Monday, December 25, 2017

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Cal Newport
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One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way.

In DEEP WORK, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

每天最重要的2小時 : 神經科學傢教你5種有效策略, 使心智有高效率表現, 聰明完成當日關鍵工作 (Two Awesome Hours)

喬許.戴維斯 (Josh Davis)
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Amazon.com商業理財/個人成長類百大暢銷書

本書結合神經科學和心理學的研究,引據十數項研究成果與大量文獻結論,提出5種有效策略,配合人體生理系統的最適運作狀態,我們每天至少都能創造出2小時的高效率心智狀態:

• 辨識每個決定點:妥善利用做完一件事或被打斷後的5分鐘,想一下後續該處理哪件事;別擔心「浪費時間」的問題,想趕快做事的急迫感,有時會讓我們先把時間誤用在不重要的事上,消耗我們的心力。

• 管理心智能量,善用好情緒與壞情緒:所有事都會消耗心智能量、引發情緒,學會在心智疲勞之前,先集中精神做最重要的事。全球流行天后碧昂絲(Beyoncé)說:「緊張,讓我表現得更好」;正面情緒是養分,但負面情緒不必然是毒素,正、負面情緒都可以用來提升工作表現與成果。

• 停止對抗分心,學會放自己一馬:專注是成功的要素,但人類的注意力系統天生善於留意分心事物,這是演化的生存必要策略之一。學會讓心思漫遊,東想西想、作作白日夢,對提升創意和思考未來都有幫助。

• 妥善利用身心關連性:掌握運動和飲食的訣竅,能讓你表現得更出色。適量、溫和的運動可以提升專注力和心智能量,吃什麼、怎麼吃、一次吃多少,也會影響你的表現。咖啡因有助於提升效率,但不是喝多就有用,少即是多,無效時小睡10分鐘更好。

• 打造對自己有益的工作環境:辦公環境中的噪音、光線和桌邊雜物,都會影響你的工作效能。斷斷續續的談話聲,是專心工作的頭號勁敵,但戴耳機聽音樂並非最佳解方。較昏暗的光線可催生創意,辦公空間大一點,則有助於多冒點險、展現領導自信。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)



Monday, December 18, 2017

The Remains of the Day

Kazuo Ishiguro (石黑一雄)
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From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is the universally acclaimed novel—winner of the Booker Prize and the basis for an award-winning film.

The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

未來簡史:從智人到神人 (Homo Deus)

尤瓦爾·赫拉利 (Yuval Noah Harari)
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進入21世紀後,曾經長期威脅人類生存、發展的瘟疫、飢荒和戰爭已經被攻克,智人面臨著新的待辦議題:永生不老、幸福快樂和成為具有“神性”的人類。在解決這些新問題的過程中,科學技術的發展將顛覆我們很多當下認為無需佐證的“常識”,比如人文主義所推崇的自由意志將面臨嚴峻挑戰,機器將會代替人類做出更明智的選擇。

更重要的,當以大數據、人工智能為代表的科學技術發展的日益成熟,人類將面臨著從進化到智人以來最大的一次改變,絕大部分人將淪為“無價值的群體”,只有少部分人能進化成特質發生改變的“神人”。

未來,人類將面臨著三大問題:生物本身就是算法,生命是不斷處理數據的過程;意識與智能的分離;擁有大數據積累的外部環境將比我們自己更了解自己如何看待這三大問題,以及如何採取應對措施,將直接影響著人類未來的發展。

(摘錄自amazon.cn)


Monday, December 11, 2017

Lab Girl

Hope Jahren 
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Lab GirlWinner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
Winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

Geobiologist Hope Jahren has spent her life studying trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Lab Girl is her revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also a celebration of the lifelong curiosity, humility, and passion that drive every scientist. In these pages, Hope takes us back to her Minnesota childhood, where she spent hours in unfettered play in her father’s college laboratory. She tells us how she found a sanctuary in science, learning to perform lab work “with both the heart and the hands.” She introduces us to Bill, her brilliant, eccentric lab manager. And she extends the mantle of scientist to each one of her readers, inviting us to join her in observing and protecting our environment. Warm, luminous, compulsively readable, Lab Girl vividly demonstrates the mountains that we can move when love and work come together.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

10秒內言之有物的即答思考法:5天打造你的獨特觀點,立刻放大工作能見度!

齋藤孝
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「立即表達」自我想法,是現在及未來最需要的能力。
無論是求職面試、開會討論、主管提問、企劃提案……
想要在職場中勝出,你必須懂得瞬間思考,說、寫出與眾不同的獨家觀點!

‧你的臉書都在轉載文章?要寫出自己的看法,總是有點困難?
‧開會討論,怎麼擠都只能說:「還好」、「沒意見」?
‧主管突然問:「你怎麼想?」是否能在10秒內提出看法?
‧對方忽然提出一篇報導、時事,是否有自信立即發表評論?

同事、主管甚至是朋友,多半從你網路發文、聊天、面試、會議及企劃提案中……
偷偷觀察你這個人有沒有想法。
沒有一個主管,會重用只懂得照本宣科、聽話辦事、工作等待他人指示的員工;
反過來說,只要10%帶有獨家觀點的「說、寫能力」,
就能讓別人覺得你「不太一樣」,工作上勢必比別人掌握更多機會。

但獨立思考、10秒內即答,並不是要你無中生有。
想要讓人忍不住讚賞:「這個觀點真精采」、「這個人有深度」,
日本知名企業教育大師、溝通專家──齋藤孝,要教你,
5天利用「平常就在做的事」,社群網站發文、看電視偷學、
運用即答思考技巧,開闢出新的想法!

