The holidays are a great time for annual traditions. Like many people, I love to spend the end of the year celebrating the holidays with my family. (We usually wear matching pajamas on Christmas.) I also enjoy sitting down to write my annual list of holiday books, which I’ve done around this time of year for the last decade. It’s always a fun opportunity for me to reflect on everything I’ve read recently.
节假日是享受一年一度传统的好时机。像许多人一样，我喜欢在年底与家人一起庆祝节日（我们通常会在圣诞节穿着家庭睡衣）。我也喜欢坐下来写我的年度假日书单——这是我过去十年中每到这会儿都会做的事。它一直是个令我开心的机会来回顾我最近读过的书。
This time, though, I decided to try something different. Rather than limit myself to things I’ve read over the previous twelve months, I instead picked books regardless of when I finished them.
不过这一次，我决定尝试点不一样的东西。不同于将范围限定在过去十二个月内读过的书，这次选书时我不再管自己是什么时候完成的阅读。
One of the selections has been a favorite of mine since middle school. Another is a brand-new memoir that I just finished. This isn’t a complete list of my favorite books of all time—that list would include a lot more Vaclav Smil and Elizabeth Kolbert. But all five are books that I have recommended to my family and friends over the years.
其中的一本自中学起就一直是我的最爱，另一本是我刚读完的全新回忆录。这并不是我所有时期最爱图书的完整清单，那样的话还要包括更多瓦科拉夫·斯米尔和伊丽莎白·科尔伯特的作品。不过这五本书全部是我多年来推荐给我的家人和朋友的。
I hope you find something new to read this winter—and that you and your loved ones enjoy celebrating your favorite traditions together over the holiday season.
我希望你找到些新鲜东西在这个冬天阅读，祝愿你和你爱的人在节假日期间享受共庆传统的美好时光。
Best introduction to grownup sci-fi
写给成年读者的科幻小说的最佳入门
Stranger in a Strange Land
《异乡异客》
By Robert Heinlein | 罗伯特·海因莱因 著
Paul Allen and I fell in love with Heinlein when we were just kids, and this book is still one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time. It tells the story of a young man who returns to Earth after growing up on Mars and starts a new religion. I think the best science fiction pushes your thinking about what’s possible in the future, and Heinlein managed to predict the rise of hippie culture years before it emerged.
保罗·艾伦和我在小时候就爱上了海因莱因，而这本书仍然是我最喜欢的科幻小说之一。它讲述了一个年轻男子的故事：在火星上长大后他回到地球，并且开启了一门新的宗教。我认为最好的科幻小说推动你关于未来可能性的思考，而海因莱因成功地在嬉皮士文化出现前几年就预测到了它的崛起。

Best memoir by a rock star
一个摇滚明星的最佳回忆录
Surrender
《投降》（中文名暂译）
By Bono | 波诺 著
This book came out this month, so it’s the most recent one I’ve read on my list. If you’re a U2 fan, there is a good chance you already plan to check it out. Even if you’re not, it’s a super fun read about how a boy from the suburbs of Dublin grew up to become a world-famous rock star and philanthropist. I’m lucky enough to call Bono a friend, but a lot of the stories he tells in Surrender were new to me.
这本书是这个月出版的，所以是我读过的书单上最新的一本。如果你是U2的粉丝，你很有可能已经打算去瞧瞧了。即使你不是，这也是一本超级有趣的书，讲述一个来自都柏林郊区的男孩如何成长为世界知名的摇滚明星和慈善家。我足够幸运能称波诺为朋友，但他在《投降》中讲述的很多故事对我来说也是全新的。

Best guide to leading a country
领导一个国家的最佳指南
Team of Rivals
《林肯与劲敌幕僚》
By Doris Kearns Goodwin | 多丽丝·科恩斯·古德温 著
I can’t read enough about Abraham Lincoln, and this is one of the best books on the subject. It feels especially relevant now when our country is once again facing violent insurrection, difficult questions about race, and deep ideological divides. Goodwin is one of America’s best biographers, and Team of Rivals is arguably her masterpiece.
我还没读够关于亚伯拉罕·林肯的书，但这是关于该主题的最好著作之一。当我们的国家再次面临暴力起义、棘手的种族问题和深刻的意识形态分歧时，这本书如今显得格外有意义。古德温是美国最好的传记作家之一，《林肯与劲敌幕僚》可以说是她的代表作。

Best guide to getting out of your own way
突破自己的最佳指南
The Inner Game of Tennis
《身心合一的奇迹力量》
By Timothy Gallwey | 提摩西·加尔韦 著
This book from 1974 is a must-read for anyone who plays tennis, but I think even people who have never played will get something out of it. Gallwey argues that your state of mind is just as important—if not more important—than your physical fitness. He gives excellent advice about how to move on constructively from mistakes, which I’ve tried to follow both on and off the court over the years.
这本写于1974年的书对于任何打网球的人来说都是必读书籍，而我认为即使是从未打过网球的人也会从中收益。加尔韦认为，你的精神状态的重要性并不亚于身体健康的重要性。关于如何建设性地从错误中进步，他给出了出色的建议。这些年来，我在球场内外都尝试着遵循这些建议。

Best book about the periodic table
关于元素周期表的最佳著作
Mendeleyev’s Dream
《门捷列夫的梦》（中文名暂译）
By Paul Strathern | 保罗·斯特拉森 著
The history of chemistry is filled with quirky characters like Dimitri Mendeleyev, the Russian scientist who first proposed the periodic table after it allegedly came to him in a dream. Strathern’s book traces that history all the way back to its origins in ancient Greece. It’s a fascinating look at how science develops and how human curiosity has evolved over the millennia.
化学的历史里满是像德米特里·门捷列夫这样的古怪人物。这位俄罗斯科学家第一个提出了元素周期表，而据说这是他做梦梦到的。斯特拉森的书将这段历史一路追溯到了古希腊。这本书带你一睹科学如何发展，以及人类的好奇心几千年来发生了怎样的演变。

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