The stories behind their books

“I have so much I want to talk about that even writing it as an epic novel on the scale of *Toji* wouldn’t be enough, but…”

“So I brought it with me”

“Even amid those circumstances, the very act of somehow turning poignant episodes with the people I love into poetry made me feel a certain kinship with it. Maybe that’s why I like it all the more.”

“I read it this year.”

“I found it interesting while reading Small Things Like These, so I finished Foster and am having coffee now.”

“This quote was very motivating for me.”

“I put a bookmark sticker on this part because I really liked it.”

“And I search for what it means right away. [How YVES reads #3]”

“And I try to use that expression in my daily life! [How YVES reads #3]”

“Because then I think that's when that expression becomes mine.”

“So that's how I try to expand the world of language.”

“This book is very good for writing too.”

“And it'll be helpful for those who want to start blogging.”

“It’s really good, and...”

“There’s a book by bell hooks called *All About Love*. In English...”

“Actually, I was in the library club in my first year of high school, and around my second year I joined another club. Was it the economics club? We read things like 『The Prince』 and 『An Essay on the Principle of Population』, summarized them, and gave presentations in PowerPoint.”

“I’ve only read about twenty pages, but you know that thrilling feeling, that kind of feeling…”

“It shocked me a lot, and it was something that gave me many insights and resonated deeply with me.”

“I’m not someone who reads a lot, but I started reading books while working. I like philosophy.”

“If I were to recommend a book I've read recently... it would be Alain de Botton's Why Do I Love You?”

“Author, I read *Human Acts* while I was in the military. Sob. Congratulations!”

“So I said I read about the scaly thrush’s call in The Rapids.”

“Hahaha, if my mom sees what I read, she might say something, but these are the books I picked up from January through March at the beginning of this year while talking about things like “the energy of the universe.” I think The Nature of Money and Rich Dad Poor Dad are really books worth reading two or three times, and the other books left me with a lesson along the lines of “use your heart for good.” People shouldn’t live narrow-mindedly, you know.”

“To recommend books I enjoyed reading, first, “Ordinary Words (Kim Eana).” Even though I’d only read it, I thought, “The author’s thoughts are so healthy and profound,” and the author felt like a “senior in life” to me. And then, “On My 29th Birthday, I Decided to Die a Year Later (Amari Hayama).””

“Whereas my previous book told, almost in diary form, various stories about life that a woman in her twenties learns while living with a cat, with Sweet Remedy I wanted to use as few words as possible and, alongside the flow of the photographs, give readers the feeling that we are traveling “together.””

“The book we'll read together this time is The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series we read last time! You're curious about how the story continues, right?! Me too! I want to read it together… It was so much fun reading the first book together!”

“I think this is a book of aphorisms that I enjoyed reading about six or seven years ago.”

“The three books I read during this South American tour. They have different themes, but perhaps they form a mysterious combination that ultimately leads to one thing. In this era when everything is changing rapidly, what kind of mindset should we have as we prepare to face the world? What kind of mindset do those who, unseen, quietly bring about change in the world have? The reunification that is sure to come is not simply a burden but an ‘opportunity.’ The very foundation and basis for all of it is the ‘Gospel.’ This Gospel is not simply a message of love; it is the power of God that has come upon us, sinners. I’ve gone on a bit, but anyway, it was really good.”

“Although many stories I didn’t want to make public became known, I had never properly told my own story. As I kept those things bottled up, they began to fester.”

“This is also a book I really did order from Yes24 recently, you know? It arrived really quickly (laughs). I bought volumes 1 and 2; I’ve finished volume 1, and have about half of volume 2 left.”

“A perfect novel in every respect—the readability of the prose, the characterization, the trick, and the structure! It was what got me hooked on Keigo Higashino’s works and on mysteries.”

“I think being a singer or entertainer is a profession where you’re only recognized if you achieve something big. You always have to come in first, set records, and win the grand prize at award ceremonies. People who are used to focusing only on major achievements—which can seem futile in a way—need to learn, as this book suggests, to appreciate the small joys of everyday life, or I don’t think they’ll avoid depression.”

“I liked Evangelion so much that I once read the Bible.”

“As I read it, I found it incredibly delicate. Not only the expressions and descriptions, but also the emotional threads are woven together so intricately that it pains my heart as I read. I think it’s a book every Korean should read.”

