10 Books I Recommend from 2023
This picture has always been in my heart; I give it to all my friends.
Reading isn't only mental training, isn't only endless fun, isn't only a way to connect the hidden links between different things...
Reading is like a journey lingering through the world: it lets the mind expand without limit. One interest gives birth to countless interests, one question leads to countless questions, ceaselessly, endlessly.
Reading is also a good remedy for keeping inner calm. It's like a gentle lover: if you don't seek him out, there's no pressure; if you do, there's a rich inner world to explore.
We are born into civilisation, and civilisation makes us a promise:
A better, saner, kinder self is waiting for me further along in life, and I will surely find a way to reach her. "Reading" is the cheapest, most accessible and richest of those paths. There are too many books I could recommend, and these are all far too wonderful — yet this list doesn't capture even one per cent of how brilliant they are. The problem is mine: most of what I've "eaten" gets used up fending off the trivia of daily life. The rest is too bloated and badly digested; it just piles up in my stomach and won't come out, so I always seem to fall flat.
All I can do is keep reminding myself that "perfect is the enemy of done" — writing it is better than not writing it. 1. The Road to Serfdom
Friedrich August von Hayek (UK). This book is so good there's nothing more to say. Obscurantism tries to make us believe that everything we have done was either wise or unavoidable. We shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish. Working through this book is both a challenge and a pleasure for the intellect. Starting with this book, I fell in love with brain-burning doorstoppers. 2. Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir (US)
Defining "scarcity" as a psychological problem rather than a resource problem is a wonderful and profound perspective. Scarcity captures a person's mind, making them so focused on what is scarce that they lose their normal judgement, which makes the scarcity worse still. So what's truly frightening isn't the scarcity of resources, but the scarcity mindset that captures our minds. That conclusion is a warning that will serve you for life.
- The 13+1 System: Building a Continuously Healthy Organisation Huang Xu (China). This is a very easy-to-use practical handbook that makes it fairly easy to get started on "mission, vision, values, strategy, three-year plan..." all the way through to implementation. Following along page by page is a great way to read it. Once you've survived, you can afford the luxury of thinking about these questions. 4. Meditations Marcus Aurelius (Ancient Rome)
"Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and freedom, and justice."
I first read this book at university. Rereading it this year, I was still deeply shaken. Read it at any time, read any passage, and it always gives you strength. 5. Bygone Days in Nehe Huang Rong (China). If you want to wash your soul clean with tears, read this book! Justice and love are the eternal heroism. 6. Excellent Advice for Living Kevin Kelly (US)
Flip through it anytime, anywhere, and your life benefits immediately. It truly lives up to "opening a book always brings some benefit." 7. Chip War Chris Miller (US). Reading this book, you see how the tides of an era shaped the coastline. There's so much detail: even though we're all familiar with the story of chips, only by going back to the scene of history can you understand the undercurrents surging through it and history's true face. 8. The World of Yesterday Stefan Zweig (Austria). Beyond the understanding of history, Zweig's prose is a pure sensory pleasure. Through his pen, I came to know Europeans anew, and to know a group's will to live. 9. Fooled by Randomness Nassim Nicholas Taleb (US). The way the world works at random is sometimes called "fate." Only when life's randomness is laid out before us do we understand how easily we are fooled, and only then can we understand what "better to prepare than to predict" means. In this era, that is especially important. Remember this deeply: no matter how sophisticated our choices, how good we are at dominating the odds, randomness will have the last word. All we have left is our dignity. When bad luck strikes, emphasise the elegance of your personal conduct; we should show that, whatever the circumstances, we know "how to survive." 10. Traditional Government in Imperial China Qian Mu (China). Institutions must be matched by people. This book shows us how people and institutions intertwine, shape each other, and drive history forward. As for institutions, there must be a corresponding moral will and devotion of loyalty poured into them.