The stories behind their books

“For the book, Keigo Higashino’s The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.”

“It's interesting.”

““As I was working on my book, I read Jeong You-jeong’s *The Origin of Species* and Shim Eun-hee’s *The Wind Blew in Ireland. Waves Rose in My Heart*.””

““TWICE’s Nayeon gave me I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki as a birthday present. We used to talk about books from time to time. That book gave me a lot of comfort.””

“Why didn’t the viewers recommend something this fun to me?”

““Strangely enough, with just one cookbook, I feel as though I’ve taken a step closer to senior Park Jun-myeon. Perhaps it’s because this book resembles the senior I know.””

“It’s an interesting book. It’s interesting.”

“Give it a read. It’s short, so you can finish it quickly.”

“This one is a novel. I told you all about it, right?”

““I enjoyed 'Animal Farm,' so I’ve been exploring more of his works. These days, I often talk about books with IVE member Ahn Yujin.””

“I first read Itaewon Class as a webtoon a long time ago.”

“I read Tuesdays with Morrie with my tutor while studying English. I found it interesting that he invited people close to him to a funeral before his death so they could remember one another. It even made me want to hold that kind of funeral before I die.”

“The Little Prince is, ah, really a song that's kind of like a fairy tale for adults. Um, it's inspired by the original novel, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, uh...”

“That book is also really good.”

“I think it might be worth reading at least once.”

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

“I read Gu Byeong-mo's book *Gills* three times.”

“when I was younger reading like Lord of the Rings Harry Potter and the Narnia books”

“Should I read the book When I Don't Know What I Want? Should I not read it? Should I read it? Hmm, hmm, this is a dilemma.”

“This is exactly where my heart is.”

“This book is called "If I Could Life My Life Again" by Hyenam Kim.”

“She wrote "What would've been better if I had known at age 40."”

“So like this, it was like messages that are very professional but also messages from my mom.”

“So I cried while reading this book too.”

“Unlike the poetry books I recommended earlier, this book is not abstract.”

“I recommend this book to those who want to feel comforted in a direct manner.”

“I changed even more after reading the books The Power of Positive Thinking and The Secret.”

“I started reading books because of internet novels. There’s a book by Baekmyo called *Cinderella and the Four Knights*. It’s a romance novel, and it was made into a book. I think that’s what got me started on reading physical books properly.”

“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 read it, and it wasn't childish at all; I really enjoyed it.”

“Because I'm an introvert.”

“As someone who has read the Slam Dunk manga thoroughly more than 100 times”

“That's right, people would tear it out and take it.”

“I have a prized possession in my collection.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“The fact that I got through today without any trouble helps me get through the next day. The small joys of everyday life become the links that connect life.”

“read the book twice.”

“Someone recommended a book called Look at This Poem to me.”

“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.”

“In books, you can see all the thoughts the protagonist has before taking action, and that’s so interesting.”

“The books I’m reading these days are The Picture of Dorian Gray and Contradiction.”

“As I read it, I kind of feel like I don’t know that much after all.”

“The photo and title on the cover caught my eye. Once I finish the books I’m reading now, I’d really like to read it if I have time.”

“I like writing by people who aren’t professional writers. They didn’t live in order to write; as they lived, their lives became writing.”

“The Great Gatsby, Me Before You, and I’ll choose the last one from three books.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down and read with a huge pile of books. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole stack just the other day, too. I have *The Children of Gaeng-i-burimal*, *The Little Prince*, *Confession*, *March Is a Red Ravine*, *Norwegian Wood*, and a collection of poems by poet Lee Byeong-ryul, too. I get a lot of book recommendations all the time.”

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

“I enjoyed reading Camus's The Stranger.”

“#RomanceWillKillMe I met lyricist Seo Ji-eum, who has such a girlish air~ Please show lots of love for writer Ji-eum’s book too~”

“After reading Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories, I wrote the lyrics for the song “Curse,””

“Overlord!!”

“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.”