“This book lets you see again, feel again, and think again about the things around us that we miss and pass by, through the perceptive and discerning eyes of Kim Hyung-seok. When you read this book, you too will feel what I feel when I talk with Kim Hyung-seok. I hope you will immerse yourself in a conversation with Kim Hyung-seok.”

“Recently, I had a short flight schedule, so I once brought only two books. One of them was so entertaining that I finished it on the plane. It was Lee Do-woo’s *Mail from Mailbox No. 110*. It’s a love story about people in their thirties, and it’s really fun. The book is a bit thick, but I read it almost as if I were watching a drama.”

““The way it looks at events from a fresh perspective felt refreshing, and it’s an immersive book that allows you to think about the human nature the author intended to portray.””

“I think every artist should read it at least once”

“So we bought it together.”

“There’s a book I’ve been reading lately. It’s a novel called *Mail from Postbox No. 110*—it’s heart-fluttering and gentle in tone.”

“I'm reading *Contradiction* right now.”

“Since I like mystery novels, even just the cover and title made this feel so exciting. If you’re a mystery novel fanatic, this is exactly the kind of thing you’d love.”

“There are many passages that resonate with me, so I keep reading it.”

“How to boost your courage and confidence, recommended by Hyeongseop 🐰🩵📚📖”

“Recently, among the books I’ve read, there’s one called *Schopenhauer at Forty*… People read it at forty, but I wanted to read it at twenty, thinking it might be good to know about it at twenty… So Schopenhauer is quite, kind of… pessimistic…”

“<The Sound of Your Heart> is really entertaining. I don't think I've ever seen a comic this entertaining in my life.”

“Writer! I read Human Acts in the military. Congratulations.”

“I’ve been a fan for a long time, and since this was a new release after such a long time, I bought and read it without a second thought. It didn’t disappoint, and gave Sacho lots of inspiration. Definitely a must-have, a definite must-have.”

“It has helped me a lot, so I often recommend it to people around me.”

“Achilles. I really love that book.”

“I’m reading Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving.”

“In conclusion… I recommend reading it at least once.”

“Facts are sacred. Facta sacra sunt”

“This one. If Cats Disappeared from the World.”

“I also recommend Happiness Doesn't Come Alone and Sister Hae-in’s essay book Just Cry When Things Are Hard.”

“I also like Sapiens, which I’ve been reading recently, in a similar vein.”

“My life will be divided into before and after this book is published. If my life up to now was given to me so that I could write this book, then I think my life from now on has been given to me so that I can make people want to read it.”

“Shoko's Smile is so much fun, too. Honestly, there were a few episodes I didn't quite understand, but it was still a novel that moved me deeply.”

“These days, I’m reading a book called “Dallergut’s Dream Department Store.” When the novel talks about the dream department store, I can picture it in my mind. I read while imagining myself shopping there.”

“I’d like to introduce a book called At Dusk. Its main character is also extremely busy. This person is worn down by life and has a very hard time, yet still meets many people, falls in love, and keeps doing their best to live. I think seeing that comforted me too. If I met the main character, I’d want to give them a big hug.”

“I'm slightly in love with it”

“My mom told me to take another look at this.”

“I read Ernest Hemingway’s *The Old Man and the Sea*, and it was so much fun. It’s quite short, but I finished it in about two hours.”

“Personally, my goal this year is to read more than twenty books. I really enjoyed reading Human Acts again last year, so this year I’ll read lots of interesting books too.”

“I enjoyed reading Han Kang’s Yeosu’s Love and The Vegetarian, Yang Gui-ja’s Contradictions, Jeong Dae-geon’s Torrent, and others.”

“The professor explained positively that being sensitive means you’re someone with highly developed senses and someone who can stand out in a particular field, so this is a book that gives me even more comfort.”

““Don’t cling to things. If you don’t cling to anything in the world, there’s nothing to worry about; but the moment you become attached, that way of thinking gives rise to suffering and makes things difficult.” Seeing those words gave me a lot of strength.”

“The Door of Morning is a really, really shocking and good work. It’s a beautiful work, so I’ll recommend it to you.”