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, December 4, 2017

Swing Time

Zadie Smith
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A New York Times bestseller * Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction * Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize  

“This is a story at once intimate and global, as much about childhood friendship as international aid, as fascinated by the fate of an unemployed single mother as it is by the omnipotence of a world-class singer…Smith’s attention to the grace notes of friendship is as precise as ever…’Swing Time’ uses its extraordinary breadth and its syncopated structure to turn the issues of race and class in every direction…We finally have a big social novel nimble enough to keep all its diverse parts moving gracefully toward a vision of what really matters in this life when the music stops.”—Ron Charles, Washington Post

“A dance itself, syncopated, unexpected, and vital…Swing Time may not parse easily and fits no mold, but it is uncommonly full of life.” —Claire Messud, The New York Review of Books

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

微權力: 從會議室、軍事衝突、宗教到國家,權力為何衰退與轉移,世界將屬於誰? (The End of Power)

摩伊希斯.奈姆 (Moisés Naím)
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掌權者為什麼失勢?失去的權力到誰手上?
國家未來領導人必讀,關心社會的公民必看

Facebook創辦人祖克柏強力號召粉絲共讀,全美緊急再版!
每周銷售破萬本,強勢擠進亞馬遜暢銷TOP10!

權力的演變正在改變世界
人人都可以更有權力

本書做了幾項大膽預言:
1. 壟斷社會的「大巨頭」與新興的「微權力」之間將出現角力,「微權力」將逐漸取代傳統的社會結構。
2. 權力不單被分散,甚至被蠶食。當權者行使權力要更加克制,否則失勢的機會將會大大提高。
3. 權力不再只掌控在菁英手上;發明家、社運分子甚至恐怖分子的影響力將大大提升。
4. 「微權力」可以推翻政權、打倒壟斷事業、開發新市場。但也可能帶來混亂,令社會癱瘓。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, November 27, 2017

To the Bright Edge of the World: A Novel

Eowyn Ivey
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PNBA 2017 Award Winner
One of the Best Books of 2016--Amazon
A Washington Post Notable Book of 2016
A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
A Library Journal Top 10 Book of 2016
A BookPage Best Book of 2016

In the winter of 1885, decorated war hero Colonel Allen Forrester leads a small band of men on an expedition that has been deemed impossible: to venture up the Wolverine River and pierce the vast, untamed Alaska Territory. Leaving behind Sophie, his newly pregnant wife, Colonel Forrester records his extraordinary experiences in hopes that his journal will reach her if he doesn't return--once he passes beyond the edge of the known world, there's no telling what awaits him ...

"To the Bright Edge of the World moves seamlessly through different times and different voices to depict an often harrowing journey that leads the central characters to question all that they 'have known as real & true.' Ivey's novel is a dazzling depiction of love, endurance, courage, and wonder, and a worthy successor to The Snow Child." ―Ron Rash, author of Serena

"Beautifully told...a page-turner, a fascinating story that is broad in its scope as it is compassionate in its message...Ivey has created a world that is dangerous and beautiful, worrisome and satisfying, all in a novel that readers will not soon forget." ―Jim Carmin, The Miami Herald

"Powerful...Ivey is a gifted storyteller and a lyrical prose stylist...remarkable." ―Amy Greene, New York Times Book Review

"An epic adventure story that seems heir to the tradition of Melville's own sweeping and ambitious literary approach to the age-old struggle of humans versus nature...an absorbing and high-stakes read." ―Kathleen Rooney, The Chicago Tribune

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

第四次工業革命 (The Fourth Industrial Revolution)

克勞斯.施瓦布 (Klaus Schwab)
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★本書榮獲亞馬遜網路書店2017最佳商管書TOP20!

第四次工業革命正如海嘯般地席捲全球,
在這個新世界裡,不再是大魚吃小魚,
而是快魚吃慢魚!

未來5年全球15大經濟體,
將因機器人和人工智慧的興起,
導致510萬個工作消失 !
和前三次工業革命全然不同,
第四次工業革命不僅改變我們的世界,
也改變了我們是誰!

蒸汽機的發明驅動了人類史上第一次工業革命;電力的使用帶來了第二次工業革命,半導體、電腦、網路的問世再度催生了第三次工業革命;隨著科技快速的進程,第四次工業革命也已經悄然開始,並且正以前所未見的速度席捲全球,徹底顛覆我們的生活、工作和互相關聯的方式,無論是規模、廣度,還是複雜程度,第四次工業革命都與人類過去經歷的變革截然不同。其中可植入技術、數位化身分、物聯網、3D列印、無人駕駛、人工智慧、機器人、區塊鏈、大數據、智慧城市等技術變革都將對全人類帶來顛覆性的影響。

本書作者為被視為全球經濟風向球的「世界經濟論壇」創辦人與執行主席克勞斯.施瓦布,他在本書中提醒,人類若無法做好因應這波科技海嘯的準備,機器人等技術創新,將導致大量工作消失,而最直接受衝擊的,就是中產階級。更重要的是,各種科技的匯流改變的不僅是我們的工作和生活,而是我們是誰!

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, November 20, 2017

The Gene: An Intimate History

Siddhartha Mukherjee
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THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Wellcome Book Prize Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
A Washington Post and Seattle Times Best Book of the Year

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies—a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: What becomes of being human when we learn to “read” and “write” our own genetic information?

Siddhartha Mukherjee has a written a biography of the gene as deft, brilliant, and illuminating as his extraordinarily successful biography of cancer. Weaving science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times, Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices.

Throughout the narrative, the story of Mukherjee’s own family—with its tragic and bewildering history of mental illness—cuts like a bright, red line, reminding us of the many questions that hang over our ability to translate the science of genetics from the laboratory to the real world. In superb prose and with an instinct for the dramatic scene, he describes the centuries of research and experimentation—from Aristotle and Pythagoras to Mendel and Darwin, from Boveri and Morgan to Crick, Watson and Franklin, all the way through the revolutionary twenty-first century innovators who mapped the human genome.