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

“I found *The Buddha’s Words, Newly Translated* really impressive, and when I heard those words, they gave me so much strength, so they stayed with me.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“When I come across a passage I like while reading, I take a photo of it on my phone.”

“People who are at a crossroads, people who want to travel but don’t have time, people who are curious about Hawaii, and people who need healing.”

“I’ve seen that cover. I really enjoyed it.”

“When I get stuck writing lyrics on my own, I find myself wondering, “How would Aunt Ina work it out?” As someone who does that, I’m genuinely glad this book exists.”

“I guess I replied to another post... As for books, I’m trying to read The Vegetarian now...”

“And this book—I'm reading it now.”

“I think it’s this very moment. I’m looking at “You Have to Look at It for a Long Time to Find It Lovely” right now. It’s a book I’ve been reading lately, and at some point while reading it, I just felt something romantic. I tend to find romance even in the smallest things.”

“Personally, I found the book more interesting.”

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

““I read Tuesdays with Morrie with my private tutor while studying English.””

“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.”

“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 read this book twice. Actually, the first time I read it, I put it down before I’d even gotten halfway through. Then, after some time had passed and I’d read more classics, I read it again and found it enjoyable.”

“A book that made me realize that everyone has mistakes in the past they wish they could fix, but even those mistakes are what made me who I am today.”

“I bought this book, “Magnolia Flower Blooms Again,” from Aladin.”

“My grandmother once told me, “You’re like a magnolia flower.””

“That really touched me and resonated with me. (Touched) (Almost teary)”

“So I went to Aladin bookstore and found this pink book—the color I really like! (Pink) (Pink)”

“The title, “Magnolia Flower Blooms Again,” felt like a message meant for me.”

“When I was going through an anxious, difficult time, I felt withered, like a flower...! But this book says “blooms again,” and that made me feel so comforted!”

“So I bought it as soon as I saw the title.”

“While I was reading this book, I felt lonely.”

“[Recommended for these people!] If you want to feel understood and comforted, reading this poetry book will really help.”

“If you find out the title of the book, most of you will probably give up [trying to read it]... The Perpetual Fluctuation of Wealth ^^ Hahahahahaha, everyone will give up. You should read it all. I also bought a book called People Born in the ’90s Are Coming. Try challenging yourself [to read] this book too 😄”

“20th Century Boys is really fun.”

“A fan gave it to me as a gift.”

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

“Kim Do-hoon is truly a hit songwriter. This book does not simply focus on explaining theory; it also explains the know-how of a popular music composer, so I believe it will be a great help to aspiring composers.”

“I highly recommend it.”

“I define a singer as “someone who conveys.” Elements like pitch and performance are certainly important, but in the end, the most important thing is conveying a song and its meaning to someone.”

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

“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.”

“I recently read Hwang Jungeun’s I’ll Go On.”

“I'm slightly in love with it”

“I enjoyed reading What Are You Looking At?, and I also liked Lee Seok-won’s Words That Are Always Good to Hear.”

“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.”

“Since it's about professional conversation techniques, it's difficult, so I can't read for long. I read a little at a time, a chapter at a time.”

““When I first read Blindness, I had a primal feeling.””

“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.”

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

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

“O my Kafka on the Shore”

“They say one person’s life becomes a landscape for someone else. To EXO-L (EXO’s official fan club), I’ll continue to show you many wonderful sides of myself. Thank you. I love you.”

“The book I’d like to introduce to you is this graphic novel called Asterix Polly Wi.”

“Another one I would name is How Philosophy Becomes a Weapon in Life.”

“It’s a story about my cat. It’s called *I Love You Every Day*. But after I finished writing it, I realized there was a lot about my dad in it.”

“I think I used to follow it a bit like a fandom thing, reading comics too, reading Lee Mun-yeol’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, and watching Chimchakman’s Three Kingdoms.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

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

“It’s really good, and...”

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

“I recommend it.”

“This is a book I'm reading. It's about how the story keeps going back through the generations—my mother's mother, my mother's mother's mother, and so on. So it's really interesting and has a great atmosphere. It's a healing book to read.”

