I was surprised that I read more than ten books this month, and most of them have been finished. Of course, reading doesn't mean completely finishing, but rather flipping through and making some notes.
I have had so much time probably because I have been in home isolation for most of April, which saved commuting time and gave me more free time to read. This can be considered one of the benefits of home isolation.
I have read the following books this month:
- "Talking about Books on Aesthetics": Finished reading, Zhu Guangqian's late works, with a touch of caution in the writing, avoiding mentioning Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought, etc. Those who have come out of that turmoil have been more or less influenced.
- "The Artist of Life": Finished reading, some of Bruce Lee's early articles and unpublished words, which can provide a deeper understanding of his kung fu and philosophy, emphasizing simplicity rather than flamboyance, and practicality rather than abstraction.
- "A Collection of Aesthetic Harvests": Finished reading, Zhu Guangqian's late works, this book is small, with a teaching material-like narrative, difficult to understand.
- "History of Western Aesthetics": In progress, an important aesthetic work by Zhu Guangqian, as the name suggests, it outlines the history of several important stages of Western aesthetics. Because it is quite difficult, I didn't make much progress in April.
- "Working on User Growth on the Frontline": In progress, a book purchased by the company's leadership, flipping through it casually, nothing special.
- "Russell on Happiness": Finished reading, recommended on Telegram channel, listing the reasons for unhappiness and happiness, all are old topics, average to me.
- "Subscription Economy": Finished reading, a book purchased by the company's leadership, a summary type, to understand the subscription model.
- "To Live": Rereading, maybe because I have seen a lot of news about people suffering during the epidemic, I suddenly thought of this book, so I reread it.
- "Serve the People": Finished reading, originated from seeing someone recommend a movie called "Serve the People 2022", a Korean adaptation of Yan Lianke's novel, and then I discovered that this novel has been banned in mainland China, so out of curiosity, I found it and read it. The novel has a great theme, short and powerful, worth reading.
- "The Dream of Ding Village": Finished reading, originated from the book "Serve the People", also a work by Yan Lianke, also banned in mainland China. It tells the story of ignorance in a village with AIDS.
- "The Running Bible": In progress, I restarted my running plan in April, and when I don't have running buddies, I listen to this book. However, I only ran for two days and was interrupted due to the epidemic and isolation.
- "The Grave": Finished reading, this year I plan to go through Lu Xun's works, starting with the order of the complete works of Lu Xun published by People's Literature Publishing House. "The Grave" is the first book. Except for the first few articles that are not suitable for reading, the other essays are worth reading, with sharp viewpoints and unrelenting criticism.
- "Learning English and Transforming Life in 100 Days": Finished reading, a small reference book, the content is quite practical, but there is too much nonsense. Just read the chapters that explain the methods, and you can skip the rest. Give it half an hour, no more.
- "The Deng Xiaoping Era": In progress, a good material to understand Deng Xiaoping and the history of the past few decades. I initially read the mainland version and then switched to the unabridged version published in Hong Kong. I hate abridgment.
- "Hot Wind": In progress, the second book in the complete works of Lu Xun, Lu Xun's random thoughts plus essays.