年TED书店最受欢迎的10本书

如去年一样，今年我又一次有幸为TED书店出品的以“青年、智者、未知”为主题的《TED 2013》一书推荐精选书目。

《火尾的孔雀》

I SAW A PEACOCK WITH A FIERY TAIL

A die-cut masterpiece, two years in the making, I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail (public library), one of thebest art books of 2012, is based on a 17th-century British “trick” poem and illustrated in the signature Indian folk art style of the Gond tribe by Indian artist Ramsingh Urveti. It comes from Indian independent publisher Tara Books , who for the nearly two decades have been giving voice to marginalized art and literature through a community of artists, writers, and designers collaborating on remarkable handmade books.

历时两年完成的经典之作，《火尾的孔雀》堪称2012年最佳艺术书籍之一，它以17世纪英国"伪诗"为基础，配以印度艺术家Ramsingh Urveti签名的、具有印度冈德民间艺术风格的插画。此书由印度独立出版商Tara Books发型，在过去的二十多年间该出版商通过团结起一批艺术家、作者和设计师合作制作手工书来扶植边缘艺术和文学。

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS[qh]
《美丽小东西》[qh]
When an anonymous advice columnist by the name of “Dear Sugar” introduced herself on The Rumpus on March 11, 2010, she made her proposition clear: a “by-the-book common sense of Dear Abby and the earnest spiritual cheesiness of Cary Tennis and the butt-pluggy irreverence of Dan Savage and the closeted Upper East Side nymphomania of Miss Manners.” But in the two-some years that followed, she proceeded to deliver something tenfold punchier, more honest, more existentially profound than even such an intelligently irreverent promise could foretell. Collected in Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar (public library), one of the best psychology and philosophy books of 2012, is her no-bullshit, wholehearted wisdom on life’s trickiest contexts — sometimes the simplest, sometimes the most complex, always the most deeply human — published under Sugar’s long-awaited real name.[qh]
2010年3月11日当一位匿名答疑专栏作家以“Dear Sugar”的名号出现在“The Rumpus”上时，她就提出了自己的主张：有着“Dear Abby循规蹈矩的认知，Cary Tennis真挚的高尚的粗鄙和Dan Savage对同性恋的无所谓态度，以及Miss Manners私下谈到的上东区女性色情狂风气。”而在之后的两年多时间内，她继续发布了一些内容，其风格的强烈、内容的真实和存在深远更十倍于之前的那 则文笔狡黠不敬的发言。《美丽小东西：Dear Sugar对爱与人生的建议》是2012年最佳心理和哲学书籍之一，收录其中的内容是她对人生微妙情境的不愤世、全心全意的智慧解读——这些情境有时很简单，有时很复杂，但总是与最深处的人性相关——并且以大家长久期待的Sugar的真名发表。[qh]

BIG QUESTIONS FROM LITTLE People[qh]
《小孩大问题》[qh]
The questions children ask are often so simple, so basic, that they turn unwittingly yet profoundly philosophical in requiring apple-pie-from-scratch type of answers. To explore this fertile intersection of simplicity and expansiveness, Gemma Elwin Harris asked thousands of primary school children between the ages of four and twelve to send in their most restless questions, then invited some of today’s most prominent scientists, philosophers, and writers — including TEDsters like Alain de Botton, Mary Roach, and Richard Dawkins — to answer them. The result isBig Questions from Little People & Simple Answers from Great Minds (public library), among both the best children’s books of 2012 and the year’s overall reader favorites. A portion of the proceeds from the book benefits Save the Children.[qh]
孩子们问的问题总是很简单，很基础，但他们对答案"打破砂锅问到底"的探求精神总是不经意地带有深刻的哲学意义。为了探索这一充满了简单与开拓交织的情 况，吉玛·埃尔温·哈里斯邀请数千个4岁至12岁年龄段的小学生把他们最孜孜探求的问题写下来寄给她，然后再邀请一些当今最权威的科学家、哲学家和作者 --包括TED签约作者阿兰·德波顿，玛丽·罗切和理查德·道金斯--来回答这些问题。而这些问答内容就形成了《小孩大问题，大人小答案》。这本书是 2012年最佳儿童读物和2012年最受欢迎读物之一，书中的一些内容给《救救孩子》一书以启迪。[qh]