“Congratulations, I read 'Human Acts' while in the military,”

“Reading it at the same age, I found another point of interest. I wondered whether, when I was that age, I could do serialized labor like that, and whether I could put my story out there so starkly for the world to see. I guess I’m not there yet.”

““I got into poetry by reading ‘Love, as if You Have Never Been Hurt (Ryu Si-hwa).’””

“Prince is actually my favorite of the whole series”

“I’m also reading Banana Yoshimoto’s *Kitchen* because I had it at home.”

““It’s a book called At Ease Without Trying Too Hard.””

“It’s a book that gives me a sense of security. The protagonist is very conflicted and struggling, but those are also universal human emotions, so paradoxically, it makes me feel secure.”

“Jeolchang is really fun.”

“After that, I also read a book called <Miracles of the Namiya General Store>.”

“Miracles of the Namiya General Store”

“My members. Books → Miracles of the Namiya General Store lol.”

“I received a book called The Creative Act as a gift. I don’t often read self-help books, but this one made a strong impression because I related to it and found a lot to learn from it.”

“It isn't a classic itself, but I have a book about classics: 『Classics Answered: On the Life We Ought to Live』.”

“It's a book about how we ought to live this difficult life. Nothing in it feels difficult; it just tells you plainly, point by point. It's very clear.”

“Classics are actually difficult, and you can interpret them in so many different ways. I think that's part of the appeal of reading a book about a classic, too. You get to read that author's distinctive interpretation, and there's the pleasure of thinking, 'I found that classic difficult or it didn't really resonate with me when I read it, but I can read it this way too.' I think it's a really good thing. I think the real answers lie in the classics.”

“It really felt like a drama, with such a story of grown-up love that I even thought, “I wonder if I could find it if I looked it up.””

“That book is also really good.”

“One of the books I’ve read recently is Scythe.”

“It’s about a world where, with the emergence of something called the Thunderhead in the future, people no longer die, and a figure called a Scythe regulates the population. I think the concept is so unique: when an age comes in which people no longer die, someone still has to die, so the question is who should be the one to die.”

“I underlined it because I really related to this description. When I have some kind of realization or feel really happy, I feel the same way: “Ah, this is what it feels like.””

“How to boost your courage and confidence, recommended by Hyeongseop 🐰🩵📚📖”

“Among the books I’ve read recently, I read a book called Reading Schopenhauer at Forty. Schopenhauer is pessimistic, but there are times when I actually find comfort in that aspect of him.”

“Of the books I’ve finished recently, the one I liked best was I Said It Was Goodbye ㅠㅠ”

“Recently, the book I’ve been trying to read is Philip Chesterfield’s My Son, Life Is Too Short to Waste Time.”

“I thought it was art that I, as a Korean Confucian girl, couldn't understand. Maybe it was because some parts were difficult, or because the characters were hard to remember. Let's try reading it again in about six months.”

“I even recommended If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light on Weverse.”

“Lily's book rec for today: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie.”

“‘SAME STORY’”

“This is the first book I’ve ever read while crying.”

“The book *The Power of Being Alone* was a comfort to me. I read it when I was consumed by self-reproach, wondering if there was something wrong with me.”

“It felt like a drama that portrayed a very mature love.”

“I also bought a book called *People Born in the ’90s Are Coming*. Try challenging yourself [to read] this book too 😄”

“He is such an ardent fan of Park Saeroyi that he read the entire Itaewon Class webtoon in just one full day.”

“I managed to get to Chapter 3.”

“I read a memoir recently called Everything I Know About Love where the author pursues romantic love her whole life, only to realize something profound in the end: She had always been surrounded by amazing friends, and always been loved, and always gave love—that she’d been experiencing it all along, and that love had always been there by her side. When I read that, I kept thinking about the other members of the group. When I think about the future together with them, I feel like I could end up thinking something similar to the author. Being with them has made me learn to appreciate friendship even more.”

“And maybe that’s essentially what love is—learning to be kind through friendship, then practicing and showing it, like the book says.”

“This is a very warm and easy-to-read book.”

“I was so absorbed in the work that I read it in one sitting even while carrying out activities. I even personally recommended it to the members.”

“My attitude seems to have changed, so I recommend reading the short story called *Ahopsu Gawi*.”

“These days, I’m reading *Reading Schopenhauer at Forty*.”

