The basic principles of book selection 选书的基本原则

Books must be read carefully, there’s no compromise. That’s why it’s crucial to choose books carefully. And books must be chosen by oneself. Book selection is also a skill that must be acquired and developed. Don’t ask others for reading lists; that just creates a burden for them – who knows what books others should read?! Even teachers can only provide a general idea. Ultimately, one must find the books they want to read themselves. The following simple principles can help any normal person make their own decisions.
书籍必须仔细阅读，没有妥协。这就是为什么仔细选择书籍至关重要的原因。书籍必须由自己选择。选书也是一项必须学习和发展的技能。不要向别人索要阅读清单;这只会给他们带来负担——谁知道别人应该读什么书？！即使是老师也只能提供一个大致的概念。归根结底，人们必须找到他们自己想读的书。以下简单的原则可以帮助任何正常人做出自己的决定。

Publisher: Each publisher’s publishing capability and strengths vary. Choose well-known publishers in the specific field. You can’t buy a book titled “Mastering Python” published by a movie publisher – of course, that’s a joke, a movie publisher has never published such a book.
发布者：每个发布者的发布能力和优势各不相同。选择特定领域的知名发布者。你不能买一本电影出版商出版的名为《掌握蟒蛇》的书——当然，那是个笑话，电影出版商从来没有出版过这样的书。

Author: Reliable people produce reliable work. Before deciding to spend time and effort reading a book, take some time to understand the author. Focus on the author’s abilities in the field, and put aside other aspects of the author for the time being.
作者：可靠的人产生可靠的工作。在决定花时间和精力阅读一本书之前，请花一些时间了解作者。专注于作者在该领域的能力，暂时搁置作者的其他方面。

Edition: Be careful with the first edition of a book. The more editions, the more classic the book’s content. Prioritize books labeled as “nth edition” (the higher the n, the better).
版本：小心一本书的第一版。版本越多，书的内容就越经典。优先考虑标记为“第 n 版”的书籍（n 越高越好）。

Printing: Sometimes in a new field of study, there may only be a first edition of a book. In such cases, check if there are multiple printings, for instance, the “nth printing of the first edition” (the higher the n, the better).
印刷：有时在一个新的研究领域，一本书可能只有第一版。在这种情况下，检查是否有多次印刷，例如，“第一版的第 n 次印刷”（n 越高越好）。

Print run: Even if you have to buy the first edition’s first printing, it’s best to check the print run. A very small initial print run may indicate that the publisher lacks confidence in its sales.
印刷量：即使您必须购买第一版的首次印刷，也最好检查印刷量。最初的印刷量非常小可能表明出版商对其销售缺乏信心。

“Edited by” versus “Authored by: The terms “edited by” and “authored by” are often used together, but there is a world of difference between them. “Authored” implies more original content, while “edited” means “brought together”… Some books lack ethics, using “edited by” to fool readers. Of course, “authored work” should be preferred.
“编辑者”与“作者”：术语“编辑者”和“作者者”经常一起使用，但它们之间存在着天壤之别。“创作”意味着更多的原创内容，而“编辑”意味着“汇集在一起”……有些书缺乏道德规范，用“编辑”来愚弄读者。当然，“创作作品”应该是首选。

References: Books read for the purpose of acquiring knowledge are often technical publications or other “non-fiction books.” If a book lacks a detailed list of references, it’s not worth reading – it’s more likely that it isn’t written by the author but pieced together with scissors and glue. This point is extremely important. When you truly care about it, you will realize that there are very few options in Chinese books. Additionally, the references in good books often act as a map, enabling you to find more good and classic books.
参考资料：为获取知识而阅读的书籍通常是技术出版物或其他“非小说类书籍”。如果一本书缺乏详细的参考文献列表，那么它就不值得一读——更有可能的是，它不是作者写的，而是用剪刀和胶水拼凑而成的。这一点非常重要。当你真正关心它时，你会意识到中文书籍中的选择很少。此外，好书中的参考文献通常充当地图，使您能够找到更多好书和经典书籍。