I just read a great interview of Wen Jiabao in the latest Time Magazine.
It offers a lot of insight into the man who is in charge of China’s economic policy.
The best question the interviewer asked was what books does he enjoy…
I may be wrong about this, but I tend to believe a person can be judged by what they read. One of the first thing I look at when I am invited into people’s homes is what books they have on their bookshelf.
Wen Jiabao first states that he enjoys reading histories, both of Chinese history and world history.
He mentions at the end that he does not read memoirs because he believes there are too many of those written.
What is most interesting is that he actually names two books by name that he reads when he is traveling.
The first one is The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
The second is Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.
I’ve read the Meditations but not the Theory of Moral Sentiments. I’m actually going to order it here on Amazon soon after I catch up on my current reading list.
It is my belief that reading the classics will always be best, even if I do read a lot of up to date books.
I recently read this again somewhere and it is a good reminder…
You are what you read, you are what you listen to, and expose yourself to. Choose wisely what you read because it becomes you.