1. From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds by Daniel C. Dennett
2. Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life by Amy E. Herman
3. Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins by Garry Kasparov, Mig Greengard
4. Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation by Alan Burdick

Click the titles to see where they are in the library, and click the Goodreads link for book reviews. If you’re a Goodreads user, don’t forget to add NYU Shanghai Library to your friends list.

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1. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward R. Tufte
2. The Elements of Graphing Data, by William S. Cleveland
3. The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication, by Alberto Cairo
4. The Big Book of Dashboards: Visualizing Your Data Using Real-World Business Scenarios, by Steve Wexler, Jeffrey Shaffer, and Andy Cotgreave

I have four books to recommend for data visualization that combine depth of statistical reasoning with aesthetically appealing images, good writing, and ample examples.

The first two – The Visual Display of Quantitative Information & The Elements of Graphing Data – are all time classics. They are books that laid the foundations for the practitioners of the field; early works that are never outdated, even in the digital era. Edward Tufte has other great books which we left out of this list.

The Truthful Art is a very nice introductory reading to the general audience. It provides in-depth analysis & examination of pieces of visualizations, and interesting things like the same data presented in many ways. – Yun Dai, Educational Technologist for Data Services Continue reading →

Not sure what to read this weekend?  Looking for something different?  This Spring, the library staff are sharing their favorites.

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1. Redirect: changing the stories we live by, by Timothy D Wilson
2. The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats Are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas, by Daniel W. Drezner
3. Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley, by Emily Chang
4. Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World, by Melissa A. Schilling
5. Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World by Saadia Zahidi

This month, we have titles for improving yourself, as well as understanding groups of people. Drezner’s book on the ideas industry is an interesting take on what drives a large part of business – the ideas industry. This book was a recommendation from a fellow colleague.

Another book published by our NYU family: Melissa Schiling is the Herzog Family Professor of Management, and Professor of Management & Organizations at NYU Stern School of Business. It was a pleasant surprise to learn the January’s 5 noteworthy business titles were appreciated. Share this with someone you’re thinking of! –– Edward Lim, Reference & Research Services Librarian for Business

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Did you enjoy the Literary Reading Series last semester?

Or you haven’t heard of it?

Don’t miss it this spring semester!

Each semester, distinguished poets, writers and translators from around the world take part in the Literary Reading Series at NYU Shanghai. All the featured books are displayed in the Library’s Spotlight section.

Robin Hemley, for example, will be the first guest speaker to present this semester. His popular craft book, Turning Life into Fiction, has sold over 80,000 copies.

We will also have Tse Hao Guang, the author of Deeds of Light (2015), which shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2016, and Daryl Lim Wei Jie, a poet and critic. His work won him the Golden Point Award in English Poetry in 2015.

If you are interested in reading any of the 2018 Spring Literary Reading Series books that have been or will be presented on campus by authors, you can easily find their works in the Spotlight section. Feel free to browse and check out! Remember, you can keep the books up to two weeks and renew once.

1. Grit : the power of passion and perseverance by Angela Duckworth
2. The four : the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway
3. The upstarts : how Uber, Airbnb, and the killer companies of the new Silicon Valley are changing the world by Brad Stone
4. The next factory of the world : how Chinese investment is reshaping Africa by Irene Yuan Sun
5. The startup way : how modern companies use entrepreneurial management to transform culture and drive long-term growth by Eric Ries

These titles were published in the second half of 2017, and are highly recommended if the topics are of interest to you. Scott Galloway is part of our NYU family – he’s a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business. Eric Ries’s earlier book has been recommended by many entrepreneurs (who read), so his latest book was hotly anticipated.

I will be keeping a lookout on future books covering the three leading Chinese online companies – Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent. –– Edward Lim, Reference & Research Services Librarian for Business

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Think of B as a print documentary about a particular brand.

B is a monthly magazine that introduces one brand in each issue. The focus is on the stories behind the brand, as well as the culture of the brand. This differentiates itself from your usual marketing and branding textbooks!

Our Library has recently purchased 15 issues that cover a diverse variety of brands.

It will appeal to any reader interested in a particular brand, or anyone interested in brand marketing and management. B claims that people who are read their publication are brand managers, people who want to learn about brand marketing and management, as well as people who plans to start a business, or has interest in brands.

B stands for brand, balance, and perspective. There are no paid advertisements in each issue. B is published in English (and Korean) by JOH & COMPANY, led by Suyong Joh, is a group of creative talents from different backgrounds and establishes brands based on its own ideas about ‘food’, ‘clothing’, ‘shelter’ and ‘information’. Besides publishing B magazine, it has a lifestyle brand, and a restaurant offering healthy homemade dishes.

You can view a full list of B magazine’s issues (and brands) at their website. Feel free to recommend if you’d like to read a particular issue we do not have!

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We have a good number of new titles at our Career Development Collection. This selection is about navigating the questions you are bombarded with about your career, especially as you work towards graduation. I hope some of these books will help to clarify and serve as good inspiration to what your career will evolve into. – Edward

1. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by William Burnett, David J. Evans
2. How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Emilie Wapnick
3. Weird in a World That’s Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures by Jennifer Romolini
4. The New Rules of Work: The Modern Playbook for Navigating Your Career Job, and Waking Up Excited for Work Every Day by Alexandra Cavoulacos, Kathryn Minshew
5. There Is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow by Jeffrey J. Selingo

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Interested in Interactive Media Arts, 3D animation, or the digital world in general?

Well, we are happy to let you know that the library now has the “3D Artist” subscription magazine that will allow you explore these topics.

And even if you are not interested in these topics, feel free to take a look. You might find yourself having a crush on the animated world.

This magazine covers topics concerning 3D texture, visual illusions, and details the techniques used to create popular animations such as Dumbledore.

Like what you hear? Then stop by and take a look. Remember that this magazine is part of our periodical collection, so it is unable to be checked out, but you are able to read this book in the library’s lovely common space.