Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'
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US expert says N. Korea might ignore Trump if he returns to White House
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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‘Mockingbird Next Door’ recalls life with Harper Lee
What ever happened to Harper Lee? The Alabama native was 34 when her first novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” was published in 1960. This tale of childhood innocence and racial injustice in the Depression-era South won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, was adapted for an award-winning film with Gregory Peck and became a staple of high school English curricula. But Lee shunned publicity and never published another novel, fueling occasional rumors that her friend Truman Capote ― a childhood neighbor in the
July 17, 2014
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Novel tells tale of ‘Unknown Americans’
“The Book Of Unknown Americans”Cristina Henriquez (Alfred A. Knopf)A dilapidated cinder-block apartment complex surrounded by a chain-link fence is the setting for Cristina Henriquez’s second novel, “The Book of Unknown Americans.” What at first appears to be a no man’s land is actually Delaware. Welcome to the U.S.A., where every whistle stop has an immigrant story to tell.The novel opens as the Riveras, a newly arrived Mexican family ― Arturo, Alma and teenage daughter Maribel ― are settling i
July 17, 2014
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Boys will be boys (and sometimes girls)
AdamBy Ariel Schrag (Mariner)In Ariel Schrag’s audacious coming-of-age novel “Adam,” an inexperienced teenage boy falls in love with a lesbian and tricks her into believing he’s transgender so she’ll go out with him. Yes, I know: So many things could have gone wrong with this premise. The sheer number of potential missteps is enough to daunt any novelist, let alone a first-timer like Schrag.But Schrag, best known for her series of graphic memoirs about her adolescence, has found compassionate an
July 17, 2014
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[Weekender] Mega stores seek to connect with readers
In an effort to overcome a decline in sales, and the profoundly dwindling public interest in reading, Korea’s two largest book retailers Kyobo Book Center and Yes 24 set out their own unique strategies. For Kyobo, Korea’s largest book chain with 14 branches nationwide, it is tailored book consulting service. At the core of this service are a new breed of professionals called “book masters,” who find books that customers are looking for, make recommendations based on their preferences and manage
July 11, 2014
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[Weekender] Small, unique booksellers survive competition
Generally speaking, price and brand power matter most in the bookstore business. These factors have earned price-competitive chains the lion’s share of the market, while the small, independent bookstores continue to wither.In reality, the mom-and-pop shops are more embattled than what we see in rom-com films like “You’ve Got Mail” and “Notting Hill.”But not all of the neighborhood bookshops are losing out. Some are staving off the competition through differentiation strategies. Your Mind Your Mi
July 11, 2014
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Glimpse into China’s business culture
To know China, you must know “guanxi.” Lexically, it is a relationship or connection, but it means more than that. It contains important cultural implications that no single English word can explain.In China, guanxi is the key to success, be it in business, politics or any field that requires people-to-people relationships. The Chinese understand guanxi as the art of networking in their own fashion. To them, guanxi is exchanging favors for a common interest. “If you scratch my back, maybe I will
July 10, 2014
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Social worker runs afoul of survivalist in ‘Fourth of July Creek’
Fourth of July CreekBy Smith Henderson (Ecco)Reading the first pages of Smith Henderson’s astonishing new novel, you can sense the trouble rising like thunderheads over the plains. A cop waits outside a ramshackle house. You know the place: “Peeling paint, a porch swing dangling from one rusting chain, a missing windowpane taped over with torn cardboard.” A social worker arrives. A mother and son sit handcuffed behind the screen door, subdued.These two, says the cop, “are full idiots.” The socia
July 10, 2014
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World of collectors of rare 78 rpm records
Midway through her thoughtful, entertaining history of obsessed music collectors and their quest for rare early 78 rpm records, writer Amanda Petrusich has a revelation. Focusing on one particular seeker and his knack for finding obscure titles others have missed, she describes him strategizing his search by “pursuing his prey with the kind of vehemence typically employed by a PI stalking a client’s ex-wife, or a cop chasing a kingpin. It felt calculated and thorough.”The difference? Unlike thos
July 10, 2014
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For Maya Sloan, ghostwriting Jenners’ book just part of fiction fun
NEW YORK ― One day. That was all the time Maya Sloan allowed herself to Google reviews of the dystopian young adult novel she ghostwrote for Kendall and Kylie Jenner.Not surprisingly, Internet trolls had it out for the youngest sisters of the Kardashians ― lampooning the idea that two teenage models who have yet to graduate from high school wanted to be taken seriously as authors. But Sloan, 37, didn’t escape unscathed, either.“Maya Sloan must have a serious need for money to submit herself to t
July 3, 2014
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‘War and Gold’ explains chaotic history of money
One of my souvenirs is a note from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. I paid a vendor in Victoria Falls $3 for it, and that was more than it was worth. Its value to me is in the impressive pledge on the note: “I promise to pay the bearer on demand TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS.”When your national currency is rooted in such paper promises, inflation and chaos are sure to follow.This is the lesson taught in “War and Gold” by Kwasi Kwarteng, a son of Ghanaian parents who is a historian, hedge fund analyst and