As The New Yorker said of The Emperor of All Maladies, “It’s hard to think of many books for a general audience that have rendered any area of modern science and technology with such intelligence, accessibility, and compassion…An extraordinary achievement.” Riveting, revelatory, and magisterial history of a scientific idea coming to life, and an essential preparation for the moral complexity introduced by our ability to create or “write” the human genome, The Gene is a must-read for everyone concerned about the definition and future of humanity. This is the most crucial science of our time, intimately explained by a master.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

觸景生情──幾代香港人的生活記憶

鄭寶鴻
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全書收錄約二百幅精選舊照片,生動展現鄭寶鴻所收藏的香港,為讀者重構祖父輩們的奮鬥故事,過得雖苦,當中卻有活力無限、希望在前的一點甜。

循著香港人走過的足跡,反覆嚴謹考證圖像與文獻,本書作者鄭寶鴻以個人經歷作引子,帶領讀者從民生居住、攤販商貿、「紅白」儀式與玩樂消遣、交通等方面細味舊日人情。大牌檔、大馬路走地雞、僱警迎親送殯、代客寫信神槍手、OL午餐專人送到、單車電車拍拖駛過……一幕幕已然消失的老香港風景在書中重現,並輔以詳盡解說,圖文並茂地述說人間百態,既側寫歷史,更貼地活潑地反映了幾代香港人的生活記憶。

(摘錄自cp1897.com.hk)

Monday, November 13, 2017

Before the Fall

Noah Hawley
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Winner of the 2017 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL and the 2017 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter--depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are the painter Scott Burroughs and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family.

Was it by chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something more sinister at work? A storm of media attention brings Scott fame that quickly morphs into notoriety and accusations, and he scrambles to salvage truth from the wreckage. Amid trauma and chaos, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy grows and glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, morality, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.

Kristin Hannah raves, "Noah Hawley really knows how to keep a reader turning the pages... a complex, compulsively readable thrill ride of a novel."

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

零秒思考力 : 全世界最簡單的腦力鍛鍊

赤羽雄二
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一個主題、一張A4紙、一分鐘、一天10張
短短三週就能達到95%的腦力開發。
確實鍛練出連麥肯錫都無法實現的瞬間思考力。

只要把浮現於腦海中的想法,逐一寫在A4紙上,
就能夠鍛鍊你的腦力與領導力!

猶疑困惑的時間為零、
煩惱憂慮的時間為零、
瞬間掌握現狀的時間為零、
釐清問題的時間為零、
想出解決方案的時間為零、
做出行動決策的時間為零……
思考重「質」也重「速度」,
將兩者同時達到極致,正是「零秒思考力」的威力!

零秒思考,是一場意識與行動的改革。
為何明明提案在即,思緒卻毫無進展?!

對組織來說,人才的戰鬥力將大幅影響著公司的未來,
但不論是學校教育或工作訓練,都不曾教導我們「如何深入思考」?

本書作者活躍於麥肯錫顧問公司十數年,
親自驗證上萬張A4筆記後,所創造的獨一無二「零秒思考力」,
是最簡單、且最有效的腦力鍛鍊方法。

到目前為止,已成功傳授上千名商務人士驗證,
對於掌握現狀、釐清問題或實際行動,都能立即浮現想法。
即使是人生突如其來的變化,也能面對及預測未來。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, November 6, 2017

Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings

Jean Wyrick
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Writing well is just a step away! Join the thousands of students who have learned to write well with Jean Wyrick's clear, thoughtful advice. STEPS TO WRITING WELL WITH ADDITIONAL READINGS, 10th Edition, is the ultimate step-by-step guide to writing effective academic essays. Wyrick offers friendly, practical guidelines for composing different types of essays, with discussion of everything from choosing a topic to developing an essay to polishing your prose. This 10th edition includes new "Visualizing the Process" flowcharts that provide at-a-glance summaries of the steps for completing each of the major assignments in the text; many new professional readings and sample essays that offer useful models for academic writing and also touch on engaging topics intended to spark ideas for your own writing; and a wealth of exercises, group activities, and longer assignments that provide additional essay topic ideas and opportunities to apply and review what you are learning.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

讀書便佳

董橋
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本書《讀書便佳》是作者2017年最新作品,全書未曾發表。

作者說,為了寫這本新書他翻看了箱子裏許多陳年筆記,補讀了許多沒有細讀的舊書,也重讀了許多偏愛的老書。作者愛零零星星寫些隨筆札記,記錄讀書的一慮和一得。這樣的寫法不是新穎的嘗試,明清筆記文學前代啟發後代,代代相傳,煥然成風,雲蒸霞蔚。十八十九世紀英國不少散文名家都偏愛這樣瑣碎的寫法,匯之成書,裁之成篇。二十世紀初葉英國出版界出過袖珍送禮的小書裁錄著名散文家文集裏的雋語警句。

作者總覺得中國文化的精髓離不開幽情,閑適:「英國人只在下午茶座上才追求幽情和閑適,不夠的。」我們說「東平云為善最樂,紫陽曰讀書便佳。」為善講機緣,讀書是本份,這本新寫的書取名《讀書便佳》,企盼的不是名成也不是利就,塵世喧囂,爭逐齷齪,一卷在手,字裏徘徊,悠忽間一個回眸的欣喜一次促膝的交會,那才是佳趣。

(摘錄自cp1897.com.hk)


Monday, October 30, 2017

The Great Escape : Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality (財富大逃亡)

Angus Deaton
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Angus Deaton was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare in 2015.

The world is a better place than it used to be. People are healthier, wealthier, and live longer. Yet the escapes from destitution by so many has left gaping inequalities between people and nations. In The Great Escape, Angus Deaton--one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty--tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the stage for today's disproportionately unequal world. Deaton takes an in-depth look at the historical and ongoing patterns behind the health and wealth of nations, and addresses what needs to be done to help those left behind.

Deaton describes vast innovations and wrenching setbacks: the successes of antibiotics, pest control, vaccinations, and clean water on the one hand, and disastrous famines and the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the other. He examines the United States, a nation that has prospered but is today experiencing slower growth and increasing inequality. He also considers how economic growth in India and China has improved the lives of more than a billion people. Deaton argues that international aid has been ineffective and even harmful. He suggests alternative efforts--including reforming incentives to drug companies and lifting trade restrictions--that will allow the developing world to bring about its own Great Escape.

