字神帝國英語天地

➠The "best books of the year" list is a time-honored tradition among media outlets and publishers, with selections rolling in just after Thanksgiving.
“年度最佳讀物”是各媒體管道和出版商歷史悠久的傳統，感恩節後便有候選書本蜂擁而來。
　　
➠A range of novels were selected last week. Among them were Kazuo Ishiguro's strange fable-like fantasy, Alexandra Kleeman's satire, and, apparently, Barack Obama's favorite book of the year: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff.
上周選出了各類小說，其中有石黑一雄寓言式奇幻小說、亞歷山卓·卡裡曼的諷刺作品，顯然還有巴拉克·奧巴馬的年度最愛：勞倫·格羅夫的《命運女神和復仇女神》。
　　
➠It's a deeply personal story of marriage and secrets.
這則故事關婚姻和秘密，內容極其私密。

➠At first, the book seems an unconventional choice for the president. It's not political, and there's not a word in it about foreign relations.
期初，這本書對總統而言看起來是不合常規的選擇。不是政論小說，對外交關係不著一字。
　　
➠In fact, Groff's National Book Award-nominated story is deeply personal -- it's the story of a marriage from the secretive perspectives of both partners.
事實上，格羅夫獲美國國家圖書獎提名的故事非常個人化，從愛侶雙方秘密的視角講述了婚姻的故事。

➠But, Obama's been exploring literary territory even more than usual lately.
但近日奧巴馬探尋文學領域比以往深入得多。
　　
➠Earlier this year, he interviewed another National Book Award nominee, Marilynne Robinson, about community, violence and othering in America.
年初，奧巴馬就社區、暴力還有美國他者化問題採訪了另一位被美國國家圖書獎提名的作者瑪麗蓮·魯濱遜。