Recommendations you can check.
Writer and researcher on China and technology; author of Breakneck, publishes a widely read annual letter at danwang.co.
8 things
The Red and the BlackBook Stendhal
I last picked up Stendhal’s The Red and the Black a decade ago. I wasn’t certain that the novel, which I keep calling my favorite, would hold up on re-reading.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
PiranesiBook Susanna Clarke
I’d like to read more experimental books like this one. Susannah Clarke’s Piranesi is a glittering jewel.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
The WallBook Marlen Haushofer
Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall is short and engrossing. It was deemed a “Cold War” novel by the German press when it was published in 1963.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
The Eastern FrontBook Nick Lloyd
Nick Lloyd’s The Eastern Front covers the clashes between Imperial Germany and the Russian Empire as well as the Austro-Hungarians against the Italians and the Serbs. Whereas the western front was essentially static throughout the whole war, the east was characterized by the sort of maneuver warfare that most generals had expected to fight.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
1913: The Year Before the StormBook Florian Illies
1913: The Year Before the Storm presents a whimsical slice of Central Europe. Art historian Florian Illies collates fragments of leading figures month by month, diary-entry style.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
The Chinese Tragedy of King LearBook Nan Z. Da
Nan Z. Da’s The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear also has an experimental form. Da is a professor of literature at Johns Hopkins who emigrated from Hangzhou before she was 7.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with CommentaryBook Robert Alter
There is something deeply satisfying with reading out loud phrases like: “for in mere breath did it come, and into darkness it goes, and in darkness its name is covered.” Though King James is iconic, Robert Alter better conveys overall the literary power of the Hebrew Bible.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
Austria 1867-1955Book John W. Boyer
John Boyer’s Austria 1867-1955 offers parts of the answer, though not in a conceptually organized way. It’s a work of history written for specialists, which means that the narrative serves the footnotes rather than the other way around.
The books section of his 2025 annual letter, where he gives a verdict on each book he read that year.
2026-01-01·danwang.co ↗
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
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The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.
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