Demonstrating how changes in health and living standards have transformed our lives, The Great Escape is a powerful guide to addressing the well-being of all nations.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

不當行為 : 行為經濟學之父教你更聰明的思考、理財、看世界 (Misbehaving)

理查.塞勒 (Richard H. Thaler)
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2017年諾貝爾經濟學獎得主,行為經濟學之父,理查‧塞勒半自傳性代表作!

‧ 美國亞馬遜、《紐約時報》暢銷書排行榜冠軍
‧ 《經濟學人》年度選書
‧ 《金融時報》、麥肯錫年度最具影響力 6 本書之一
‧ 諾貝爾經濟學獎得主 丹尼爾‧康納曼、羅伯‧席勒 共同推薦
‧ 台大經濟系副教授馮勃翰 審定.導讀

人類會做出不符經濟學預測的行為?當我們談到經濟時,真該把自己擺進算式裡!

行為經濟學無所不在,諸如國家政策、企業管理,以及逛超商要不要買「第二件半價」等思考模式,皆與這門學科有密不可分的關係。英美各國政府、世界頂尖大學、金融界已將行為經濟學應用在政策執行與規畫管理上。

傳統經濟學假設經濟人是理性的,以追求最大利益為前提,但是行為經濟學之父塞勒博士指出,人類並非完全理性,我們不如愛因斯坦聰明,也沒有苦行僧的自制力,而是有熱情有偏見有衝動的人類。我們會在發薪日去大血拚,還會因為股市短期獲利而影響判斷,所做的決定反而與經濟學家假設的標準性模型相去甚遠,更有甚者,這種不合理行為會造成嚴重的後果。因此,經濟的核心是人──可預測卻易犯錯的個人,我們需要的是以真實人類為主體的經濟模型,才能幫助個人、企業,以及政府做出更好的決定。

本書行文幽默風趣,塞勒博士的研究貼合現實,能夠引導讀者在日趨複雜難懂的世界中做出更聰明的決定,並且將行為經濟學應用在生活各個層面中,包括理財、購物、投資等,將會徹底改變讀者對經濟學、自己,以及整個世界的看法。

我們每一天都在應用行為經濟學:

◎ 300元購入的紅酒現增值為3,000元,收藏家不願賣出,只偶爾開一瓶來喝,也不想花3,000元買酒。為何他寧願喝現值3,000元的酒,卻不想花同樣金額買酒或賣掉原先的收藏?

→ 這就是「機會成本」。無論喝掉藏酒或買新酒,機會成本是一樣的,可是一般人很難在機會成本和掏出現金之間畫上等號。放棄賣出賺錢的機會,感覺不像從皮夾裡拿出錢來那麼難受,相較於親手奉上實實在在的現金,機會成本既模糊又抽象。

◎ 黎妮雅願意開十分鐘的車去買原為500元,折價後少100元的鬧鐘,卻不願意為了定價5萬元的電視機,開十分鐘的車買折價100元的同樣商品。

→ 儘管這十分鐘都價值100元,但是我們較願意為了定價500元的鬧鐘多跑一趟,正是因為電視機省下的錢算不上是「最小可覺差異」。一般人對於獲得和損失皆呈現敏感度遞減,面對獲得,我們抱持著風險規避態度,面對損失,卻抱持風險偏好態度。

◎ 文斯付了3萬元的室內網球場會員費,他罹患網球肘後依然忍痛繼續打了三個月,只因不想浪費已繳的會員費,直到疼痛變得完全無法忍受才決定放棄。

→ 繼續打球對財務有助益嗎?或只是覺得「浪費錢」而有罪惡感?傳統經濟學家認為應該忽略沉沒成本,偏偏人們無法忘懷。如果花錢買了卻沒用,感覺很像實際損失那些錢。我們應該要知道忽略沉沒成本是完全符合理性,甚至是必要的。

◎ 學校在數學大考前五天傳簡訊通知家長,此作法提升數學測驗成績的程度相當於額外多上一個月的課。家長與學生們都說他們希望該作法能持續下去,顯然他們挺樂意被輕輕推一把。

→ 「推力」是吸引我們注意力和影響行為環境的某些小功能。人會犯下可預測的錯誤,如果我們能夠預期這些錯誤,就能先想辦法以減少錯誤發生,或提醒人們可能會忽略的事情,發簡訊就是方法之一。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, October 23, 2017

A Strangeness in My Mind

Orhan Pamuk
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From the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Snow and My Name Is Red: a soaring, panoramic new novel—his first since The Museum of Innocence—telling the unforgettable tale of an Istanbul street vendor and the love of his life.

Since his boyhood in a poor village in Central Anatolia, Mevlut Karataş has fantasized about what his life would become. Not getting as far in school as he’d hoped, at the age of twelve he comes to Istanbul—“the center of the world”—and is immediately enthralled by both the old city that is disappearing and the new one that is fast being built. He follows his father’s trade, selling boza (a traditional mildly alcoholic Turkish drink) on the street, and hoping to become rich, like other villagers who have settled the desolate hills outside the booming metropolis. But luck never seems to be on Mevlut’s side. As he watches his relations settle down and make their fortunes, he spends three years writing love letters to a girl he saw just once at a wedding, only to elope by mistake with her sister. And though he grows to cherish his wife and the family they have, he stumbles toward middle age in a series of jobs leading nowhere. His sense of missing something leads him sometimes to the politics of his friends and intermittently to the teachings of a charismatic religious guide. But every evening, without fail, Mevlut still wanders the streets of Istanbul, selling boza and wondering at the “strangeness” in his mind, the sensation that makes him feel different from everyone else, until fortune conspires once more to let him understand at last what it is he has always yearned for.