July 3, 2014
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Maum’s novel an exercise in wit and ‘Fun’
I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without YouBy Courtney Maum (Touchstone)Richard Haddon, the morose British artist at the center of Courtney Maum’s amusing and yet still heartfelt new novel, used to be devoted to the avant garde. He made mixed-media collages using saw blades and driftwood and melted ramen noodle packets. He wrapped toy soldiers in Bubble Wrap to make a statement. He was confident and energetic and young. Hell, he even used to listen to Peaches.Now, though, things have changed. Richa
July 3, 2014
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Powerful ‘Euphoria’ reimagines Mead
EuphoriaBy Lily King (Atlantic Monthly Press)This novel is as concentrated as orchid food, packing as much narrative power and intellectual energy into its 250 pages as novels triple its size.Inspired by the 1933 meeting of anthropologists Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson (Mead’s second husband and her third), and interweaving many other real characters and theoretical developments, “Euphoria” is a tale of passions, discoveries, jealousy, dedication, sexual mores and violence. It i
July 3, 2014
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Starbucks chair cowriting book on military vets
NEW YORK (AP) ― Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz is collaborating on a book about veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.“For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us about Citizenship, Heroism and Sacrifice” will be released by Alfred A. Knopf on Nov. 4. The book will be cowritten by Washington Post correspondent and editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran. “Given that less than 1 percent of our country has served in the military conflicts of the last decade, this is a time in America when it
July 1, 2014
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Rowling has spun a web of publishing mystery in a fun hall of mirrors
J.K. Rowling. (J.K. Rowling Official Site)If J.K. Rowling had as much fun writing “The Silkworm” as I did reading it, she had a blast.As the woman who created Harry Potter, Rowling became one of the most famous authors on the planet. But she was known as a writer for kids. Her first book for adults, 2012’s “The Casual Vacancy,” made headlines and was a bestseller, but critics were not impressed.For her next venture, Rowling decided to write in secret. She invented a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith,
June 26, 2014
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‘Zhivago Affair’: CIA’s literary Cold War
The book came in on two rolls of microfilm ― an unusual way to submit a literary manuscript. Then again, the recipient was not your ordinary publisher: It was the CIA, the year was 1958, and the agency was about to lob a grenade onto the battlefield of the cultural Cold War.The grenade was “Doctor Zhivago,” by Russian writer Boris Pasternak. It would be his only work of fiction, but the controversial circumstances of its publication would spark a furor in the Soviet Union, where it was officiall
June 26, 2014
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Bird soars to greatness in new novel
“Above the East China Sea”By Joy Tipping(The Dallas Morning News)I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching Sarah Bird’s career flourish during the past few years. Her books, sometimes serious in tone, sometimes lightly comedic, have a loyal Texas following.Her latest novel, “Above the East China Sea,” should be the one that lands the Austin writer among the literary elite. This is the rare tome that has the goods for both popular and critical acclaim at the highest level.“East China Sea,” like Bird’s 200
June 26, 2014
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‘Ruin Falls’ an intense family thriller
“Ruin Falls”By Oline H. Cogdill(Sun Sentinel)In her second novel, Jenny Milchman delivers an intense family thriller that touches on all the hot-button fears of a parent while keeping the threat of violence on the periphery of the story. Although “Ruin Falls” lags a bit in the middle, Milchman’s strength in creating characters who grow and change keep the story on track.Liz Daniels, her husband, Paul, and their children, Ally, 6, and Reid, 8, are taking a road trip to visit Paul’s estranged pare
June 26, 2014
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New Rowling book finally available on Amazon
An employee of Waterstones poses with a copy of “The Silkworm” by author Robert Galbraith, aka Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, as it goes on sale for the first time at a bookshop in London on Thursday. (AFP-Yonhap)NEW YORK (AP) ― J.K. Rowling’s latest novel has quickly climbed up the best-seller lists now that it’s finally available for purchase on Amazon.com. Rowling’s detective novel “The Silkworm” was in the top 100 by late Thursday for both print and e-book sales. She wrote it under the pe
June 20, 2014
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SIBF to explore communication with readers
Last year, the average Korean adult read 9.2 books, according to an annual report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a gradual decrease from 10.8 books in 2011 and 9.9 books in 2012. Today, with smartphones no longer just gadgets for the tech-savvy, but necessities for everyone, society’s attention has been diverted from books. In light of the changing environment, an international book fair will begin in Seoul this week to promote reading and expand the Korean publishing industry w
June 16, 2014
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‘100 Ideas That Changed Street Style’ is eclectic
Josh Sims’ “100 Ideas That Changed Street Style” is the latest in a “100 Ideas” series of books from Laurence King Publishing (other titles include “100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design” and “100 Ideas That Changed Photography”), and the lavishly illustrated softcover book strikes an entertaining balance between encyclopedia and field guide as it sprints through some 70 years of street style.Many of the movements, trends, fads, statements and style tribes highlighted, cross-sectioned and decons
June 12, 2014