第六类 书籍

01 Do you like reading books and why?

1.1 Yes

1.1.1 了解世界

I love reading books. There are two ways of getting to know the world around us. One is to travel, and the other is to read. Once you have read a few good novels, you'll notice that all great writers are keen observers. They see all the unimportant details in everyday life in an interesting and unique way that you'll never notice if it weren't for their intelligent descriptions. You'll realize how much detail and joy you're missing.

1.1.2 能够看另外的世界

I can be in Middle Earth or in Scotland going to a wizard school. I can be a girl learning to be a princess or I can be a boy lost in the wilderness. I can enter these worlds and see them through the eyes of the characters any time, and it's never boring.

1.2 No

1.2.1 看书无用，有网即可

I hate reading books. I just don't see the point of reading in modern society. We have so many ways to acquire information with TV or the Internet, not to mention the latest technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. I believe all books will be turned into either movies or these more advanced forms. Then, our younger generation can access them in a more interesting way. Books are destined to die out with the progress of science.

1.2.2 文人无病呻吟

To be frank, I hate reading. I have hated it ever since elementary school. I just don't get the point of writing with those complex words and structures, which can easily be expressed in the vocabulary of a four-year-old. Furthermore, I have always had a few theories about why poets and writers do not speak plain English in their compositions: they simply want to show off their writing skills, or they are just crazy. So, why would I waste my precious time on the useless compositions of crazy people?

1.2.3 词汇和语法太难了

I have always wanted to like reading, but I've never succeed It's just that the complex words and sentences often make me want to sleep. I mean, who wouldn't when they read sentences with an average length of 50 words? Plus, the vocabulary in classics such as Jane Austen's works are just too hard for me. Although I am studying GRE recently and I have already begun to memorize GRE vocabulary, I still encounter many crazy words. Worse, sometimes I understand all the vocabulary in a sentence, but I just don't get what the author was trying to express. Both difficulty and frustration prevent me from reading.

1.3 Neither

I neither like nor hate reading books. I think it's a good way to kill time on airplanes, since most electronic devices are banned during flights.

Some might argue that most airlines today allow the use of electronics after takeoff, but it's just way too troublesome to take your laptop out of the carry-on luggage from the overhead bin, and to put it back soon after it runs out of battery. But still, I do not read if I have better alternatives.

02 Are books important and why?

2.1 Yes

2.1.1 让我们更聪慧

Books make us more intelligent. We can get in touch with new things that wouldn't be available otherwise. We can get to know modern cultures that are completely different from our own by reading bestsellers such as The Girl on the Train or Me Before You ; we can get in touch with the past by reading George Orwell's famous novel 1984 ; we can dive into an imaginary, magical world by reading Harry Pottery, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.

2.1.2 学习的手段和工具

Books are a valuable learning tool for individuals and academic institutions. Reading textbooks in school, for instance, allows students to develop a deeper understanding about knowledge. Reading books also enables students to sharpen and develop skills, such as critical thinking, communication, and phonetics. Students can also use books as social tools to gain an understanding of and appreciation for people of other cultures, and may strengthen their skills in dealing with others, such as by listening and being sensitive to the unique perspectives and world views offered by others.

2.2 No

2.2.1 现在不再重要，因为有替代品

Books were important. There are just too many alternatives that we can use to replace the main functions of books. In the past, books gave us knowledge about the world around us, stimulated our imagination, told us our origin and history, and recorded precious knowledge by great men such as Aristotle, Plato and Confucius. But now all these things can be acquired by us in other forms such as documentaries, movies, simulations on computers, and animation.

Well, my parents and teachers, especially my dad, have kept telling me the importance of reading. Whenever I encounter a problem, say, if I fail a writing test in Chinese, my father says,“Had you read more books in your spare time, you would have achieved a much higher score.” Deep in my heart, I know that my father is right, but when it comes to the time for action, I always fail miserably. One time he actually put a classic Chinese novel on my bedside table, A Dream in the Red Mansions, to lure me to read. I actually did get curious at a time and started reading. I finished the first page, but never made it to the second. The words just make me want to sleep.

03 What format of books do you like and why?

3.1 纸质书

I like paper-based books best, simply because it feels great to hold a real book in my hands, and to read peacefully in bed with a lamp overhead, before going to sleep. Another reason which contributes to my preference for paper-based books is my OCD for protecting my eyes.

3.2 音频书

I prefer to listen to audio books rather than to read paper-based books while driving because, well, although I'm an experienced driver, it's still too dangerous to read while driving. (smile)

3.3 电子书

The only time that I choose e-books is when I cannot find cheap paper-based books in bookstores. E-books tend to be cheaper than other formats.