Told from different perspectives by a host of beguiling characters, A Strangeness in My Mind is a modern epic of coming of age in a great city, a brilliant tableau of life among the newcomers who have changed the face of Istanbul over the past fifty years. Here is a mesmerizing story of human longing, sure to take its place among Pamuk’s finest achievements.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

我是馬拉拉 : 一位因爭取教育而被槍殺的女孩 (I Am Malala)

馬拉拉.優薩福扎伊 (Malala Yousafzai)
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2014年 諾貝爾和平獎得主

馬拉拉,一位年輕的女孩,為了倡導受教育的基本權利,發出了連子彈都無法穿透的堅定力量。

本書是一部卓越非凡的故事,關於一個家庭因全球恐怖主義而遭到連根拔除的內容;一個奮力爭取女孩受教育權利的過程;一個關於一位父親,他身為學校校長,倡導並鼓勵他的女兒寫作和參與學校事務;與一對勇敢的父母親,在當地重男輕女的傳統社會之下,珍愛他們的女兒如同兒子。這將會讓你相信由一個女孩所發出的聲音,這個力量將激發改變全世界。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, October 16, 2017

The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy

Chris Bailey
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A fresh, personal, and entertaining exploration of a topic that concerns all of us: how to be more productive at work and in every facet of our lives.

Chris Bailey turned down lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream—to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the pursuit of productivity, a subject he had been enamored with since he was a teenager. After obtaining his business degree, he created a blog to chronicle a year-long series of productivity experiments he conducted on himself, where he also continued his research and interviews with some of the world’s foremost experts, from Charles Duhigg to David Allen. Among the experiments that he tackled: Bailey went several weeks with getting by on little to no sleep; he cut out caffeine and sugar; he lived in total isolation for 10 days; he used his smartphone for just an hour a day for three months; he gained ten pounds of muscle mass; he stretched his work week to 90 hours; a late riser, he got up at 5:30 every morning for three months—all the while monitoring the impact of his experiments on the quality and quantity of his work.

The Productivity Project—and the lessons Chris learned—are the result of that year-long journey. Among the counterintuitive insights Chris Bailey will teach you:
· slowing down to work more deliberately;
· shrinking or eliminating the unimportant;
· the rule of three;
· striving for imperfection;
· scheduling less time for important tasks;
· the 20 second rule to distract yourself from the inevitable distractions;
· and the concept of productive procrastination.
In an eye-opening and thoroughly engaging read, Bailey offers a treasure trove of insights and over 25 best practices that will help you accomplish more.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

優質大學生的學習指導書 : 第一本由學生寫給學生的學習教戰守則 (How to Become a Straight-A Student)

卡爾.紐波特 (Cal Newport) 
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學習,並不需要精疲力竭,也並非只有天才和書呆子才能拿最高分!
本書幫助你在不犧牲健康、快樂、社交生活的前提下快樂學習、得高分,讓你的大學四年生活更加豐富、多彩。
學習習慣決定你的學習成就!
掌握學習技巧,你便能開始超越大多數競爭者。
送給大學新鮮人、想要提升學習效率的學生們最完美的禮物。
******************************************

學習並不只是意味著反復閱讀筆記和作業;
寫論文也不一定要在電腦鍵盤上進行熬夜馬拉松,
請立即拋棄書呆子似的學習習慣,因為效率低得驚人;
也不必當個可憐蟲蜷縮在圖書館裡,熬通宵K書,隔天雙眼視線模糊,
本書個案研告訴你如何根據自己的實際情況調整學習方法,
是一本提供詳盡的、高效率學習方法的指導書,
教你繪製聰明學習的路線圖,
讓你找到更有效、耗時更少的方法。
當你將這些觀念應用於實踐,並開始感受它們的好處時,
你就能在學習過程中如魚得水、怡然自得。

絕大部分現存的學習指導書中的建議,大都由「專家」所撰寫,
因此往往不切實際,太費時間。
而本書是第一本以大學生經驗為基礎的指導書,
可滿足大學生日常學習生活所需要的原創策略,
不僅簡單易行,並且行之有效。
更棒的是,
只要你開始實踐、應用書中的策略,
就能感受到立竿見影的效果。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, October 9, 2017

The Buried Giant

Kazuo Ishiguro 石黑一雄
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Mr. Kazuo Ishiguro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2017.

From one of the most preeminent writers of our times comes The Buried Giant, an extraordinary new novel that poses powerful questions about love, loss, and mortality. The novel centers around an elderly couple, Beatrice and Axl, who set out on an epic journey through war-torn lands in hopes of finding their son. As they contend with the physical hardships of their journey, they also encounter danger from a variety of mystical elements: ogres, demons, and an ever-present fog that makes memory elusive. With the help of a brash yet determined knight and a mysterious young boy, they travel across lands familiar and strange, ever closer to learning their son’s fate. What they end up discovering along the way, though, leads them in surprising directions that will forever alter the fabric of their relationship—as well as the history of their embattled homeland.

At once both brutal and affecting, Ishiguro’s novel is a fresh take on the hero’s journey. With unforgettable characters and a pace that rivets, The Buried Giant is sure to resonate as a classic for years to come.

(Excerpt from knopfdoubleday.com)

星際效應 : 電影幕後的科學事實, 推測與想像 (The Science of Interstellar)

基普.索恩 (Kip S. Thorne)
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作者基普.索恩 (Kip S. Thorne) 與萊納·魏斯 (Rainer Weiss) 及巴里·巴里什 (Barry Barish)共同獲得2017年諾貝爾物理學獎。

所有讓你瞠目結舌的宇宙奇景,
所有推動劇情的天文物理理論,
解開劇情設計與時空旅行之謎!

◎世界頂尖物理學家寫給大家的天文學通識課!
◎電影幕後,科學家的「裡」設定大公開!