“A while ago, a director I know gave me What Is Death? as a gift. It compiles lectures by Professor Shelly Kagan of Yale University, but honestly, it’s very difficult.”

“I found myself feeling drawn in by a book I had picked up casually, so I’m writing this.”

“When I read those lines, I felt so comforted that I even had the ridiculous illusion that perhaps all the time I had lived through and experienced was for the sake of reading this poem.”

“I’m not sure yet what kind of thoughts and feelings the poet is speaking to me with.”

“And I, too, as I suddenly began writing down the poet’s poem, am not sure what on earth I’m trying to say to you all.”

“But one thing I can say for certain is that those lines brought me great comfort, and rather than offering you the usual, countless, dazzling pleasantries, I wanted to return that comfort to you by writing down my sincere thoughts, one character at a time.”

““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 told that friend I really enjoyed reading *Gills*.”

“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.”

“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.”

““This book contains stories that are hard to encounter in textbooks. If you enjoy history, I recommend that you read it at least once.””

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

“As I thought about what book would be good to recommend (or introduce) to all of you—people of different ages and living different kinds of lives who will read this article—I browsed the bookshelves and, after much deliberation, chose this book.”

““These days, I think I’ve come to prefer books or works with this kind of humanism.””

“So, it was a fun book to read.”

“I recently read Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”

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

“If I remember correctly, it’s The Jindo Dog Baekgu Returns.”

“I’d like to give Françoise Sagan’s essay collection Life Is So Slow, and Hope So Wild as a gift.”

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

“Among the books I’ve read recently is one called *Reading Schopenhauer at Forty*. I wanted to read it when I was 20, so I did.”

“The book I’d like to recommend is [Eleven at Night] by author Hwang Kyung-shin.”

“The books I'm currently reading—I’m reading two at the same time: one called *Consolation for Sorrow* and *Strange Comfort*.”

“I bought the book! I'll enjoy reading it.”

“"thrilling"”

“"like a movie."”

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

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

“I read To Kill a Mockingbird back in school, and...”

“I recently read Guillaume Musso’s This Very Instant and Keigo Higashino’s Love Gondola, and I’m now reading The Great Gatsby.”

“It's been quite a while since I bought Douglas Kennedy's The Big Picture, but I've been so busy that I still haven't started it.”

“I also want to reread the Sherlock Holmes series, haha.”

“Ah, yes. Among the members, I like reading, so I often seek out books. I haven’t been able to read lately, but during the <Mansae> promotions, I’ve been reading <Sherlock Holmes>. I really like detective novels, especially the Holmes series; it really suits my taste.”

“I really like it.”

“Was it The Hound of the Baskervilles?”

“I learned about it through the novels and watched the English drama, too.”

“I like the Sherlock Holmes series.”

“Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles”

“Sherlock Holmes, haha.”

“I'm also continuing to read it, curious to see whether I'll make it to the end. Since it's a book that's received so much praise, I want to make sure I read it all the way through, if only out of curiosity.”

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

“Wow... Thank you... I wanted to share my sincere feelings with all of you, so I didn’t use a ghostwriter—I wrote it myself, one character at a time. I’m truly overwhelmed that you’re showing it so much interest. Thank you so much.”

“It was an interesting and profound experience.”

“If you’ve read even one book, you’re a reader.”

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

“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.”

“Shin Kyung-sook’s Please Look After Mom and Kim Young-ha’s Diary of a Murderer.”

“I also recommend “One Person on Earth” (Jung Se-rang).”

“Demian, Blindness, and The Metamorphosis. These are books that led me beyond the world. They helped me greatly in creating my own world in my mind.”

“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.”

“It is set during the Japanese colonial period, a time when society was highly unsettled. Although women had relatively fewer opportunities than men at the time, she fought for the social course she believed was right. It was a book that made me reflect on myself.”

“Others read it at forty, but I wanted to read it at twenty.”

““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 watched the movie and read the book, and personally, I thought the book was more beautiful and better.”

“I tend to like books, so I try to read.”

