Most Popular
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'Keep IU off the grass': Soccer fans oppose K-pop concerts at World Cup Stadium
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BTS, NewJeans fandoms clash over Hybe-Min Hee-jin conflict
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N. Korea launches missiles in latest show of military, nuclear strength
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Seoul-bound traffic clogged on 4th day of Chuseok holiday
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North Korea sends top envoy to Russia as it girds for friction with Seoul
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High temperatures may worsen mental health conditions: study
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Kia makes breakthrough in China sales
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[Special] Ansan aims to become South Korea's multicultural hub, heart of immigration policy
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Korean battery makers zero in on global commercial EV market
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Samsung chief travels to France to encourage young talents
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Lawyer’s memoir recounts stories of justice and redemption
By Molly Born Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAt first Bryan Stevenson was conflicted about whether writing a book on his life’s work was the best use of his time.Since 1989 the lawyer and activist has led the Equal Justice Initiative, the Alabama legal practice he founded, which represents death row prisoners, juvenile offenders sent to adult prisons and the wrongfully convicted.“I felt like if more people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would think differently about those issues, and that is ul
Feb. 11, 2016
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When citizenship can be bought and sold
By Sasha Frere-Jones Los Angeles TimesM.I.A.‘s single, “Borders,” isn’t the official theme song for journalist Atossa Araxia Abrahamian‘s nonfiction debut, “The Cosmopolites” (Columbia Global Reports), but we can pretend it is. In the first verse, M.I.A. asks, “Borders -- what’s up with that?” “The Cosmopolites” is one answer.Both the book and the song are reactions to the movement of populations, the increasingly permeable divisions among states. This condition bridges classes and countries: It
Feb. 11, 2016
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‘The Short Drop’ features strong shades of political thriller
Unbridled power and relentless revenge converge in the exciting, tightly plotted “The Short Drop,” which launches a new series about former computer hacker Gibson Vaughn. Matthew FitzSimmons delivers an assured, action-packed debut that features strong shades of the political thriller. Fans of Lee Child, Gregg Hurwitz and Harlan Coben will find much to like in “The Short Drop.”"The Short Drop" By Matthew FitzSimmons(Thomas & Mercer) On the surface, Gibson appears to be the quintessential thrille
Feb. 11, 2016
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How the Vatican separates faith from fiction
For legions of Catholics, and not a few church bureaucrats, the supernatural is as real and present as it was for their medieval forebears. In “The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions and Miracles in the Modern Age,” veteran Catholic journalist John Thavis explores their world of Marian apparitions, relics, exorcisms, doomsday visions and other purported encounters with the supernatural."The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions and Mirac
Feb. 11, 2016
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Gnarr’s ‘The Pirate’ reminisces ‘Catcher in the Rye’
“The Pirate,” the second installment of Jon Gnarr‘s childhood memoir trilogy, is essentially an Icelandic-punk version of “Catcher in the Rye.” Rather than Holden Caulfield wandering the streets of New York looking for someone who is not a phony, Gnarr narrates in pseudo-stream-of-consciousness style through his never-ending search for real punks in Iceland."The Pirate" By Jon Gnarr, Translated by Lytton Smith (Deep Vellum) Gnarr was diagnosed at a young age with an intellectual disability cause
Feb. 11, 2016
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Korean shortlisted for Hans Christian Andersen Awards for first time
Children's book artist Lee Soo-ji has become the first South Korean to be shortlisted for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Awards, her publisher said Tuesday.Lee, whose English name is Suzy Lee, is among the five illustrator finalists of the biennial awards, which recognizes authors and illustrators for their "lasting contribution(s) to children's literature," Biryongso said.Lee has published "The Zoo," "Mirror" and "Wave" in the United States, Switzerland and Italy. Her collaboration wit
Feb. 2, 2016
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Book with connection to Salem witch trials being auctioned
