PBS高端访谈:与我一同走进读书俱乐部

NICK SCHIFRIN: Book clubs are very popular. In 2015, The New York Times estimated that some five million Americans belong to one or more book clubs. In popular culture, they have been mostly judged as a woman's pursuit. But, tonight, author Nick Arvin shares his Humble¹ Opinion of why men should start reading together.

NICK ARVIN, Author, Mad Boy: Maybe you are a guy. And maybe you are a guy who like books. Maybe you even like talking with people about books. Maybe you're a guy who could be described as book club-curious? But maybe, while you're a pretty enlightened guy, you're still a guy's guy. And all the book clubs you know seem to be by and for women. And you're wondering, can you have a book club for men? Yes. It's easy. Rule one, don't call your book club a book club. You're enlightened, but some guys might be a little wary². Make it easier for them by naming your club that reads books something that shows it's for tough guy guys. Call your club, for example, the Literary Domination Society. Rule two, take turns picking books. Each person gets their turn. Choose mostly novels, because they're easy to have opinions about and to argue over, kind of like quarterbacks. Rule three, you can only choose books that no one in the club has ever read before. This way, you're all plunging³ into the unknown together, adventurers in a new land. Rule four, everyone has to read the book. If someone fails to read the book, it's OK to mock them mercilessly. Is this or is this not a Literary Domination Society? Rule five, after discussing the book, everyone rates the book on a scale of one to 10. This forces everyone to formulate⁴ an opinion, which you can then argue about, which is fun. Think mixed martial⁵ arts, but less painful. Rule six, keep records. Track not only how each book is rated, but also how good each person is at picking books. This makes it competitive. It's like fantasy football, but books. Last rule, keep doing this, meeting every month or two. Keep meeting for years and years. Have incredible conversations. Share things you have never shared with anyone else. If you're lucky, you will make some of the greatest friends of your life, friends who can talk about the nature of faith in the novels of Elena Ferrante, and who will also somehow become friends who can help you to retain your grip on sanity⁶ when going through an unexpected divorce, when facing the crippling anxiety of unemployment, or when you find yourself in the terrible crush of depression. At least, that's what happened to me in my book club, I mean, Literary Domination Society, where, by the way, I am the best at picking books. And I have the data to prove it.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Online, the "NewsHour" has its own book club in partnership⁷ with The New York Times. It's called Now Read This. And you can learn all about our latest pick, "What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky," and how to join, on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.

尼克·施菲林：图书俱乐部非常受欢迎。2015年，《纽约时报》估计约有500万美国人参加了一个或多个读书俱乐部。在流行文化中，他们大多被认为是女性的追求。但是，今晚，作家尼克·阿文在《管见所及》栏目，分享了他的观点：为什么男人也应该一起进行阅读。

尼克·阿文，《疯子》作者：也许您是个男人。也许您是一个喜欢书的人。甚至也许您喜欢和人们谈论书籍。也许可以将您描述为一个对读书俱乐部感兴趣的人？但也许，虽然您是一个非常开明的人，但您仍然是一个男人。您所知道的所有读书俱乐部似乎都是为女性而设。您想知道，您能不能加入一个为男人而设的读书俱乐部？是的。这很容易。规则一，不要将您的读书俱乐部称为读书俱乐部。您是开悟的，但有些人可能会有点小心。通过为您的图书俱乐部命名，来让他们感到轻松，告诉他们，这里专为男人而设的。打电话给您的俱乐部，例如文学统治协会。规则二，轮流挑选书籍。每个人都有机会。选择主流小说，因为他们很容易引发意见和争论，有点像四分卫。规则三，您只能选择以前在俱乐部没有人读过的书。通过这种方式，你们都会在一片新土地上与冒险者一起进入未知世界。规则四，每个人都要读这本书。如果有人没有阅读这本书，可以毫不留情地嘲笑他们。这或不是文学统治协会吗？规则五，在讨论了这本书后，每个人都按照1到10的等级对这本书进行评分。这迫使每个人都给出一个意见，然后您可以争论，这很有趣。想想混合武术，但不那么痛苦。规则六，保留记录。不仅要跟踪每本书的评分方式，还要跟踪每个人选书的好坏。这使它具有竞争力。这就像幻想足球，但只不过是书籍。最后一条规则，坚持这样做，每个月或每两个月开一次会。年复一年保持开会。拥有令人难以置信的讨论。分享您从未与其他人分享的内容。如果您很幸运，您会找到一生中最伟大的朋友们，他们可以在埃莱娜·费兰特的小说中谈论信仰的本质，也会在您经历意想不到的离婚，或者面对失业的严重焦虑，或者当你发现自己陷入可怕的抑郁症时，以某种方式成为可以帮助你重获掌控感的朋友。至少，这就是我在我的读书俱乐部里发生的事情，我的意思是，文学统治协会，顺便说一下，我最擅长挑选书籍。我有数据来证明这一点。

尼克·施菲林：在线，《新闻时报》拥有自己的图书俱乐部，该俱乐部与纽约时报合作。这叫做现在读这个。你可以在我们的网站PBS.org/NewsHour上了解我们最新的选择，“当一个人从天而降时意味着什么”，以及如何加入。

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

3 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

5 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

6 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。