““Strangely, I feel as though I’ve taken a step closer to my senior, Park Jun-myun, through a single cookbook. As I read through the recipes one page at a time, I feel as though I’m cooking alongside her; those delicious words make my mouth water and leave my heart feeling full and reassured.””

“I recently started reading the book “I Want to Go Home Even Though I’m at Home.””

“Saying, “Am I a fan or a disciple?”—the book I’ve been working hard to read lately. I wonder if I’m going to stop being a fan and become a disciple now, or if I’ve become more resolute at heart. Because I’ve lived like a fan, I find stories about life in the world really interesting; I’ve thought I was lucky, liked having lots of money, and felt proud when I achieved my goals. But I don’t want to miss it.”

“Oh, I did like that. I did like that classic. That was was a good book,”

“Through Demian, the embodiment of the perfect, ideal human being, I discovered the essence of jealousy within myself.”

“You don’t have to start from the beginning; you can open the book wherever you like and read. It was a book that had been at home because my older brother had received it as a gift, and when I read it, I thought it was so good. I take it out whenever I’m having a hard time.”

“This is also a book read by Heath Ledger, an actor I like. It's Gustave Flaubert's novel Sentimental Education. After seeing the book appear in the documentary film I Am Heath Ledger, I became curious about what he was thinking when he read it.”

“And this book—I'm reading it now.”

“When I read books, I imagine everything in the scenes. These days, I’m reading a book called Dallergut Dream Department Store, and when they talk about the dream department store, I can see it in my head. I imagine I’m shopping there as I read. It’s not just novels, but other books, too—for example, if there’s a sentence where Einstein is talking, I imagine him saying it. (Laughs) That’s probably why I was able to learn video production so quickly.”

“If I were to buy [a dream], it’d be one where I’m flying through the skies or swimming freely in the deep sea. But those kinds of dreams don’t sell well.”

“I read Dallergut Dream Department Store.”

“For me, I’d buy one where we become whales and swim together in the sea. What’s the relation? Because it’s a whale, I’m a whale shark.”

“I’ve told this to CARATs several times. After reading Dallergut Dream Department Store, I haven’t been able to read a book because I’ve been busy with work.”

“Slam Dunk is a manga I revisit regularly; it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’m not much of a crier, but works like Slam Dunk, which make my heart burn with passion, bring me to tears.”

“I’m really enjoying it.”

“Almost everything I know about love, I learned from my relationships with my longtime female friends. Love is laughing together so hard you can hardly breathe. It’s walking down the street together on a Saturday night and feeling that the whole city belongs to us.”

“I recently read the memoir Everything I Know About Love. The author talks about what she realized after spending her life pursuing romantic love.”

“Personally, I found the book more interesting.”

“I enjoyed reading Han Kang’s Love of Yeosu and The Vegetarian, Yang Gui-ja’s Contradiction, and Jeong Dae-geon’s Torrent, among others.”

“I didn't really like it before, but after reading The Analects, so much of it resonated with me, and I enjoyed learning from it.”

“As for books, I enjoyed Ito Ogawa’s The Snail Restaurant.”

“I heard it was interesting.”

“I think at least The Attributes of Money / Rich Dad Poor Dad are books really worth reading two or three times.”

“read the book twice.”

“Yes, Director Bang said that this book was his bible in his twenties, and that it would be very helpful for someone like me. I’m going to make time to read it.”

“This is a book I started reading because it was at the TWICE dorm, and I think this book is exactly what its title says: “doing something for myself.””

“So I started reading Guillaume Musso's books. As I read love stories such as Save Me and The Paper Girl, I wanted to read other kinds of stories too.”

“The premise of the novel is very unique.”

“I sought out and read Pachinko because I suddenly wanted to get a feel for Korea’s modern history.”

“The books I’m reading these days are The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Contradiction…”

“I remember crying so much when I read The Giving Tree as a child.”

“I regretted not having read this book sooner.”

“A book I found because I was feeling a strong thirst for travel”

“Alain de Botton’s books are difficult even for adults, so there are many parts I don’t understand. But if you read them five or six times, you come to understand, “Oh, that’s what it means.” There’s a shock that comes from that.”

“Congratulations, I read 'Human Acts' while in the military,”

“I think at least The Attributes of Money / Rich Dad Poor Dad are books really worth reading two or three times.”

