What we’re reading

“Honestly, I don’t read for pleasure that much. The items on my nightstand are copies of the magazine Make. Next to my comfy chair are books like ‘How Universities Work’ by John Lombardi and ‘Learning Chinese Characters: A revolutionary new way to learn and remember the 800 most basic Chinese characters’ by Alison and Laurence Matthews. I’ve been studying Chinese in my spare time for two or three years. More than half of my research group consists of Chinese graduate students and visiting scholars, and I am almost able to understand what they’re saying about me.”