“It's an interesting book. It's fun.”

“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.”

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

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

“I recently read Guillaume Musso’s This Very Instant and Keigo Higashino’s Love Gondola, and I’m now reading The Great Gatsby.”

“I am giggling while reading this book.”

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

“I really love taking walks, too.”

“I was so immersed in the work that I read it in one sitting despite being busy with activities. I even recommended it directly to the members.”

“For me, I would definitely say five stars.”

“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.”

“I really, really recommend this poetry book”

“Professor Jung Jae-seung’s *Twelve Steps*. It was the first book I read in the military. It made me realize that what I’m worrying about and finding difficult right now is actually perfectly natural. It was a book that guided me so I wouldn’t fall into self-pity.”

“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).””

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

“That's why it has become a truly unforgettable novel of my life, even to this day.”

“When you’re working, there are moments when it gets difficult, and when that happens, if you read this book, there’s nothing in the world to get angry about.”

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

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

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

“I thought this really summed up the book The Contradiction very well.”

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

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

“There’s a book by bell hooks called All About Love. It’s still my favorite work. Picking a favorite is so hard, especially for someone like me. (laughs) It taught me about the importance of community and how to create a culture where love can exist. So it also made me reflect a lot on my work with LE SSERAFIM. I think I would have come to this realization much later if I hadn’t read this book. The timing of when I read it, too, makes it a meaningful book. I’ve talked about it a lot with the members, so the memories I have connected with All About Love are incredibly precious to me.”

“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.”

“the wings of kirin”

“The command of language is so impressive, and it really draws you in. Right, it has that immersive quality.”

“I watched the film Three Sisters. It left a long-lasting impression on me, so I couldn’t help reading The Story of Three Sisters all the way to the end. I wanted to share it with more people.”

“It really feels like a book tailored just for Lily.”

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

“So we bought it together.”

“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.”

“I first read this book in high school. As a trainee, I felt slightly off the usual path, while my friends seemed to be studying hard, going to university, and following a smooth course. I felt anxious because I didn’t know when I would debut as an idol singer. What God says to Knulp felt as though it was being said to me, and it brought me great comfort.”

“It was something that gave me insight and resonated with me.”

““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.”

““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.””

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

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

“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.”

“I read Human Acts after I started my military service”

“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.”

“The first book I cried while reading”

“i recently read a book called <me before you>. it was really touching. you should read it.”

“as i said earlier, there's a book called <me before you> and i hope you try and read it once. i think it'll be really fun if carats read it.”

“I think it belonged to my older sister. I opened it out of curiosity when I saw it on the bookshelf as a child, and the collection has stayed in my mind for a very long time.”

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

“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 really related to it as I read. As I wondered whether I might be that person—or maybe I was that person—and tried putting myself in one situation after another, I found myself at the last page. After reading the final page, I bought it right away and brought it home.”

“I managed to get to Chapter 3.”

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

“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 found ‘The Buddha’s Words, Newly Translated’ an impressive read.”

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

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

“It's really fun.”

““Torrent””

“There was also a book called _Eleven Steps._ It was kind of a philosophy book. But with any of the different books, I found myself putting myself into the text. Like imagining myself as a character in a novel, for example. I was so deep in my imagination at the time. Was it helpful? I’m not sure.”

“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.”

“That is so true. I’m in such a good mood today. Even if something bad happens while I’m feeling happy, I feel like I have the leeway to just laugh it off.”

“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.””

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

“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.”

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

“The Great Gatsby, Me Before You, and I’ll choose the last one from three books.”

“I recommend it to you.”

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

“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.”

““I read a book called ‘Stakes’...””

“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.”

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

“It's a book I really like.”

“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.”

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

“My favorite series is Percy Jackson.”

“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.”

“I’m really enjoying it.”

“In books such as Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, the characters’ names are difficult. I used to write their names on sticky notes as I read.”

“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…”

“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.”

“When asked to recommend a book to readers, IU mentioned Haruki Murakami's *Hear the Wind Sing*.”

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

“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.”

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