“One of my all-time favorite classic books is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I love the descriptions of nature.”

“If I had read The Stranger earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen my original name, Rap Monster.”

“I bought volumes 1 and 2. I’ve finished volume 1, and I have about half of volume 2 left.”

“I always carry around about two books like this.”

“It’s Hwang Sok-yong’s The Evening Star. I first read this book in my second year of high school. By chance, I picked just one book from the many in the library, and it was The Evening Star. I was thinking a lot about my future at the time, so the main character, Yu Jun, felt just like me.”

“I tend to read several books at once, so there are quite a few books I start but don’t manage to finish. Unfortunately, Crime and Punishment became one of those books….”

“But I haven’t given up! It just means the perfect time to read that book hasn’t come yet. When I feel the time is right, I’ll definitely pick it up again, finish it, and tell W what I thought first!”

“Last year, my manager gave me *We Do Not Part* as a gift. I received a lot of comfort from reading this book.”

“I still remember a sentence that went, “It must have been something like a snail advancing on the edge of a blade.” When I read that, I cried so much. I think that’s the charm of fiction.”

“I had a strong feeling that this book by Park Jun, Nothing Will Change Just Because You Cry, seemed to contain his own life.”

“There are so many parts I relate to that I sometimes take photos of them and share them with fans.”

““It’s really, really interesting””

“Author! I read Human Acts while I was in the military. Sniff, congratulations!”

“I think they came up with a really good title. We often say, “I want to die.” But even while saying we want to die, it’s true that we also feel like having soju or eating tteokbokki. As someone who has also gone through dark times, I couldn’t help but relate deeply.”

“I had read it once before, and it was really difficult.”

“I had always wanted to try to do that seemingly impossible thing: to be loved precisely and to love precisely.”

“It’s a book called Do It for Myself.”

““This author’s book, Cocktail, Love, Zombie, too…””

“The protagonist, Jun, resembles me in his habit of not judging anything hastily and thinking things over again and again.”

“[Next is 'Hunger'] And 'Hunger' is”

“a love story”

“But it's an extremely tragic and sad love story”

“What struck me the most was…”

“After Gu dies, Dam becomes determined to eat him”

“But as I was reading…”

“I knew what the plot was about before I started reading”

“By the time I finished reading, I was kind of convinced It felt like that”

“There were so many lines that resonated with me”

“But that book is really polarizing”

“There are a lot of graphic descriptions too”

“But the people who like it will really like it”

“I personally loved it!”

“I did well in January The book for January was 'Hunger'”

“I recommend it because it’s such a realistic, relatable read about how suffering can be unavoidable.”

“As soon as you turn the first page of this book, the voices you’ve missed may come tumbling out in a lively chorus.”

“Author! I read Human Acts in the army. Congratulations.”

“LOL, my mom might say something if she sees that I read these, but these are the books I picked up from January to March at the beginning of this year while talking about things like “the energy of the universe.” The Nature of Money and Rich Dad Poor Dad, at least, seem like books worth genuinely reading two or three times, and the other books left me with a lesson along the lines of “use your heart for good.” You shouldn’t live a narrow-minded life, you know.”

“Through that book, I discovered for the first time the nature of the jealousy within me.”

“I was able to look back on my jealousy toward the boys in my class who were tall, handsome, good at school and sports, and popular with girls.”

“I read this book four or five times.”

“Thanks to it, I had the opportunity to naturally encounter the wonderful wisdom left by the preceding generation.”

“A book I read while at the TWICE dorm. A book that made me focus on myself. A book that helped me not be consumed by pressure.”

““I’ve started another new book.””

“I think every artist should read it at least once”

“A book I’ve enjoyed reading this year is *Goo’s Proof*.”

“'Contradiction'”

“I really enjoyed reading a book called *One Very Light Feather*.”

“I read *Human Acts* while in the military. Congratulations.”

“As I read the book, I found myself agreeing and thinking, “Oh, that’s right, I was born in the ’90s too.” I think it could help people born in the ’70s and ’80s understand those born in the ’90s. As time goes by, we could become “old fogeys” too. People born in the 2000s might find us really hard to understand. In that sense, I think it would be good for people born in the 2000s to read it as well.”