《星際效應》導演──克里斯多福.諾蘭:
本書繽紛展現了基普生氣蓬勃的想像力,以及他想提高科學親和性的不懈努力,讓我們這群不具備他那般高強智慧或淵博學識的普通人,也都能親近科學。

《星際效應》科學顧問──基普.索恩:
電影一開始就根植於現實科學:位於人類知識的最前端,或稍微超前一些的科學……這是部從導演、編劇到製片,所有人都尊重科學的電影,而且整個劇情徹頭徹尾從科學擷取靈感,將之編織融入電影的素材中……帶領觀眾稍事領會物理定律可以與可能在我們的宇宙創造出哪些奇妙現象……

美國加州理工學院知名天文物理學家基普.索恩 ╳ 好萊塢大導演克里斯多福.諾蘭
動員眾多科學家+好萊塢頂尖電影人,打造世上第一部忠實呈現宇宙間各種天體現象的電影
從校園到會議室,從網路到小酒館,掀起全世界前所未有的物理學討論熱潮

● 最簡明清晰的時間與空間理論入門讀本
本書中,原本艱澀的天文物理知識,在索恩以淺白易懂的文字下依著電影劇情的推展娓娓道來,一一破解劇中所有設定之謎,還為讀者就內容的真實性將書中的科學知識大致分為三種:嚴謹科學、有根據的推測、想像臆測,並在各章節前標示出該章或該節的內容屬於何者,使本書成為最簡明清晰的太空科學入門讀本!

● 科學理論與電影工藝完美結合
索恩是當今世上研究重力、宇宙學、廣義相對論的權威,為《星際效應》架構科學基礎,也在本書中竭力以最鮮明的手法生動解釋電影中涉及的科學,並揭露所有相關人士如何經過多少努力,使科學理論與電影工藝完美結合,令事實的呈現比虛構與幻想更令人覺得離奇與驚豔。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, October 2, 2017

How Will You Measure Your Life? (你要如何衡量你的人生?)

Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon
online access from EBSCOhost Audiobook Collection (audiobook)
online access from Books24x7 BusinessPro
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From the world’s leading thinker on innovation and New York Times bestselling author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen, comes an unconventional book of inspiration and wisdom for achieving a fulfilling life. Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma, notably the only business book that Apple’s Steve Jobs said “deeply influenced” him, is widely recognized as one of the most significant business books ever published. Now, in the tradition of Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture and Anna Quindlen’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Christensen’s How Will You Measure Your Life is with a book of lucid observations and penetrating insights designed to help any reader—student or teacher, mid-career professional or retiree, parent or child—forge their own paths to fulfillment.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

被討厭的勇氣 : 自我啟發之父「阿德勒」的教導

岸見一郎 (Ichirō Kishimi), 古賀史健 (Fumitake Koga)
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★榮獲日本2014年商業書大賞第三名,作者古賀史健榮獲評審特別獎!
★與佛洛依德、榮格齊名,並稱「心理學三巨頭」。阿德勒除了是心理學發展承先啟後之人,更堪稱自我啟發之父!


所謂的自由,就是被別人討厭。
有人討厭你,正是你行使自由、依照自己的生活方針過日子的標記。

為什麼人們一直無法改變?
為什麼自卑感總是揮之不去?
為什麼我們總是活在別人的期待之下?
為什麼現在無法真實感受到幸福?
或許是因為,我們缺少了被別人討厭的勇氣!

一名憤世嫉俗的年輕人來到哲學家的小屋。
當他聽聞哲學家主張「世界無比單純,人人都能幸福」,便決心前來推翻這種謬論。
這個世界明明複雜混亂,哪裡單純了?
如果幸福真的這麼容易,為什麼他還會過得這麼痛苦?

他們開始了你來我往的思考與論辯。
年輕人原以為哲學家不過是昧於現實的昏庸老頭,
但是一夜又一夜過去後,年輕人反而陷入沉思:這世界到底是什麼樣子?
「所謂的自由,就是被別人討厭。」哲學家說。
怎麼會這樣?怎麼會有人想被別人討厭?
想得到真正的自由,又為什麼非得被別人討厭不可呢?
這個世界,究竟是單純,還是複雜?人,到底能不能得到幸福?……

問題不在於「世界」是什麼樣子,而在於「你」是什麼樣子。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, September 25, 2017

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

Adam Grant, with foreword by Sheryl Sandberg
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2016 NAUTILUS AWARD Gold Winner

The #1 New York Times bestseller that examines how people can champion new ideas—and how leaders can fight groupthink, from the author of Give and Take and co-author of Option B

Originals is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas. It will not only change the way you see the world; it might just change the way you live your life. And it could very well inspire you to change your world.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of Lean In

With Give and Take, Adam Grant not only introduced a landmark new paradigm for success but also established himself as one of his generation’s most compelling and provocative thought leaders. In Originals he again addresses the challenge of improving the world, but now from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent. Learn from an entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him, and a TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved Seinfeld from the cutting-room floor. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

紫禁城100

趙廣超
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香港出版雙年獎 藝術及設計最佳出版獎

《紫禁城100》講述紫禁城一百個關於建築空間、宮廷生活等故事,成功把中華文化的普遍意義,帶給廣大的海內外觀眾。

紫禁城(故宮)這個空間內建築的變化,其功能的演變,以及建築背後的思想、設計、藝術、功能等方面的因素,都在作者的關注範圍之內。書中圖片,全部是作者團隊繪製,精彩呈現故宮每一個元素美妙的細節之處。大到全景的地圖,小到瓷器上的一個紋理,無不在生花妙筆下活靈活現,精彩動人。圖片與文字結合,從肌理到內核,從紋樣到思想,一一深入剖析,細節呈現。

紫禁城(故宮)不僅是空間,也是人生活於其中的地方。這裏有前朝事,宮院事,花園事,心靈故事等等,事事非同尋常。人在空間內居住,也受空間的約束,這裏上演的既有帝王豪情,也有無奈辛酸,把一個文化中的活力、可能性和自身弱點,通過這些人物折射出來,引人深思。

此書內容不止如此,呈現的也不僅是紫禁城(故宮)的一百個細節,而是涉及方方面面,並且對文化的思考貫穿其中。正如作者所說:「歷史給我們留下這座六百年前的天下和宇宙的中心,明月清風,與我們一起見證這悠長的文化如何無有間斷。」文化的基因嵌入我們每一個人的行為之中,在有意無意之間,都會表露出來。而通過這本書,我們更能明白紫禁城(故宮)的基因,傳統文化的基因,看到文化如何不間斷地成長,看到故宮以及每一個人,如何更好地走向未來,走向下一個六百年。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, September 18, 2017

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

Phil Knight
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In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

Young, searching, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year, 1963. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is more than a logo. A symbol of grace and greatness, it’s one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.