INTERNAL TIME[qh]
《内部时间》[qh]
“Six hours’ sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool,” Napoleon famously prescribed. But despite the laughably sexist hierarchy, his rule of thumb turns out to be grossly unsupported by science. In Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You’re So Tired (public library), one of the best science books of 2012, German chronobiologist Till Roenneberg demonstrates through a wealth of research that our sleep patterns have little to do with laziness and other such scorned character flaws, and everything to do with biology.[qh]
拿破仑有句名言:“男人每天睡6个小时,女人睡7个小时,而白痴睡8个小时”这段广为流传的名言除了可笑的性别歧视主义成分外，它也被证明毫无科学依据。在2012年最佳科学书籍之一的《内部时间：生物钟，社会时差和为什么你会累》中，德国时间生物学家蒂尔·罗内伯格通过广泛研究得出了一个结论：我们的睡眠模式与懒惰以及其他类似的人格缺陷无关，它只是同我们的生物构造有关。[qh]

WHERE THE HEART BEATS[qh]
《心在何处跳动》[qh]
In Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists (public library), also one of the best philosophy books of 2012, longtime art critic and practicing BuddhistKay Larson constructs an exceptional intellectual, creative, and spiritual biography of John Cage — one of the most influential composers in modern history, whose impact reaches beyond the realm of music and into art, literature, cinema, and just about every other aesthetic and conceptual expression of curiosity about the world, yet also one of history’s most misunderstood artists. Fifteen years in the making, this superbly researched, exquisitely written tome weaves together a great many threads of cultural history into a holistic understanding of both Cage as an artist and Zen as a lens on existence.[qh]
2012年最佳哲学书籍之一的《心在何处跳动——艺术家约翰·凯奇，一位佛教禅宗徒的生活》，是由长期担任艺术批评家和佛教修行者的凯·拉森撰写的内容深刻、角度创新、揭示约翰·凯奇精神世界的传记。约翰·凯奇是现代历史上最有影响力的作曲家之一，他的影响力跨越了音乐界，遍及艺术、文学、电影及其他各美学领域，还有其他表达对世界好奇探索的概念领域，同时他也是历史上遭到最多误解的艺术家之一。历经15年的研究，广泛的调查，精准的笔风将文化史上的短篇残章织补完整，为我们整体展现了一个同时作为艺术家和禅宗徒存在的凯奇。[qh]

AS CONSCIOUSNESS IS HARNESSED TO FLESH[qh]
《意识受制于肉体》[qh]
The second published volume of Susan Sontag’s diaries, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980 (public library), one of the best history books of 2012, offers an intimate glimpse of the inner life of a woman celebrated as one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable intellectuals, yet one who felt as deeply and intensely as she thought. Oscillating between conviction and insecurity in the most beautifully imperfect and human way possible, Sontag details everything from her formidable media diet of literature and film to her intense love affairs and infatuations to her meditations on society’s values and vices. Especially enchanting is the evolution of her relationship with love over that decade and a half, as Sontag settles into her own skin not only as a dimensional writer but also as a dimensional human being.[qh]
作为第二部发布的苏珊·桑塔格日记集——《意识受制于肉体：1964－1980年间日记与笔记》是2012年最佳历史类书籍之一，它让我们得以一窥苏珊·桑塔格在作为20世纪最著名的女性知识分子之一的光环背后的生活，阅读此书你会跟着她的思路一起进行深刻而广泛的思考。桑塔格一直以一种最美的不完美和人性的方式在信任和不安全感间徘徊，她在文字中详细记录所有的一切，从她最爱的电影、文学等媒体大餐到最热烈的爱情经历和她对于社会价值和罪恶的思考。尤其令人欣赏的是她与爱人近20年相处时间中情感变化的记录，桑塔格用自己的文字展示给大家的不仅是一个立体的作家更是一个丰满的人。[qh]

THE WHERE, THE WHY, AND THE HOW[qh]
《在哪里，为什么和怎么做》[qh]
In The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science (UK;public library), one of the best science books of 2012, some of today’s most celebrated artists create scientific illustrations and charts to accompany short essays about the most fascinating unanswered questions on the minds of contemporary scientists across biology, astrophysics, chemistry, quantum mechanics, anthropology, and more. The questions cover such mind-bending subjects as whether there are more than three dimensions, why we sleep and dream, what causes depression, how long trees live, and why humans are capable of language. Above all, the project is a testament to the idea that ignorance is what drives discovery and wonder is what propels science — a reminder to, as Rilke put it, live the questions and delight in reflecting on the mysteries themselves.[qh]
《在哪里，为什么和怎么做：听75名艺术家解释科学谜题》一书是2012年最佳科学类书籍之一，一些当今最知名的艺术家为当代科学家公认的奇妙的科学谜团创作散文，并配以个人阐释和图表，这些问题涵盖了生物、天体无力、化学、量子理学、人类学及其他学科领域。这些问题包括了令人头疼的主题，比如，有没有超过三维的结构存在；为什么我们会睡觉和做梦；为什么会抑郁；树究竟能活多久和为什么人类能使用语言。最重要的一点，这本书的创作宗旨是为了证明一个观点：无知促使人去发现，想法推动科学发展——里尔克引出这个观点，提示了我们这些问题存在的意义以及思考科学谜团带来的快乐。[qh]