““It’s kind of like a debate among philosophers about love, and, how should I put it, you can seriously think again about how love is being consumed in modern society, our attitudes toward dating, and things like that.””

“A book that gave me strength.”

“A book that says exactly what you want to hear.”

“A book that feels different every time I read it.”

“A book I keep reaching for.”

“I like Bright Night, too,”

“I recommend it to you.”

“And I ended up choosing these two.”

“I regretted not having read the writer’s book sooner.”

“Guillaume Musso's *Will You Be There?* is a book I read in middle school. I liked it so much that I read it several times.”

“Author! Human Acts. I read it in the military. Sob, congratulations!”

“I immediately bought this author’s Brunch Award-winning book, “An Uncloying Essay Collection.””

“I read two books: Han Kang’s Human Acts and the huge bestseller Kim Ji-young, Born 1982. Both had a lot to say, and I think they made me feel many things. I read Human Acts on the plane to Europe and then at a hotel there. Even though I was in such a pleasant setting, reading the book felt really emotionally difficult. Her writing is so vivid and skillful. I think those books left a strong impression on me.”

“I remember reading this book while crying. I hardly ever cry when I’m reading. The protagonist has a terminal illness.”

“Oh, I started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, but then I stopped, remember? It was so hard.”

“Narin had recommended me a book called No Longer Human...”

“I regretted thinking, “Why did I only read your books now?””

“It’s difficult 🤤”

““I should look here for what I need to say.” Honestly, I fell asleep. I fell asleep, so I’m going to tell you the title on the cover of that book: “Love as if you’ve never been loved.” I’ll try to love you as if I’ve never been loved. Ah! I love you. Yes.”

“I think I was tempted by that blurb and read it. But it was such a predictable story... I read it in the bookstore and left it there.”

““‘Sea’ is a song I began working on after being moved by the line in 1Q84, ‘Where there is hope, there is hardship.’””

“‘Sea’ is a song I began working on after being moved by the line in 1Q84, ‘Where there is hope, there is hardship.’”

““Oppa, what book is that?” I tried reading it, and it was so good. [A book I turn to when things are hard] I think it’s a book I take out whenever I’m having a hard time.”

“It's really fun.”

“So, it was a fun book to read.”

“Watching this, I thought, “The mystery novels I’ve read up to now were only fragments. The real roots were here.””

“I also liked his newly released *Me Without You*.”

“A book I’ve recently been trying to read is Philip Chesterfield’s *Son, Life Is Too Short to Waste Time*.”

“I ended up reading it on a whim because Chanyeol recommended it. When I read essays like this, I feel like I come to understand a wider range of lives a little better, and somehow feel more personally connected. I thought it was the kind of book that draws you into the situations and makes you laugh and cry along with them because they’re so absurd.”

““It’s something like a debate among philosophers about love. It makes you think seriously once again about how love is being consumed in modern society and about our attitudes toward dating.””

“I didn’t just read this book once; I read it several times, but…”

“There was a book I enjoyed so much that I finished the whole thing on the plane.”

“[Unread Book with a Pretty Cover #1] 'Don't Let Your Mood Become Your Attitude' by Lemon Psychology”

“I enjoyed author Park So-young’s Snowball. It’s a mystery with sci-fi elements, and it has so many twists. There’s also the pleasure of imagining.”

“He has written many books, such as *Save Me*, *Will You Be There?*, and *Returning in Search of Love*.”

“Cool, cool. #LifeBalancer”

“That is a definitive answer. If this is the Gertrude Stein who supported Picasso and Matisse, then isn’t this a kind of conclusion from someone who supported artists endlessly? It’s a book I enjoyed reading six or seven years ago.”

“This book helped me a lot. It says exactly what I want to hear. I didn’t read it just once; I read it several times. There are sentences that speak to me the second time, and sentences that speak to me the third time. It’s a book I keep reaching for, so I recommend it to ONCE.”

“As I was reading the book, my mom’s spicy whelk-and-noodle dish came straight to mind.”

“But I apparently read it.”

“Because *Memoir of a Murderer* was the book that introduced me to the world of books, and”

“A book I'm reading these days. I'm still in the early part, so it's too soon to say what I think of it.”

“I think I can take one step closer to becoming that kind of person only if I’m happy first and receive energy.”