But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. Now, in a memoir that’s surprising, humble, unfiltered, funny, and beautifully crafted, he tells his story at last. It all begins with a classic crossroads moment. Twenty-four years old, backpacking through Asia and Europe and Africa, wrestling with life’s Great Questions, Knight decides the unconventional path is the only one for him. Rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own, something new, dynamic, different. Knight details the many terrifying risks he encountered along the way, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors, the countless doubters and haters and hostile bankers—as well as his many thrilling triumphs and narrow escapes. Above all, he recalls the foundational relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike, with his former track coach, the irascible and charismatic Bill Bowerman, and with his first employees, a ragtag group of misfits and savants who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.

Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the redemptive, transformative power of sports, they created a brand, and a culture, that changed everything.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

太古之道 : 太古在華一百五十年

鍾寶賢
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香港出版雙年獎 商業及管理類最佳出版獎

在中國內地和香港,到處可以聽到「太古」這個名字:三里屯太古里、太古匯、太古城、太古糖等,但較鮮為人知的是,這個集團由施懷雅(Swire)家族擁有,創辦人約翰.施懷雅(John Swire)於1816年成立約翰.施懷雅父子公司(John Swire & Sons),其子約翰.森姆爾.施懷雅(John Samuel Swire)於1866年遠赴中國成立太古洋行。

現時領導太古的已是約翰.施懷雅的第六代曾孫,多年來太古業務不斷繁衍,從最初單單經營航運業務,到後來興辦船塢、建立全球知名的國泰航空、取得可口可樂的專營權等,這一切不但見證太古在落戶中國一百五十年間的變化和發展,也見證著幾代家族成員的默默耕耘。本書記載的就是太古由小型進出口公司演變為環球企業的發跡故事。

(摘錄自cp1897.com.hk)

Monday, September 11, 2017

The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking

Edward B. Burger, Michael P Starbird
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The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking presents practical, lively, and inspiring ways for you to become more successful through better thinking. The idea is simple: You can learn how to think far better by adopting specific strategies. Brilliant people aren't a special breed--they just use their minds differently. By using the straightforward and thought-provoking techniques in The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, you will regularly find imaginative solutions to difficult challenges, and you will discover new ways of looking at your world and yourself--revealing previously hidden opportunities.

The book offers real-life stories, explicit action items, and concrete methods that allow you to attain a deeper understanding of any issue, exploit the power of failure as a step toward success, develop a habit of creating probing questions, see the world of ideas as an ever-flowing stream of thought, and embrace the uplifting reality that we are all capable of change. No matter who you are, the practical mind-sets introduced in the book will empower you to realize any goal in a more creative, intelligent, and effective manner. Filled with engaging examples that unlock truths about thinking in every walk of life, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking is written for all who want to reach their fullest potential--including students, parents, teachers, businesspeople, professionals, athletes, artists, leaders, and lifelong learners.

Whenever you are stuck, need a new idea, or want to learn and grow, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking will inspire and guide you on your way.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

我是街道觀察員 : 花園街的文化地景

郭斯恆
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香港出版雙年獎 生活及科普最佳出版獎

花園街是一條社區匯聚和生命舞台的街道

從排檔(攤販)的空間規劃看社區網絡的運作

花園街是一條充滿著生氣和活力的街道,因為她讓不同階層的人找到生存空間,他們能日復日地參與地方意義建築和編織花園街社區關係網。

內容先從城市和街道空間理論出發,然後再微觀花園街各樣元素和關係。之後,會剖析排檔三尺乘四尺的神奇空間,如何變身、如何運用細微配件擴展展示空間;此外,也會介紹排檔的十大武器等。另外,也會透過花園街排檔檔主的口述歷史細說花園街的變遷,以及觀察檔主以外,其他街道寄生者所扮演的角色。綜合各項分析,可全面了解街道作為社會區網絡是如何運作。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, September 4, 2017

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Ashlee Vance
online access from EBSCOhost Audiobook Collection (audiobook)
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In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.

Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, who sold one of his Internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius' life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits.

Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: Can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk - one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history - is a contemporary, visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists, including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

香港好走系列

陳曉蕾
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香港出版雙年獎 心理勵志類最佳出版獎

《香港好走》系列包括《香港好走 怎照顧?》、《香港好走 有選擇?》、《平安紙》。

《怎照顧?》檢視香港現時的醫療和護理服務,老病死沒法避免,可是得到的治療和護理,是和所處的社會有關的。香港的醫院、院舍、寧養院、社區究竟提供了怎樣的支援?香港病人可否待在家中,甚至在家離世?而社區的基層醫療、社福機構正在編織一張怎樣的安全網?是否可讓香港人放心老去,平安好走?

《有選擇?》報導人生最後一程在香港的不同選擇:預設醫療指示、預設照顧計劃、不作心肺復甦法文件、持久授權書等等,深入探討病人、家人、醫護人員在各種醫護決定背後的想法和分歧。報導亦從病人自主權,梳理「安樂死」、「醫助死亡」、「終止無效治療」、「拒絕治療」等在香港的討論和實踐。

《平安紙》是一本教人寫遺書的著作,不過,它不是硬生生的那種,而是充滿溫度,因為它會細說自己一生如何度過,葬禮想怎樣安排,想哪些人出席,給他們什麼遺言,要不要用入侵性醫療等等,都一一考慮周全,並為使用者提供人生的指引,淡淡的。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, August 28, 2017

The Sellout: A Novel

Paul Beatty
online access from EBSCOhost Ebooks
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Winners of the Man Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature

A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty's The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality―the black Chinese restaurant.

