The stories behind their books

“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.”

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

“When I finish this book, I plan to read *Seven Years Later*.”

“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.”

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

“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).””

“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.”

“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.”

“Hello! I'm Lily. The book we're reading 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, aren't you?! I am too! I want to read it together…”

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

“Facts are sacred. Facta sacra sunt”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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 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.”

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

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

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

“Cool, cool. #LifeBalancer”

“I made “Zeze” from the perspective of Minginho, the lime-orange tree in the novel, and Zeze is innocent while also cruel in some ways. Looking at the character alone, he has many contradictions. That’s why I found him appealing and sexy.”

““I read the Analects and so much of it really resonates with me. I love learning from it. One thing that comes to mind is, ‘The noble person is at ease, while the petty person is always anxious.’ That brings comfort to my heart.””

“At first, I read it as a print book, and then I tried listening to it as an audiobook too; hearing it in the actor’s voice made it resonate with me more.”

“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.”

“Milan Kundera’s *Slowness* was good too. It was exactly what the word says: “slowness.” It felt like a book telling people who have to live in this fast-paced modern age that they should live slowly. I’m really slow myself.”

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

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

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

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

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

“When I was grappling with questions about life, I drew a lot of strength from Hwang Sok-yong’s The Evening Star.”

“And I ended up choosing these two.”

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

“That book is also really good.”

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

“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.”

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

““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.”

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

“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.”

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

“Having experienced it firsthand and then reread it, I thought, “This was totally a Kurly promotional book.” I was moved by a different aspect, thinking, “So you really can grow this much in six months.””

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

“Anne Napolitano’s novel Hello Beautiful”

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

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

“I found a lot of good sentences.”

“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.”

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

“I read *Romantic Love and Its Aftermath*. It’s such an adult book that I couldn’t understand all of it, but there was this line: “You can’t be in a relationship on feelings alone.” It meant that feelings of love or liking someone aren’t enough to be with a person; their tastes, depth of thought, and values have to align for you to become truly close to them. Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can have a deep relationship with them. It made me think that the adults who say that, as time passes, only one or two friends remain really have a point.”

“Achilles. I really love that book.”

“I think this passage very well symbolizes the lives of artists who carried art like a divine punishment until the day they died, so it seems to be a passage that broadly symbolizes the book.”

“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.”

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

“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 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.”

“I really, really recommend this poetry book”

“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.”

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

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

““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.””

“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…”

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

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

“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…”

“I recently read Philosophy Changes the Weather. I’ve always been quite interested in philosophy and found it fascinating, but this book discussed philosophy through everyday topics that were easy to relate to, so I really enjoyed it. After reading it, I wanted to try books that explore philosophy in greater depth.”

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