“It’s a very warm novel about things that happen in a convenience store. They’re stories that could happen in our everyday lives, and they move and comfort you. I read it all in one sitting.”

“I found that fun too.”

“I really, really recommend this poetry book”

“I chose Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha as my first book. Appearing on Minumsa TV’s YouTube channel got me interested in classical literature, and since it was a story about Buddhism, I thought it might calm my mind. I usually like mystery and thriller genres, but for the first book of this year, I wanted to start with one that could help me find peace of mind.”

“As I turned the last page of the book, I thought how lucky I was to have met you, teacher, as a child who could hear those precious stories for free.”

“What is the most important book you have read?”

“I asked a friend: “Hey, I want to read! Do you have any books to recommend?” And he got really excited and recommended books by Han Kang and Keigo Higashino. So, that was literally everything I read. There was also a book called “Eleven Steps.” It was kind of a book about philo…”

““The person who knows how to love themselves is the greatest person.” (From *315 Proverbs Worth Reading Even a Hundred Years from Now*)”

“Reading this book made me think that I should cherish and love myself more.”

“I really like it, and <A Certain Secret>.”

“I like writing handwritten letters, and I’m very grateful to receive them, too. A letter is something you put your heart into, and you write it because you really like that person. In fact, (fans) can’t always see me. There are so many times when we’re far apart, but when I think that they must have pressed their feelings into each and every character as they wrote while thinking of me, I really can’t take the letters lightly. I feel like I get a lot of strength from reading them.”

“These days, I'm reading a book called *Such Clumsy People* for about the fifth time...”

“I heard it was fun.”

“I recommend it.”

“"thrilling"”

“"like a movie."”

“Rather than self-help books that offer comfort, just something intuitive…”

“A little while ago, I read a book called *The Wizard’s Bakery*.”

“Author! I read Human Acts while I was in the military. Sob, congratulations!”

“A book that had been at home after my older brother received it as a gift.”

“A book I find myself turning to whenever things are hard.”

“Through this book, I was able to reflect on myself, even if only a little.”

“I’ve really liked The White Book for a long time. It’s an easy, relaxing read.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“I still like this song, just as I did before the album came out.”

“Writer! I read *Human Acts* in the military.”

“In life, you do things with many different people, and this book helps you keep the focus on yourself amid all that. I especially want to share the words, 'You don't have to do it well.' I recently tried acting. Wanting to do well matters, but that desire can also make you feel pressured and nervous. 'So what if I don't do it well?' Sometimes it's good to take things lightly”

“I can now carry the collection of poems by Han Kang, which I received as a gift, in my bag.”

“I thought about it a lot. Our fans range across different age groups, but there are quite a lot of younger fans.”

“So I brought some must-read books that I hope you’ll read during your teenage years.”

“It's really fun. I read it in no time.”

““Writer! I read *Human Acts* in the military. Sob, congratulations!””

“The first book I read while crying.”

“I held it in and held it in until the tears finally came.”

“A book that made me look back on my life.”

“I became grateful for everything.”

“Elizabeth, the protagonist of the novel Pride and Prejudice. I admire her bold approach to life, even in a time when women were socially oppressed.”

“I read when I’m bored. The book I’d recommend is <Castella>. It’s a short story collection by author Park Min-gyu. I really enjoyed reading it. It’s psychedelic, really!? So at first it can be a little disconcerting, but as you keep reading, you can get completely absorbed in it.”

“I read Human Acts while in the military. Congratulations.”

““I enjoyed reading Animal Farm, so I’m looking for other works, too.””

“Orbital”

“Writer, I read *Human Acts* in the military. Sob, congratulations.”

“So, if I were to recommend one, there’s a book called Snowball. It’s really dynamic and fun, so I think it would be nice to read it together.”

“Even as it makes you chuckle, there isn’t a single scene that doesn’t somehow leave a corner of your heart sad.”

“Author, I read *Human Acts* in the military. Sob, congratulations!”

“I enjoyed reading Animal Farm, so I’ve been trying other books too. Recently, member Yujin and I have been having lots of book talks.”

“It was so much fun that I read it quickly.”

“I read your book Human Acts while I was in the military. Congratulations.”

“Since it was recommended in many places as a classic masterpiece, I trusted those recommendations and read it. There’s a reason a book is a proven classic.”

