The stories behind their books

“"thrilling"”

“"like a movie."”

“And I ended up choosing these two.”

“This book was written by my uncle, you know?”

““It’s really, really interesting””

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

“‘SAME STORY’”

“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.””

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

“I'm slightly in love with it”

“So, if it hadn’t been this cover…”

“Not long ago, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which tells the story of four men and women who are very different from one another. It seems to me that people are born as light as feathers and gradually take on weight as they go through life. Personally, I thought Sabina’s life was wonderful.”

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

““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.”

“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 managed to get to Chapter 3.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“I like it. I especially like it then, too. It makes me feel very calm and lets me think a lot, so I’ve been writing quite a lot of lyrics. I like it.”

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

“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.”

“Jeolchang is really fun.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

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

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

“My brother had received this book as a gift, so it was at home. I tried reading it and liked it so much that I take it out whenever things are hard. The saying is really true: when I'm in a good mood, I can laugh off a bad situation, and when I'm in a bad mood, even a small thing feels big. Managing your mood may not be easy, but it made me reflect on myself a little. Since I'm the one living my life, I think everything begins with me. If I have good qualities, they'll spread a pleasant scent like perfume and have a positive influence”

“The book I read yesterday was one called Maldok, and it was really interesting.”

“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 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.”

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

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

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

“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.”