Books

Reading

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

★★★★★ 5

Fiction

2024

“ A heartbreakingly pure classic about love, shame, and self-identity. ”

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Reading

The Wall

Marlen Haushofer

★★★★★ 5

Dystopian

2024

“ How a woman survives and thinks alone behind an invisible wall. The ultimate solitude. ”

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Love You Like Love Life

Wang Xiaobo

★★★★★ 5

Letters

2017

“ The purest and most passionate love letters I have ever read. ”

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Why Libraries Matter

Yang Suqiu

★★★★★ 5

Non-fiction

2024

“ A moving story of an idealistic professor building a library against all odds. ”

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Vivian Maier Developed

Colin Westerbeck

★★★★★ 4

Photography

2024

“ The legendary life of the nanny photographer who saw humanity through her lens. ”

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To Live

Yu Hua

★★★★★ 5

Classic

“ Man lives for the sake of living itself, not for anything else. ”

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The Right Bank of the Argun River

Chi Zijian

★★★★★ 5

Fiction

“ An epic of the Ewenki people, desolate yet full of deep emotion; the solitude and dignity of the mountains. ”

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The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Keigo Higashino

★★★★★ 4

Fiction

“ The inner bonds of modern people; every small act of kindness can change a life. ”

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Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

★★★★★ 5

Fiction

“ Death exists, not as the opposite of life, but as a part of it. A melancholic tale of youth, loss, and growth. ”

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Warm and healing daily fragments, a fairy tale for adults.

A touching memoir of a family of three, capturing decades of love, companionship, and the eventual parting. Deeply moving in its simplicity.

You Have Your Plans, The World Has Its Own

★ 7.9

Reading

You Have Your Plans, The World Has Its Own

Psychology

2019

Wan Weigang

Wan Weigang analyzes scientific decision-making in a complex world, helping us break free from mediocre thinking patterns.

A social mystery reflecting deeply on the death penalty system. Tense pacing and thought-provoking.

A stunning memoir by Joan Chen, capturing family history and personal growth.

A heartbreakingly pure classic about love, shame, and self-identity.

How a woman survives and thinks alone behind an invisible wall. The ultimate solitude.

Even if others disappoint me, it's no big deal; I should never embarrass myself when things happen.

Through a detailed analysis of various industries such as education, health, and medical care in Japan's 'lost three decades' bubble economy era, the root causes of various social problems in Japan are sorted out.

★ 5

Read

Love You Like Love Life

Letters

2017

Wang Xiaobo

The purest and most passionate love letters I have ever read.

A moving story of an idealistic professor building a library against all odds.

★ 4

Read

Vivian Maier Developed

Photography

2024

Colin Westerbeck

The legendary life of the nanny photographer who saw humanity through her lens.

Cai Chongda returns to his hometown, depicting the lives of people on the Fujian coast.

The body is meant to be used, not to be served.

★ 5

Read

My Mother the Cleaner

Non-fiction

Zhang Xiaoman

Seeing the 'invisible' people; a re-examination of the mother-daughter relationship.

★ 5

Read

Journey Under the Midnight Sun

Mystery

Keigo Higashino

I just want to walk under the sun, hand in hand.

How are you? I am fine. The ultimate romance of unrequited love and memory.

★ 5

Read

Good Morning, Monster

Psychology

Catherine Gildiner

Five heroic stories about trauma, courage, and self-healing.

★ 4

Read

The Power of Depression

Psychology

Izumiya Kanji

Depression is not a disease, but a signal from the body to rest.

★ 4

Read

The Eve of the Three Kingdoms

History

Zhang Xiangrong

Understanding the politics of the gentry is key to the power games of the Three Kingdoms.

When a language enters your blood, it changes the way you see the world.

Mind-bending philosophical fantasies, a Borgesian labyrinth.

Seeing the fate of ordinary people through the cracks of history.

Searching for the possibility of connection in a divided world.

★ 5

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Higher Than Mountains

Mountaineering

Song Mingwei

An epic of free climbers, about finding freedom and self-limits.

★ 4

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The Temptation of Borders

Non-fiction

Bai Lin

Walking on the edges of Central Europe, recording forgotten pains.

Life is just about eating and drinking; wisdom from the modest cottage.

★ 5

Read

Stet: An Editor's Life

Memoir

Diana Athill

A candid confession of a great editor about books, love, and old age.

★ 4

Read

The Red Tickets of Kangxi

History

Sun Litian

A glimpse into the clash of civilizations during the Kangxi era.

★ 5

Read

The Winter of Literature

History

Uwe Wittstock

1933: The fate of German writers in the 33 days after Hitler took power.

The biting cold wind of Northeast China; a raw narrative of the underclass.

★ 4

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Tumultuous Fire and Water

Fiction

Lin Gesheng

About women, desire, and the dilemmas of contemporary life.

The tragicomedy of a Chinese family, delicate and real.

★ 4

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When I Sing, Mountains Dance

Fiction

Irene Solà

Spiritual Catalan literature, a magical poem where everything has a soul.

A forgotten Roma singer, a wandering history in search of home.

Finding another time scale of life on Japan's outlying islands.

★ 4

Read

Through the Air of Nothingness

Poetry

Margaret Atwood

Atwood's poetic sharpness pierces the surface of life.

★ 4

Read

Knot of Life and Death

Fiction

Yin Xueyun

The myriad faces of grassroots bureaucracy; the entanglement of human nature.

Man lives for the sake of living itself, not for anything else.

★ 5

Read

The Right Bank of the Argun River

Fiction

Chi Zijian

An epic of the Ewenki people, desolate yet full of deep emotion; the solitude and dignity of the mountains.

★ 5

Read

The Three-Body Problem

Sci-Fi

Cixin Liu

Give civilization to the years, not years to civilization. The pinnacle of Chinese sci-fi.

★ 4

Read

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Fiction

Keigo Higashino

The inner bonds of modern people; every small act of kindness can change a life.

★ 5

Read

The Story of the Stone

Classic

Cao Xueqin

Pages full of absurd words, a handful of bitter tears. Understanding the Red Chamber means understanding the destiny of Chinese culture.

A crazy history of adventure, paranoia, and genius; understanding the 'demonic' innovator of our time.

American Prometheus; the glory and tragedy of the fire-stealer.

The memoir of the Godmother of AI; a story about science, immigration, and finding one's North Star.

★ 4

Read

The Journey to the South

Historical Fiction

Ma Boyong

Exploring the secrets of the Han Empire amidst the smoke and fire of Lingnan; food and love are not to be betrayed.

How women take back language; a satisfying linguistic counterattack.

★ 4

Read

The Museum of Unconditional Surrender

Essays

Dubravka Ugrešić

A museum of exile, memory, and fragments; picking up life in the ruins of history.

Death exists, not as the opposite of life, but as a part of it. A melancholic tale of youth, loss, and growth.