Born in the "agrarian ghetto" of Dickens―on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles―the narrator of The Sellout resigns himself to the fate of lower-middle-class Californians: "I'd die in the same bedroom I'd grown up in, looking up at the cracks in the stucco ceiling that've been there since '68 quake." Raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, he spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He is led to believe that his father's pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realizes there never was a memoir. All that's left is the bill for a drive-thru funeral.

Fueled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town's most famous resident―the last surviving Little Rascal, Hominy Jenkins―he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

王實味 : 文藝整風與思想改造

魏時煜
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榮獲「香港出版雙年獎」文學及小說類別的「最佳出版獎」

王實味是五四運動中成長起來的第一代人,因為一篇雜文〈野百合花〉,使他成為延安整風的重點批判對象,有人稱他為共產黨文字獄首位有姓名的犧牲者。本書作者自2008年開始,訪談了十多位與王實味同時在延安、親歷整風的老人;這些受訪者大多是近代歷史的見證者,並且對經歷過的一連串的政治運動都有反思。 本書透過口述筆錄、檔案資料、文本解讀,以及作者新發掘的材料,比較不同的聲音和視點,了解和記錄未能被成功改造思想的王實味的意義。作為珍貴的歷史材料,本書還首次全文附錄王實味1930年發表在「托派雜誌」《展開》上的中篇小說〈三代〉,以及他轉譯並加了按語的〈列寧遺囑〉,以伺讀者。

(摘錄自香港城市大學出版社網站)

Monday, August 21, 2017

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Elizabeth Kolbert
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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes

Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

真希望我 20 歲就懂的事 : 史丹佛大學的創新 x 創意 x 創業震撼課程 (What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20)

婷娜.希莉格 (Tina Seelig)
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作者希莉格主持「史丹佛科技創業計畫」(STVP)多年,是非常成功的創意與創業導師,專門教導大學生(特別是以當工程師為志向)如何規畫未來及創業。幾年前當她的兒子快要上大學時,她回想起自己讀大學和初入社會的挫折與經驗,不禁希望當年20歲時有人能提點她,於是與兒子分享這些寶貴心情。後來她對一群史丹佛學生分享這些觀察和領悟,把演講題目訂為「真希望我20歲就懂的事」,引發熱烈迴響與共鳴,並應邀到全球發表演講,最後決定將她的豐富經驗和創意課程寫成這本激勵人心的精采著作。

希莉格說,每個人20歲時都會有茫然面對未來、不知何去何從的強烈焦慮感,其實你應該欣然接受這種不確定,不確定才是激發創新的火種,也是向前邁進的重要力量。最有趣的經驗往往發生在偏離既定道路、挑戰傳統假設、從失敗錯誤中看出全新契機的時候!

誰說南極不能賣比基尼?誰說餐廳不能賣蟑螂壽司?蘋果電腦的賈伯斯就會告訴你,被開除是他這輩子最棒的一件事,讓他展開人生最富創造力的一段時光!其實不管你是20歲、30歲、40歲甚至50歲,只要願意跳脫人生框架、勇敢嘗試失敗、以健康的心態挑戰所有「不可能」、把握每個大放異彩的機會,就會帶來無窮的可能性!

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, August 14, 2017

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results

Stephen Guise
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What's A Mini Habit?

A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; its "too small to fail" nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. You will have no choice but to believe in yourself when you're always moving forward. The barrier to the first step is so low that even depressed or "stuck" people can find early success and begin to reverse their lives right away. And if you think one push-up a day is too small to matter, I've got one heck of a story for you!

Mini Habits is a strategy to create permanent healthy habits. Some categories include: exercise, writing, reading, thinking positively, meditating, drinking water, eating healthy foods, etc.

Mini Habits combines Stephen's life-changing experience above with science, logic, and humor. It rejects common self-help and habit formation advice in favor of smarter strategies that work with a modern, hectic lifestyle. Having mini habits enables you to move forward consistently, even on your worst days.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

坐看雲起時 : 一本香港人的教協史 = A People's History of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union

陸鴻基
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香港電台第十屆 「香港書獎」獲獎書籍 

本書作者,前香港教育學院(二○一六年正名為「香港教育大學」)副校長陸鴻基教授花了五年時間搜集資料、閱讀文獻、訪談及編撰,奉獻了不少時間和心力,最後完成了三卷有關香港教育史的重要著作,以深度和廣度而言,仍屬首次。

全書共分三卷:

• 卷一戰後的香港與教協崛興的背景:從二戰說起,探討戰後香港的政治、社會、教育發展與變遷,闡述促使教協成立的因由;


• 卷二爭取教師權益與教育改進:詳述教協成立後,對香港教育界, 包括學校、教師、學生等所作出的貢獻;

• 卷三教協與公民社會的形成和互動:闡釋在社會、政治及教育的巨變下,教協多年來參與的社會活動,並推動公民社會的發展。

本書為香港的教育史填補空白及留下了客觀紀錄,特別適合對香港的歷史及政治轉變、社會運動與教育發展有認識和感興趣的讀者。

(摘錄自香港城市大學出版社網站)

Monday, August 7, 2017

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (正義 : 一場思辨之旅)

Sandel, Michael J.
online access from EBSCOhost (audiobook)
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International Youth Day 2017 (12 August) is dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.

 "For Michael Sandel, justice is not a spectator sport," The Nation's reviewer of Justice remarked. In his acclaimed book―based on his legendary Harvard course―Sandel offers a rare education in thinking through the complicated issues and controversies we face in public life today. It has emerged as a most lucid and engaging guide for those who yearn for a more robust and thoughtful public discourse. "In terms we can all understand," wrote Jonathan Rauch in The New York Times, Justice "confronts us with the concepts that lurk . . . beneath our conflicts."

Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, the moral limits of markets―Sandel relates the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well.

Justice is lively, thought-provoking, and wise―an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the hard questions of our civic life.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)