今年，我选出了几本涉及不同领域的好书。我非常喜欢乔比•沃里克（Joby Warrick）的《黑旗：ISIS的崛起》（Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS）。如果你想要了解恐怖组织伊斯兰国 （ISIS）是如何在伊拉克夺取政权的，我推荐你去看这本书。

另一本我要推荐的书是类型截然不同的小说——约翰•格林（John Green）的新作《刨根问底》（Turtles All the Way Down，中文名暂译），讲述了一名年轻女子寻找一位失踪亿万富翁的故事。虽然小说探讨了诸如精神疾病等较为严肃的话题，但作者旁征博引，延续了他一贯的有趣风格。

我最近读的另一本好书是理查德•罗斯坦（Richard Rothstein）的《法律的颜色》（The Color of Law，中文名暂译）。我一直在努力了解制约美国经济流动性的因素，这本书帮助我理解了联邦政策在美国城市种族隔离形成过程中所起到的作用。

我还针对今年读过的几本好书写了更长篇幅的评论，其中包括我最喜欢的喜剧演员之一撰写的自传、一个讲述美国贫困问题的悲情故事、一部深入探讨能源历史的著作和两个关于越南战争的故事。如果你正打算在岁末年初的假日里窝在暖烘烘的房间读一本好书，这些书里的任何一本都不会令你失望。

裴氏（Thi Bui）的《尽力而为》（The Best We Could Do，中文名暂译）。这本出色的图文小说是一本深刻的个人回忆录，探讨了身为父母与难民这两种身份的意义。作者的家人在1978年逃离越南。在生下自己的孩子之后，作者决定了解更多关于她父母的故事，了解他们在一个被外国占领者搞得支离破碎的国家中的成长经历。

社会学家马修•德斯蒙德（Matthew Desmond）的《被驱逐者：美国城市的贫穷与利益》（Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City，中文名暂译）。如果你想深入了解导致贫穷的问题是如何相互交织的，你应该读这本关于密尔沃基驱逐危机的书。德斯蒙德以其杰出的笔触，勾勒出一幅关于美国穷人的画像。比起其他我读过的作品，他使我更清楚地理解在美国当穷人是一种怎样的感受。

艾迪•伊扎德（Eddie Izzard）的《相信我：关于爱、死亡和爵士鸡的回忆录》（Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens，中文名暂译）。伊扎德的人生故事引人入胜：他从艰难的童年经历中坚持过来，又以百折不挠的毅力克服了自己天赋上的劣势，最终成为一名国际巨星。如果你像我一样是他的超级粉丝，你一定会喜欢这本书的。他的文字与他在舞台上的语言一样幽默，我在读这本书的时候好几次都忍不住放声大笑。

接下来是阮越清（Viet Thanh Nguyen）的《同情者》（The Sympathizer，中文名暂译）。在我读过和看过的关于越南战争的书籍和电影中，大部分集中于美国人的角度。阮越清的这本获奖小说从一个颇为需要的视角，描绘了身为越南人却被夹在美国和越南两方中间的感受。《同情者》讲述的是一个双重间谍和他把自己陷入各种麻烦的故事，尽管有些阴暗，却十分扣人心弦。

瓦茨拉夫•斯米尔（Vaclav Smil）的《能源与文明：一段历史》（Energy and Civilization: A History，中文名暂译）。斯米尔是我最喜欢的作家之一，而这本书是他杰作。他展示了我们对能源的需求如何塑造了人类的历史——从老驴拉磨的年代，到如今对可再生能源的探索。这本书虽不算浅显易懂，但你在读完之后会对能源创新如何改变文明的进程具有更好的理解。

5 amazing books I read in 2017

5 amazing books I read in 2017 Reading is my favorite way to indulge my curiosity. Although I’m lucky that I get to meet with a lot of interesting people and visit fascinating places through my work, I still think books are the best way to explore new topics that interest you.

This year I picked up books on a bunch of diverse subjects. I really enjoyed Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick. I recommend it to anyone who wants a compelling history lesson on how ISIS managed to seize power in Iraq.

On the other end of the spectrum, I loved John Green’s new novel, Turtles All the Way Down, which tells the story of a young woman who tracks down a missing billionaire. It deals with serious themes like mental illness, but John’s stories are always entertaining and full of great literary references.

Another good book I read recently is The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. I’ve been trying to learn more about the forces preventing economic mobility in the U.S., and it helped me understand the role federal policies have played in creating racial segregation in American cities.

I’ve written longer reviews about some of the best books I read this year. They include a memoir by one of my favorite comedians, a heartbreaking tale of poverty in America, a deep dive into the history of energy, and not one but two stories about the Vietnam War. If you’re looking to curl up by the fireplace with a great read this holiday season, you can’t go wrong with one of these.

• The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui. This gorgeous graphic novel is a deeply personal memoir that explores what it means to be a parent and a refugee. The author’s family fled Vietnam in 1978. After giving birth to her own child, she decides to learn more about her parents’ experiences growing up in a country torn apart by foreign occupiers.
  

• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond. If you want a good understanding of how the issues that cause poverty are intertwined, you should read this book about the eviction crisis in Milwaukee. Desmond has written a brilliant portrait of Americans living in poverty. He gave me a better sense of what it is like to be poor in this country than anything else I have read.
  

• Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens, by Eddie Izzard. Izzard’s personal story is fascinating: he survived a difficult childhood and worked relentlessly to overcome his lack of natural talent and become an international star. If you’re a huge fan of him like I am, you’ll love this book. His written voice is very similar to his stage voice, and I found myself laughing out loud several times while reading it.
  

• The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Most of the books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen about the Vietnam War focused on the American perspective. Nguyen’s award-winning novel offers much-needed insight into what it was like to be Vietnamese and caught between both sides. Despite how dark it is, The Sympathizer is a gripping story about a double agent and the trouble he gets himself into.
  

• Energy and Civilization: A History, by Vaclav Smil. Smil is one of my favorite authors, and this is his masterpiece. He lays out how our need for energy has shaped human history – from the era of donkey-powered mills to today’s quest for renewable energy. It’s not the easiest book to read, but at the end you’ll feel smarter and better informed about how energy innovation alters the course of civilizations.