The Korea Herald

Julia Baird's biography gives the English monarch a beating heart

Jan 4, 2017

“Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire” by Julia Baird; Random House (696 pages, $35) Queen Victoria dominated an age and inspired a word, “Victorian,” to captur...
David Bowie interview collection shows man behind legend

Jan 4, 2017

Tributes lie beneath a mural of singer David Bowie by artist Jimmy C in Brixton, south London on Jan. 12, last year. (AP-Yonhap) “David Bowie: The Last Interview and Other Conversations” by David Bo...
Beloved bookstore opens after 14 years, but it isn’t the same

Dec 28, 2016

Standing six stories high at the center of downtown Seoul, Jongno Books was Korea’s first multilevel bookstore, established in 1907. It was a haven for writers and thinkers, offering not only Korean...
Korea’s oldest bookstore to relaunch in Seoul

Dec 22, 2016

Korea’s oldest bookstore will be brought back to life 14 years after its closing, local publishers said Thursday. Jongno Books, more commonly known as Jongno Seojeok, will relaunch Friday at Seoul’s...
Books for for the bookworm in your life

Dec 21, 2016

I‘m ready to give the book the nine-lives prize. How many times has it been ruled obsolete? And yet, people are buying and enjoying print books more than ever. I’ve used an e-reader on occasion, but...
Marquette University adds to Tolkien collection

Dec 21, 2016

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Marquette University is adding to its J.R.R. Tolkien Collection. The university says it has acquired a first edition, first printing of “The Hobbit.” The book is one of 1,500 such ...
After techno and street art, Berlin tackles graphic novels

Dec 19, 2016

BERLIN (AFP) -- Better known for its electronic music and street art, Berlin is now also home to a budding graphic novel scene in a country that has treated illustrated stories as children‘s literatu...
Russian translation of 'Toji' released

Dec 18, 2016

The first-ever Russian translation of "Toji (Land)" written by the late South Korean writer Park Kyung-ni was published in October, a cultural foundation revering Park said. The Toji Cultural Founda...
Phil Collins, pop star and self-deprecating dad, on his new memoir

Dec 14, 2016

“Not Dead Yet” (Crown Archetype, $28) Phil Collins is arching an eyebrow on the cover of his new memoir, as if to let you know he’s in on the joke. The book is called “Not Dead Yet,” a rather wry de...
‘The Girl Who Escaped ISIS’

Dec 14, 2016

“The Girl Who Escaped ISIS” by Farida Khalaf and Andrea Hoffmann, translated from German by Jamie Bulloch Atria Books (240 pages, $24) Amid the endless war news streaming out of Syria, the need for...
Change is a sign of health, not corruption, in language

Dec 14, 2016

“Words on the Move: Why English Won’t -- and Can’t -- Sit Still (Like, Literally)” By John McWhorter Henry Holt and Co. (272 pages, $28) John McWhorter’s breezy “Words on the Move” is the umpteent...
Cartoonist shares untainted love of childhood

Dec 14, 2016

Exuding youthful exuberance and expectations, American cartoonist Jeff Kinney decided to make a living sketching comics while in college. Majoring in computer science at the University of Maryland, ...
Award-winning novelist, Shirley Hazzard, dies at 85

Dec 14, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Hazzard, an award-winning novelist who wrote of love affairs disrupted and intensified by age, distance and war, has died at age 85. Hazzard had been in failing health and ...
Top translators awarded for promoting Korean literature overseas

Dec 7, 2016

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea has announced the winners of translation awards that recognize their role in the promotion of Korean literature worldwide. The awards, which will be giv...
Murakami's new novel set for release in Japan in February

Dec 1, 2016

TOKYO (AP) -- Haruki Murakami’s new novel is set for release in Japan in February -- and that’s about as much as his fans are being told. Publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. made the announcement We...