢、間諜、親情和詩歌。就手法而言,既是歷史小說,同時也是本懸疑故事和愛情故事。──比爾.蓋茲

三百六十度無死角的偉大小說,以其獨特的魅力、智慧與極富洞察力的哲思,帶給你無窮的閱讀快感。即便殘酷的時代也無法消彌人類的尊嚴、榮耀與記憶。──《科克斯書評》

這是一本關於擺脫世俗的書。《莫斯科紳士》有著絕妙的結構和精緻的文風……這一切都讓人聯想到魏斯.安德森的《布達佩斯大飯店》。──《泰晤士報》

《莫斯科紳士》是亞莫爾.托歐斯繼一鳴驚人的暢銷處女作《上流法則》後,時隔五年再度席捲書市的力作。書中慧黠的對話、令人印象深刻的諸多角色,以及輪番上演的精緻劇碼,描繪出莫斯科那段最紛亂、動盪卻也最迷人的光景。作者以20世紀初的蘇聯為背景,描繪一個失去奢華生活的貴族紳士,如何在拮据中獲得心靈的豐盛與自由。筆觸幽默,激發哲學思考,深入探索身為人的意義。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, July 5, 2021

The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides
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** #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

"Superb... This edgy, intricately plotted psychological thriller establishes Michaelides as a major player in the field." --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Impressive debut...The Silent Patient is intelligent, imaginative and a terrific read." --The Times (London), Book of the Month

"An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy." —Entertainment Weekly

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

香港村落 : 江啟明畫筆下的鄉郊歲月

江啟明
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躍然紙上的香港村落,
一筆一畫回到純樸的鄉郊歲月……

香港土生土長的自學畫家江啟明,年過八十依然孜孜作畫,以寫實風格繪盡香港風光。《香港村落》為前作《香港元氣》的續篇別冊,作品集中描繪香港村落,有些風景今天仍存,尚待我們發掘和珍惜,有些全憑畫家把美留住,供我們在紙上細細念想。

畫作以外,《香港村落》盼以紙筆把大自然及人文歷史交融,好讓讀者不僅從中領略鄉野之美,亦能深入認識香港歷史,記下先民走過的路,貫徹畫家「放下小我,融入大我」的藝術理念。

江啟明先生的畫,既描寫區域發展,也不忘鄉郊歲月,在遠景與近貌之間,印上了畫家自己的足跡,也留住了這個城市千變萬化的樣貌。──香港浸會大學歷史系客席教授 周佳榮

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, June 28, 2021

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

Aimee Nezhukumatathil
online access from EBSCOhost Ebooks
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A New York Times Best Seller; Barnes & Noble 2020 Book of the Year; A Kirkus Prize Finalist for Nonfiction; A Southern Book Prize Finalist; An NPR Best Book of 2020; An Esquire Best Book of 2020; A New York Public Library Best Book of 2020; A Wall Street Journal Holiday Gift Pick for 2020 ...


From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction―a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.

"From its gorgeous illustrations to its unusual combination of lyrical nature writing and memoir, World of Wonders is hands-down one of the most beautiful books of the year." ―NPR, "Best Books of 2020"

"Within two pages, nature writing feels different and fresh and new. Nezhukumatathil has written a timely story about love, identity and belonging . . . We are losing the language and the ability to see and understand the wondrous things around us. And our lives are impoverished by this process . . . This book demands we find the eyes to see and the heart to love such things once more. It is a very fine book indeed, truly full of wonder." ―New York Times Book Review

“What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world’s gifts.

Warm, lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by Fumi Nakamura, World of Wonders is a book of sustenance and joy.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

最愛是詩:五十則擁抱生命的詩句, 喚回人生的美好記憶

琹涵
online access from HyRead ebook
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引領古典詩詞現代化的散文名家琹涵
重新詮釋從漢代到清末,50首流芳千古的經典好詩。

★書中引用漢代至元明清的雋永詩句,詩本來就有很多對庶民心情直白的描摹,結合生活化的故事,將古典詩句的智慧運用到現代人的日常生活中。
★不同於以往琹涵出版的詩集,不限於唐代詩人的作品,也只選摘詩名句,所選的都是流傳千古的詩句。


◆古詩今讀,激盪出不同的璀璨光芒
全書精選歷久彌新的絕妙詩句,涵蓋陶淵明、王維、李白、杜甫、李商隱、晏殊、歐陽修、蘇軾、陸游、方孝孺、王九齡等不同年代的三十多位詩人,共五十首詩作。作者閱讀古典詩詞多年,選詩呈現漢代用韻自由的古體詩、樂府詩,唐代音律工整的近體詩,趨於散文化的宋詩,乃至元明清不為人熟知的遺珠之作,隨手拈來都是讓人深深喜愛的佳句。只選名句,是因為膾炙人口、歷代流傳的短句,格外深刻動人,如:「人生到處知何似,恰似飛鴻踏雪泥。」「萬物靜觀皆自得,四時佳興與人同。」「行到水窮處,坐看雲起時。」令人好奇這些句子在現代生活中出現,將擦出怎樣燦爛的火花?

◆和詩同在,人生就可以與愛同行
那些優美動人的詩,亙古閃爍在文學的夜空,使人仰望和由衷的喜愛與嘆服。現代人生活太過忙碌緊張,身心靈容易受傷,而美,會是最好的療癒。琹涵將詩中意象結合日常經驗,以溫柔優美的文字細膩描摹你我周遭的故事。也許某天,像書中人遭遇苦難困厄,自覺人間行難時,心中浮想聯翩的是「山重水復疑無路,柳暗花明又一村」,將原本的失望沮喪轉化為歡欣鼓舞,在絕望中重現生機。或許憶起「人生天地間,忽如遠行客」,如作者一樣珍惜韶光易逝,勉勵自己善用每一刻,追尋生命的意義,與愛同行。翻讀本書五十則扣人心弦的篇章,手抄數首詩句,從中獲取心靈的平靜,寫作的薰陶,人生的啟迪。原來這些令人愛好的詩句與故事,可以召喚往日美好的回憶,激發我們積極正向的去擁抱生命。

◆琹心涵語
人生天地間,忽如遠行客。——佚名〈青青陵上柏‧古詩十九首其三〉
人生在天地之間,就像那來去匆匆的遠行過客一般。如此短暫無常,匆匆的來也匆匆的去,還有多少時光可供我們停留揮霍呢?所以珍惜歲月是必須,力求上進也是必須。

昔去雪如花,今來花似雪。——范雲〈別詩〉
相聚太短,離別太長,能不感嘆?每次分手後總要經過許久才能相見。難怪古人不愛別離,不喜旅行,因為別後變化多,甚至未必還有重逢的時刻。

行到水窮處,坐看雲起時。——王維的〈終南別業〉
能如此悠然自得,沒有罣礙,應該是來自於胸襟的曠達,才能有超然於物外之趣,領會了處處都有好風景的佳妙。

春風取花去,酬我以清陰。——王安石〈半山春晚即事〉
晚春的風把美麗的繁花帶走了,取而代之的,留給了我們清涼的綠蔭。屬於我們生命中的花季早已遠去,卻也無須傷悲,讓我們期待另一番勝景的來到吧!

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)