The stories behind their books

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

“Little Women also goes really well with spring. When I was young, you know how there’s always that thing that suddenly comes to mind… So this was a book I used to read when I was in elementary school, because we were told to read it during school vacation.”

“I am still near the beginning, but I already find it fascinating.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

“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 heard it was interesting.”

“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!”

“I’m reading the Neapolitan Novels!!”

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

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

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

“I regretted thinking, “Why did I only read the author’s book now?””

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

“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.”

“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.”

“I regretted not having read this book sooner.”

“I started reading it for the first time on the plane, and it was so interesting that I read about half of it.”

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

“I'd like to recommend Osamu Dazai's *No Longer Human*.”

““I find myself chuckling, yet somehow there isn’t a single scene that doesn’t leave some corner of my heart sad. Conversely, even in a single leaf, even in one cheerful line of dialogue from the radio by my late senior Shin Hae-chul, an inevitable sadness lingers. But perhaps I’m intoxicated by the velvetleaf forest; strangely, I keep chuckling.””

“I watched the movie and read the book, and the book is overwhelmingly more fun. It's really fun.”

“People seem to be born as light as feathers, then gradually shoulder more weight as they live.”

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