HENRI’S WALK TO PARIS[qh]
《亨利走路去巴黎》[qh]
Saul Bass is considered by many — myself included — the greatest graphic designer of all time, responsible for some of the most timeless logos and most memorable film title sequences of the twentieth century. In 1962, Bass collaborated with former librarian Leonore Klein on his only children’s book, which spent decades as a prized out-of-print collector’s item. Exactly half a century later, Henri’s Walk to Paris (public library), one of 2012′s best children’s books, was brought back to life.[qh]
索尔·贝斯被许多人（包括我）认为在任何时代都称得上是最伟大的图标设计师，他设计出了二十世纪许多传世的品牌图标和令人难以忘怀的电影片名图标。在1962年，贝斯与前图书馆员莱奥诺拉·克莱恩合作创作了个人儿童书籍，数十年间这本书在绝版书收藏界中享有极高的名气。就在此书出版50年后，《亨利走路去巴黎》再版问世，一举成为2012年最佳儿童书籍。[qh]

A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING IDEAS[qh]
《创造想法有技巧》[qh]
Originally published by an ad man named James Webb Young in 1939, A Technique for Producing Ideas (public library) is a forgotten gem that lays out with striking lucidity and clarity the five essential steps for a productive creative process, touching on a number of elements corroborated by modern science and thinking on creativity: its reliance on process over mystical talent, its combinatorial nature, its demand for a pondering period, its dependence on the brain’s unconscious processes, and more.[qh]
《创造想法有技巧》一书最初由一位名叫詹姆斯·韦伯·杨的广告人在1939年发表，此书如同沧海遗珠一般，里面清楚明晰地罗列了产生创造性生产效应概念的五个关键步骤，他谈到的关键因素不少都获得了现代科学和创造思维理论的支持：依靠流程而不是玄妙的天才；组合的本质；思考的时间；大脑无意识思考的帮助和其他一些东西。[qh]

THE BIG NEW YORKER BOOK OF DOGS[qh]
《大纽约客们的狗之书》[qh]
The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs (public library) is a remarkable collection of canine-themed treats — fiction, poetry, feature articles, humor, cartoons, cover art, manuscript drafts — by a slew of titans culled from the magazine’s archive, including E. B. White, Maira Kalman, John Updike, Jonathan Lethem, and Roald Dahl. Divided into four sections — Good Dogs, Bad Dogs, Top Dogs, and Underdogs — and spanning such subjects as evolution, domesticity, love, family, obedience, bereavement, language, and more, this lavish tome embodies what Malcolm Gladwell eloquently observes in the introduction: “Dogs are not about something else. Dogs are about dogs[qh]
《大纽约客们的狗之书》是一本引人入胜的以犬类为主题的书——里面收录了从杂志档案中挑选出的一些知名人物创作的关于狗的小说、诗歌、特色文章、幽默语录、卡通画、封面艺术和作品草稿，包括E·B·怀特，麦拉.卡尔曼，约翰·厄普代克，约翰逊·莱西和罗尔德·达尔。书本分为四个部分——好狗，坏狗，贵族狗和平民狗——文章主题涵盖了进化、家庭生活、爱、家庭、服从、丧亲之痛、语言和其他内容，此外这本大部头在引言中收录了马尔科姆·格拉德威尔富于表现力的观察描写：“狗不是其他别的什么。狗就是狗。”[qh]

BONUS: ADVICE TO LITTLE Girls[qh]
额外推荐：《给小女孩的建议》[qh]
In 1865, legendary satirist Mark Twain did something unexpected — he penned a children’s story, in which he challenged kids to digest the intelligent humor he was, and still is, known for among his adult audiences. Nearly a century and a half later, beloved Russian children’s illustratorVladimir Radunsky and Brooklyn independent publisher Enchanted Lion (?) are bringing Advice to Little Girls (public library) to life, envisioned in the style of the scrapbooks and small albums that children of Twain’s era used for doodling and collecting various curious ephemera.[qh]
1865年传奇讽刺作家马克吐温做了件大家想不到的事情——他写了一本儿童故事书，他尝试让孩子们也能消化他的幽默感，而且这本书还为他的成人读者所熟知。在150年后，亲爱的俄国儿童插画家Vladimir Radunsky携手布鲁克林独立出版商 Enchanted Lion一起出版了《给小女孩的建议》一书，书本运用了马克吐温时代的孩子们涂鸦剪贴画本风格，记录了往昔时光中那些有趣的瞬间。[qh]