Asthe clock ticks closer to midnight on New Year’s Eve, it’s fun to look back at what you』ve accomplished this year. December is a great time to take stock of everything you』ve done over the last twelve months -- including all of the books you』ve read.
隨著時鐘滴答滴答地接近新年的午夜，回顧你在這一年裡都完成了什麼將是一件有趣的事。12月是最佳的時間來盤點你在過去十二個月裡都做了什麼，包括所有你讀過的書。
Because I’m a data guy, I like to look at my reading list and see if any trends emerge. This year, I picked up a bit more fiction than usual. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but I seemed to be drawn to stories that let me explore another world.
由於我是一個數據控，我喜歡觀察自己的閱讀清單，看能否在其中發現趨勢。今年，我比以往看了更多的小說。這並不是有意為之，然而這些讓我得以探索另一個世界的故事，似乎令我十分著迷。
Along with A Gentleman in Moscow and An American Marriage, I read The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (very bizarre and very good), Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (amazingly clever but a bit hard to follow), and The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion (I love this series). I even picked up a short story collection in David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.
繼《莫斯科紳士》與《美國式婚姻》之後，我讀了西格麗德努涅斯的《朋友》（既非常怪誕又十分出色），大衛·米歇爾的《雲圖》（這故事奇妙至極，但要跟上進度還有些難度），還有格雷姆·辛浦生的《羅西結局》（The Rosie Result，中文名暫譯）（我很喜歡這套書），甚至還讀了大衛·福斯特·華萊士的《男人眾生相》中的一個短篇小說集。
Maybe next year’s end-of-year books post will finally include the Wallace novel I』ve been wanting to read for a while: Infinite Jest.
或許在明年的年末書單裡，我將最終收錄華萊士的這本我長久以來一直想讀的小說：《無盡的笑話》。
For this year’s holiday books list, I chose five titles that I think you』ll also enjoy reading. These weren’t necessarily my favorite books of the year -- but I think they’re all good choices to help wrap up your 2019 or start 2020 on a good note:
至於今年的冬季書單，我選了五本我想你們也一定會喜歡的書。這些並不一定是今年我最喜愛的書，但我覺得它們都是不錯的選擇，可以幫助你完成對2019年的總結或是很好地開啟2020年。
01
An American Marriage《美國式婚姻》
By Tayari Jones / 塔亞莉·瓊斯【美】
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones. My daughter Jenn recommended that I read this novel, which tells the story of a black couple in the South whose marriage gets torn apart by a horrible incident of injustice. Jones is such a good writer that she manages to make you empathize with both of her main characters, even after one makes a difficult decision. The subject matter is heavy but thought-provoking, and I got sucked into Roy and Celestial’s tragic love story.
我女兒珍妮推薦我讀這本小說，它講述了南方一對黑人夫婦的故事，他們的婚姻因一個可怕的不公正事件而破裂。瓊斯是一位出色的作家，她讓你對她故事裡的兩位主人公都報以同情，即便是在其中一位做出了艱難決定之後。書的主題很沉重但發人深省，它讓我沉浸於羅伊與瑟蕾希爾悲慘的愛情故事中。
02
These Truths《這些真相》（中文名暫譯）
By Jill Lepore / 吉爾·萊波雷【美】
These Truths, by Jill Lepore. Lepore has pulled off the seemingly impossible in her latest book: covering the entire history of the United States in just 800 pages. She’s made a deliberate choice to make diverse points of view central to the narrative, and the result is the most honest and unflinching account of the American story I』ve ever read. Even if you』ve read a lot about U.S. history, I’m confident you will learn something new from These Truths.
萊波雷在她的新作裡完成了看似不可能的事，用僅僅800頁囊括了整個美國歷史。她做了一個審慎的選擇，將不同的觀點作為核心敘事，其結果是呈現出一個我所讀到過最為坦誠而堅毅的美國故事。即便你讀過許多關於美國歷史的書，我確信你仍將從這本書裡學到一些新東西。
03
Growth《增長》（中文名暫譯）
By Vaclav Smil / 瓦科拉夫·斯米爾【加】
Growth, by Vaclav Smil. When I first heard that one of my favorite authors was working on a new book about growth, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. (Two years ago, I wrote that I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next Star Wars movie. I stand by that statement.) His latest doesn’t disappoint. As always, I don’t agree with everything Smil says, but he remains one of the best thinkers out there at documenting the past and seeing the big picture.
當我第一次聽說我最喜歡的作家之一正在寫一本關於增長的書，我迫不及待地想要讀到它。（兩年前，我寫道我像一些人在等下一部《星球大戰》電影一樣在等斯米爾的新書。這話如今依然有效。）他的新作沒有讓人失望。和往常一樣，我並不認同斯米爾所說的一切，但他仍是在記錄過往和著眼大局方面最出色的思想家之一。
04
Prepared《準備好》（中文名暫譯）
By Diane Tavenner / 戴安·塔文納【美】
Prepared, by Diane Tavenner. As any parent knows, preparing your kids for life after high school is a long and sometimes difficult journey. Tavenner -- who created a network of some of the best performing schools in the nation -- has put together a helpful guidebook about how to make that process as smooth and fruitful as possible. Along the way, she shares what she’s learned about teaching kids not just what they need to get into college, but how to live a good life.
正如任何父母所知道的，預備你的孩子進入高中之後的生活，這是一個漫長且有時候艱難的旅程。塔文納（她曾為國內一些成績最好的學校創建了一個聯絡網）整理出一部有用的指南，指導如何使這一過程儘可能的順利和富有成效。在這本書裡，她分享了自己的心得，那就是不要只教孩子能讓他們考上大學的知識，而是教他們如何過好一生的功課。
05
Why We Sleep《為什麼要睡覺》
By Matthew Walker / 馬修·沃克【美】
Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker. I read a couple of great books this year about human behavior, and this was one of the most interesting and profound. Everyone knows that a good night’s sleep is important -- but what exactly counts as a good night’s sleep? And how do you make one happen? Walker has persuaded me to change my bedtime habits to up my chances. If your New Year’s resolution is to be healthier in 2020, his advice is a good place to start.
今年我讀了幾本關於人類行為的好書，這本是最有趣、最深刻的其中之一。人人都知道夜裡睡個好覺有多麼重要，但是具體什麼才算好的睡眠？你怎樣才能睡一個好覺呢？沃克說服了我改變睡眠習慣來增加睡好覺的機會。如果你的新年願望是在2020年變得更加健康，聽從沃克的建議是一個不錯的開始。