“Although you may think it’s difficult because it’s a classic, once you open the book, you can enjoy reading it.”

“Writer! I read *Human Acts* while I was in the military. Sniff, congratulations.”

““A Thousand Blues,” something like that.”

“I recently finished reading My Brilliant Friend.”

“Author! I read *Human Acts* while I was in the military. Sob, congratulations!”

“This book was written by my uncle—my aunt’s husband, you know?”

“I recommend the Japanese novel *Please Eat Something Warm*.”

“This is documenting us, so I want to talk about everything.”

“I think I first saw this in the bestseller section [Actor Park Jeong-min’s PICK, “The Real Thing”]. I also understood that actor Park Jeong-min had recommended it, and hearing that made me even more curious about the novel.”

“[I like long novels] I tend to like long novels, but since The Real Thing is a short-story collection, it reads really easily and quickly × 2, you know? So [Gaeul’s Book Club reading journal / Recommended for people who find reading difficult] I think it would be a really good book for people who find books difficult and want to challenge themselves.”

“[Munsu: left behind by Granny Jangsu, a shaman with no god] And since the subject itself is shamanism, [Granny Jangsu / Sin-aegi: Granny Jangsu, who left Munsu and became the tutelary deity of a spirit-afflicted person] it feels very fresh, but also has that eeriness. And I didn’t know this, but when I looked it up, [honmono: real / nisemono: fake] I found that “honmono” means “real.” So, between me (Munsu), who goes mad and devotes myself to it like that, and Sin-aegi, who received the spirit initiation, which one is the real one? At the end, the two of them perform a gut ritual like mad [Spoiler warning]. That scene was, as expected, the most memorable. [A book that made me think a lot about “what does ‘real’ actually mean?”] It was a book that made me think a lot about what it means to be real.”

“[Author Sung Hae-na, born in 1994] So I understand that this author is young, and our generation really is one that grew up watching videos rather than reading books, right? I heard that when the author writes, she writes in a way that makes it play out like a video, and I felt that too. I was impressed, thinking, “So a picture can form in my mind just from imagining it.” But I think it would be fun if this came out as a drama or a movie. I think that would be even more fun, because a gut ritual has such strong imagery.”

“It’s good. Especially then, it’s good too. My mind gets very calm, and I can think a lot, so I’ve been writing quite a lot of lyrics as well. It’s good.”

“"I read 'The Vegetarian' (2007) while serving in the military. Congratulations,"”

“I actually don't like science fiction that much. I hardly ever watch sci-fi movies, either. Did I get this book recommended to me on social media? Not directly, but I saw someone recommending it, got interested, and decided to read it.”

“This book—[there's so much to say about this one]—as you can see, is incredibly long and hefty... [in a nutshell,] not an easy book to take on. But! [Here comes the sales queen] The appeal of a long novel is that... once you get past the beginning, where you memorize the characters' names and get some explanation of the situation, [the twists never end &] there really are endless twists and [one shocking scene after another] so many scenes that leave you stunned.”

“Honestly, I find these doorstopper books challenging, too. I tend to read them over the course of several months. Me, too? But this book is really difficult in terms of its ideas. It makes you think a lot, but the sentences themselves aren't difficult! [Thoughts that keep spiraling / Easy to read, but full of ideas you can't simply brush aside] It's a book that's easy to read, but makes you go back and think about it afterward.”

“When I try to sell people on this book, I tell them that even in a world this advanced, after so much change, the feeling of love is still so precious and powerful. [If you don't understand how wonderful love is, I feel sorry for you] There are so many things the characters do because they love each other. Rowan thinks he could die in Citra's place because he loves her, and Citra risks danger and takes action because she loves Rowan. Watching things like that made me feel that, in every generation, [an emotion that transcends time: love] emotions have such a powerful effect on people. That's what lies at the heart of who we are.”

“That's right. I felt the same way while reading it, too—the translator, Lee Soo-hyun, seems to have done a great job. [A style that draws you in without difficult sentences] There aren't any difficult sentences, so every line really catches your eye, and each and every one is a gem. I really want more people to know about the red-covered book Scythe. [I want to finish it and talk about it with everyone] While reading Scythe, [a book that makes you reflect on respect for life and ethics], I found myself thinking a lot about how we regard life and about ethics.”