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 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

Read

Higher Than Mountains

Mountaineering

Song Mingwei

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

★ 4

Read

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

Read

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

Read

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 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.

Life is like the ocean, always with its ups and downs; finding the touch of heroism amidst despair.

Those outside the fortress want to break in, while those inside want to escape. Marriage and career are both the same.

A story about search, promise, and warmth in a desolate era; Yu Hua's return to his pinnacle.

Examining the absurdity and cruelty of reality from a post-mortem perspective, cold yet compassionate.

Bottomless malice, more chilling than any specific motive.

The workplace struggles of minor characters in a great era; the cruel logic behind the 'lychee arrival'.

★ 9

Read

The Great White Venus is Worried

Satire

Ma Boyong

A workplace deconstruction of the Journey to the West; Li Changgeng's promotion story mirrors our reality.

★ 7.1

Read

Not Blown Down by the Gale

Essays

Mo Yan

When life encounters a gale, only a resilient soul can stand firm.

Exquisite fragments of wilderness life; reading Li Juan always releases a sense of primal vitality.

A bone-chilling analysis of the dark side of motherhood; the painful process of female self-discovery.

★ 9.1

Read

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Science

Yuval Noah Harari

From the cognitive revolution to the biological revolution, re-examining humanity's place in history.

★ 8.3

Read

The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

Psychology

Gustave Le Bon

The crowd is not good at reasoning, but eager to act. A classic study of group psychology.

Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. The ultimate expression of existential absurdity.

Education is not just the accumulation of knowledge, but the awakening and reconstruction of self-awareness.

From prehistory to the 21st century, a global overview of the evolution of human civilization.

The path of one seeking spiritual liberation; the razor's edge is sharp and difficult to cross.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Only with the heart can one see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

I once obeyed my body, and the body finally obeyed my soul. A journey of awakening.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. The ultimate longing for simplicity and nature.

Searching for redemption in love and pity on the brink of betrayal and death.

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks

★ 8

Read

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks

Social Science

Yuval Noah Harari

From the Stone Age to the AI age, exploring how information networks have shaped our world.

★ 9.3

Read

The Spy and the Traitor

History

Ben Macintyre

The greatest spy story of the Cold War era, more legendary than any fiction.

★ 8.5

Read

Biography of Zeng Guofan

Biography

Zhang Hongjie

How an ordinary person achieved immortality through self-refinement.

★ 9.5

Read

Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung

Politics

Mao Zedong

The pinnacle of dialectics and methodology, essential for understanding modern China.

A monumental work revealing the underlying logic of capitalism.

★ 9.6

Read

Twenty-Four Histories

History

Ouyang Xiu et al.

The grand blueprint of Chinese civilization, the ultimate coordinates for understanding Chinese history.

★ 8.5

Read

The Lost Three Hundred Years

History

Zhang Xiangrong

China's choices and missed opportunities between openness and isolation after the Age of Discovery.

★ 8.8

Read

Classic of Mountains and Seas

Art

Shan Ze

Stunning illustrations reshape the world of Shanhaijing; a visual feast of ancient beasts.

★ 8.7

Read

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Finance

Edwin Lefèvre

The bible of trading; eternal lessons on human nature, patience, and market laws.

★ 9.7

Read

The Complete Works of Lu Xun

Classic

Lu Xun

The backbone of the nation, the spear of words. Lu Xun's writing still has a deafening power today.

The ultimate fantasy chapter about courage, friendship, and love, accompanying the growth of countless people.

★ 8.5

Read

Grave Robbers' Chronicle

Suspense

Nanpai Sanshu

A ten-year promise, waiting for the spirit's return. A highly imaginative Chinese adventure and suspense classic.

Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs. The pinnacle of classical Xianxia.

★ 9.1

Read

The Stories of Ming Dynasty

History

Dang Nian Ming Yue

Writing grand history with modern witty brushwork, making the 300-year history of the Ming Dynasty as vivid as ever.

A warm and powerful family record documenting the elderly years of parents in small fragments of time.

Personal reflections on entrepreneurship, competition, and world perception.

Spend 20% of effort for 80% of reward; a workplace bible on efficiency and focus.

Life insights after seventy, being a simple person in a complex world.

★ 8.5

Read

The Oyster with a Shell

Graphic Novel

nini

Under those strong shells, adults hide their softest and most fragile hearts.

★ 8.2

Read

We Live in a Huge Gap

Essays

Yu Hua

Yu Hua's cold dissection of contemporary social phenomena, recording this era of dramatic changes.

★ 8.1

Read

I am as Timid as a Mouse

Fiction

Yu Hua

The helpless ending of an ordinary person's purity in an absurd society; Yu Hua's early avant-garde work.

The pinnacle of fantasy romanticism; the journey of the four masters and disciples is also our growth journey.

★ 9.6

Read

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Classic

Luo Guanzhong

An epic of strategy and heroes; the rolling Yangtze flows east, washing away all heroes.

A tragic hymn of rebellion and loyalty; the passion and helplessness of the 108 heroes of Liangshan.

★ 9.6

Read

Dream of the Red Chamber

Classic

Cao Xueqin / Gao E

The pinnacle of Chinese classical fiction; an encyclopedia of rise and fall, illusion, and true emotion.