The stories behind their books

““I also read the slice-of-life novel The Uncanny Convenience Store,””

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

“Wow, author Shim Yong-hwan’s new book #365DaysOfKoreanHistoryInOnePage is coming out soon 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻”

“Whereas my previous book told, almost in diary form, various stories about life that a woman in her twenties learns while living with a cat, with Sweet Remedy I wanted to use as few words as possible and, alongside the flow of the photographs, give readers the feeling that we are traveling “together.””

““I mainly like poetry collections. Poetry seems like the genre that best reveals a poet’s temperament and sensibility. Poets look at things we often see in everyday life from a different perspective and express them in a few words. I think those words often resonate deeply. In this collection, I like the poem ‘Knot.’ In particular, when I read the passage, ‘Do not call it a knot. The hardest part—once, this too was so tender and fragile. It was only that passion went too far, and after a single wound, it could never bloom again,’ I thought that a poet could see a tree’s ‘knot’ in this way, too, and something about it really struck me.””

“After that, the first book by Annie Ernaux I bought was *Writing Like a Knife*. It’s an interview-style essay that leaves out Ernaux’s more unconventional side, and it’s the kind of book that gives you an idea of the mindset she brings to writing.”

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

“This book and the “Gen Z Bookshelf” interview sparked my interest in reading.”

“The scenes where Tsuchida, a bookstore clerk, delivers monologues about impressions he has formed while watching customers, family members, and others are striking.”

“Perhaps the process of experiencing contradictions firsthand and making choices ultimately enriches a person’s life. I, too, want to live while gradually expanding the breadth of my life.”

“I started writing and reading books again, as I did when I was young. I recently read Life Lessons by psychiatrist and writer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and what I’m reading now is About Her by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto.”

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