The Korea Herald

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...
Spanish author Mendoza wins 2016 Cervantes literature prize

Dec 1, 2016

MADRID (AP) -- Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza has won the 2016 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, for bringing a “new narrative style to Spanish fiction.” Educat...
'Napoleon's Last Island,' by Thomas Keneally

Nov 30, 2016

“Napoleon's Last Island” By Thomas Keneally Atria Books (423 pages, $30) Australian Thomas Keneally, author of “Schindler’s List” and 2013’s brilliant “The Daughters of Mars,” is one of the finest...
Lead-up to day of infamy

Nov 30, 2016

“Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack” By Steve Twomey Simon & Schuster (416 pages, $30) As Hollywood regularly reminds us, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec...
‘The Lion in the Living Room’ explores why we love cats

Nov 30, 2016

“The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World” By Abigail Tucker Simon & Schuster (237 pages, $26) I read much of Abigail Tucker's “The Lion in the Living Room,” ap...