The stories behind their books

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

“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 recently finished reading My Brilliant Friend.”

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

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

““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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“To become better, we willingly became worse.”

“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.”

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

“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.””

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

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

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

“Recently, I enjoyed reading a book called Little Nicolas. It's like a fairy tale for adults.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

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

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

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

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

“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 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.”

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