I prefer e-books to other formats, since they are more convenient and cost much less. First, they are more convenient to purchase. Within a few clicks on the Kindle app, the purchase is completed without even the need to enter your credit card number, since it is already automatically recorded by the system. Second, e-books are more convenient to carry because all books can be stored in your mobile phone, kindle or computer. Last but not least, e-books save space. It saves us the trouble of purchasing a huge book shelf to store all our precious books.

04 What categories of books are there?

4.1 虚构类 Fiction

novel, short stories, thriller, psychological thriller, horror, fantasy, classics

4.2 非虚构类 Non-fiction

history, philosophy, psychology, biography, art, cookbooks, religion, self-help

05 What kind of books do you enjoy/hate reading the most?

5.1 喜欢的类型

5.1.1 科幻小说

My favorite is surely science fiction, mostly because it is the most intriguing. I remember my first book was The Martian by Andy Weir. It is famous and was nominated as the best science fiction in 2013. It was later turned into a movie and was aired's in 2015. The story depicts an astronaut survival on Mars after an accident that has denied him the opportunity to return to Earth. The topic appeals to me, for my childhood dream was to become an astronomer.

5.1.2 惊悚小说

I enjoy reading thrillers, especially psychological thrillers, because they are extremely engaging. Kids today do not like to read for a reason, because there are way too many alternatives to relax, and to acquire information, such as television, the Internet, friends, and travel. So we need books that can firmly grab attention. Psychological thriller is exactly the genre that we need. It has a nickname, which is“the page-turner”, for the reason that people can not put the book down until they find out what happened to the protagonist /leading character at last. Once, a friend of mine started reading The Girl on the Train during breakfast, which I recommended to her weeks ago. Because she was so engaged in the plot, she later called in to work sick, read the book straight for 10 hours and finished the whole book before going to sleep.

5.1.3 自传

I have a thing for reading biographies. For me, reading biographies is the easiest way to figure out what to do with one's life. I used to be lost, vacillating between college majors and later on career choices. Then, my father suggested that reading Steve Jobs may help. So, I did. I learned from the book that Jobs was abandoned by his biological parents at birth; that he was chosen and adopted by a great couple immediately after; and that his passion for making nicely designed products for the mass market came from his appreciation for the amazing design of his childhood house, which was“smart, cheap and good”. During the process, I often paused and started thinking about my own past experiences, and how they had shaped my values. Later, midway through the book, I suddenly figured out that I want to become a_______. So later in life, whenever I become lost, I pick up a biography that I can relate to and start reading.

5.1.4 爱情小说

I prefer romance novels to all other genres. I have never had a boyfriend/girlfriend before, because I am too shy to speak to the opposite sex. I know little about how they think and their opinions about matters. So I figured that reading romance novels might help, and it did. Many of my best friends are of the opposite sex now, as I have overcome my shyness by getting to know them through romance books. And I believe I will pretty soon have a boyfriend/girlfriend.

5.1.5 历史书

There will be a point when romance and thrillers can't satisfy our needs. That's when you move on to non-fiction, which typically has more depth. My favorite history book is A Brief History of Humankind written by Yuval Noah Harari. He uses simple but colorful language to describe the entire history of mankind, all the way from the hunter-gatherer period to modern society. The domains that are involved in the book include religion, empires, the origin of money, the scientific revolution, capitalism and so on. This is a great book because it is both interesting and informative.

5.1.6 政治题材

My current favorite is George Orwell's 1984, because it represents a landmark in my reading life. Unlike most bestsellers, 1984 involves intricate topics such as politics, class struggle between the top, middle, and bottom, as well as deep psychological issues such as brainwash and doublethink. It provoked my desire to read books with greater depth. Soon after I finished 1984, I got interested in history and therefore purchased A People's History of the United States.

5.2 讨厌的类型

I hate romance novels because they all use the same clichéd plot. The heroine is always beautiful and sexy. The hero is always well-muscled, handsome and smart. There are always some weird contrived reasons for the hero and heroine to meet. And when they meet, in 99% of the stories, the hero doesn't like the heroine for some reason, usually due to a misunderstanding. I also hate the contrived crisis, such as a hurricane, leaky boats, or broken-down cars that bring the hero and heroine together. And I hate how they always end happily ever after. Can't one of them just end in tragedy and separation? Today's romantic books are just boring and predictable.

06 What differences are there between books today and those in the past?

6.1 现代书节奏更快

Well, books today generally are fast-paced and more absorbing. The difference is obvious when you compare a classic such as Wuthering Heights with a modern, psychological thriller such as Gone Girl. It's not hard to notice that most classics are filled with exhaustive depictions of scenery, weather or the appearance of buildings;whereas modern novels focus more on the progression of the plot, the portrayal of main characters' mental processes, subtle movements in facial expression, as well as the change of one's tone.

6.2 经典书籍文法更讲究

Books written in the past tend to use more difficult vocabulary, and surely have better syntactic variety, whereas most modern books use slang to grab attention and to satisfy the need for less“well-educated”modern people.

07 Are those changes good and why?

7.1 Yes

7.1.1 省时间

Yes. I'm so pleased to see these changes because they save me the time to manually skip all the lengthy description of trivialities such as the weather, the exterior of a wagon for a noble lady, or the costly furniture in an aristocrat's house. Now I can quickly read through the book and find out what happened to the guy who cheated on his wife.

7.2 No

7.2.1 应该细细品味经典

No. We shouldn't turn everything into a fast-food model. Reading should be an enjoyment rather than a mission to be accomplished. A lot of people now read so that they can show off their“achievements”:“I have read more than 50 books this year”. But they never mention that 40 of them are gossip magazines or textbooks.

08 Who is your favorite author and why?

8.1 简·奥斯丁

My favorite author is of course Jane Austen, because I love her work Pride and Prejudice. I usually prefer English writers to American writers. English writers use more complex vocabulary and syntax, which makes reading an absolute enjoyment. American writers, on the other hand, tend to grab attention with more interesting plots. But I digress, back to Austen. She is the best of the best. A single sentence in her novel can easily surpass the length of half a page. Nevertheless, I never feel too tired to read these long and complex sentences, although sometimes I do have to stop to interpret the deeper meaning she tried to express. And the control she had over the progression of the story, the keen observations she made in life, and her unique interpretation of love all made her works perfect. She is definitely my favorite author.

8.2 托尔斯泰

My favorite author is Leo Tolstoy, because I love his work War and Peace. I just started reading it recently and I am currently on Chapter 5, and I am totally absorbed by the amazing portrayal of scenes of domesticity and the intriguing dialogues between members of the Great Houses. Tolstoy provides us with great opportunities to get to know the mental activities of others, which under normal circumstances, are completely invisible to us. We can also learn how to wittily deal with tough interpersonal matters. I'm sure I will improve my people skills after reading his great work.

8.3 刘慈欣

My favorite author is definitely Cixin Liu. His science fiction The Three Body Problem has been highly regarded since its publication in 2006. The book was later translated into English in 2014, and immediately after that, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015, and was nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel. I began to read his book recently because of President Obama's recommendation, and it surely did not disappoint me. Liu can write astrophysics in a plain and simple way that also engages readers. The novel also touches many subjects, and the one that impressed me the most is Liu's interpretation of creating characters in novels. According to him, the characters that authors create should have their own thoughts, rather than being controlled by the author like puppets. In other words, the characters should become alive at a certain point during the stage of composition. He also thinks that only a true master of art can create live characters like this. This perspective really astonished me. I guess this is the reason why Liu is my favorite author.

8.4 冯唐

Feng Tang is my all-time favorite writer. What really speaks to me is his semi-autobiographical novel I liked a Girl at 18. It talks about youth and growth. It talks about all my fantasies when I was that age. That's also the reason why it is popular with young adult readers. As a writer, his life is quite unique. He studied medicine at Peking University, with a degree in business, and was a former consultant for McKinsey & Co. He was also the strategic director of the biggest medical resources holding company in China. With so many titles and so many industries, he still had the talent, and most importantly, the time to write high quality books. That is also the reason why I favor him so much.

09 Do you enjoy writing and why?

9.1 Yes

9.1.1 阅读刺激写作欲望

Yes, I do. Ever since I began to read in large numbers, my interest in writing has increased proportionally. When I see a graceful sentence, idiomatic expressions, and unfamiliar syntax, I have this desire inside me that motivates me to study them, do research, and use them like the authors who had used them in their beautiful compositions.

9.1.2 天生就爱写

Yes. It's in my blood. My deep passion for writing began to blossom when I was a 4-year-old boy. My mom worked at the library and brought home books for me to read all the time. It wasn't long before I had stories of my own to tell. Now, at 28, stories run through my head like symphonies, all competing for the honor of being the next one to be put on paper or screen. Writing is such an integral part of who I am, that I can't ever imagine not writing. Writing infuses my life with so much joy. It's the one thing in life I know I can do well.

9.2 No

怎么写都写不好

No, I hate writing. I have never been good at writing, neither in English nor in my mother tongue: Chinese. I am good at math, though. It feels like I have a clear logic in my head, but when I try to turn it into words on a computer screen or paper, there are always just too many things that I want to express, and I have no idea what to say first. Another thing that always bothers me is that I don't know how much detail I should put into my writing. Although my writing teacher told us that we should put as much detail into our writing as possible, I'm often worried that too much detail would slow down the overall progression of my story. They say practice makes perfect, but I guess I just don't have enough motivation to get better at writing.