SALEM, Mass. (AP) -- A psalm book once owned by a judge in the Salem witch trials is being sold.The previously unknown seventh edition of "The Bay Psalm Book" that once belonged to Jonathan Corwin could sell for $40,000 when it is auctioned on Thursday by Swann Auction Galleries. This 2015 photo provided by Swann Auction Galleries shows a page of the seventh edition of “The Bay Psalm Book” that once belonged to Jonathan Corwin. Corwin was a judge during the 1692 Salem witch trials. (Yonhap)Corw
Feb. 1, 2016
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‘The Ex’ is compelling legal thriller
An attorney represents a man accused of committing multiple homicides and who also happens to be her ex-fiance in Alafair Burke’s latest page-turner, “The Ex.” Olivia Randall, a criminal defense attorney in New York, receives an urgent phone call from a teenage girl who says she needs her help. She‘s the daughter of Olivia’s ex-fiance, Jack Harris. "The Ex" By Alafair Burke (Harper) Harris is an acclaimed writer who lost his wife in a public shooting three years earlier and is now raising his
Jan. 28, 2016
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Coleman introduces superb detective novel
Gus Murphy was looking forward to retirement after a distinguished career as a Long Island policeman, but when his son dropped dead of an undiagnosed heart defect during a pickup basketball game, Gus’s life all but ended, too. That‘s when Tommy Delcamino, a small-time crook Gus used to arrest, shows up looking for help. Tommy’s son is dead, too, gunned down in a mysterious murder the Suffolk County police show little interest in solving. "Where It Hurts" By Reed Farrel Coleman (G.P. Putnam‘s Son
Jan. 28, 2016
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Kim delves deeper into China with new book
China is the world’s second largest economy. It has the potential to catch up and speed past the U.S., the world’s largest economy, in the near future. China has world-class information technology brands such as Alibaba, Huawei and Xiaomi that have stung the nerves of Google and Samsung. But Kim Man-gi asks, “Do people really know China?” and gives an in-depth and comprehensive view of the country in his new book “Why I Study China.” "Why I Study China" By Kim Man-gi (Dasan Books) Dubbed the “Ch
Jan. 28, 2016
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Kondo back with more tidying advice in `Spark Joy‘
NEW YORK (AP) - Marie Kondo is back. Author of the international best-seller "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" (Ten Speed Press, 2014), Kondo became famous for advising readers how to transform their lives by sifting through their belongings one by one, embracing those that "spark joy" and bidding a fond but hasty farewell to the rest. Her new book, "Spark Joy: an Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up" (Ten Speed), provides illustrations and more detail. Marie Ko
Jan. 28, 2016
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First children‘s book in 14 years wins UK’s Costa prize
LONDON (AFP) - Britain‘s Frances Hardinge became the first children’s author since Philip Pullman 14 years ago to win the prestigious Costa Book of the Year award in London Tuesday. Hardinge‘s “The Lie Tree” is a 19th century detective novel in which teenager Faith tries to uncover the truth about her father’s mysterious death. Frances Hardinge poses for photographs with her book ”The Lie Tree“ at the Costa Book Awards in London, Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap) She saw off competition from rivals including
Jan. 28, 2016
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More than just a bookstore
Bookstores these days do not just sell books. To keep afloat in the digital age, they are boosting their offerings by including art galleries in their stores, organising activities such as workshops and even selling alcoholic beverages. Such efforts seem to be paying off, at least at some places. At about 40 minutes past noon, Kyobo Book Center in downtown Seoul is crowded with people wanting to browse through the latest books.Visitors sit down to read books at the Kyobo Book Center in Gwanghwa
Jan. 28, 2016
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Olje Classics’ latest series focuses on writing well
Non-profit publishing house Olje released the 17th set in its “Olje Classics” series Thursday, focusing on the art of writing.The four-book series includes “Classic of Poetry,” the oldest collection of Chinese poetry in existence, “The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons,” a treatise on Chinese literary aesthetics, Aristotle’s “Poetics,” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”According to Olje, these classic texts have been reinterpreted for the series. “Classic of Poetry” has been
Jan. 22, 2016
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Author McDermid continues to tell powerful crime story
British author Val McDermid‘s thrilling novels about detective chief constable Carol Jordan and clinical psychologist Tony Hill continue to richly delve into the vagaries of modern crime and the psychological motives that propel people to do the unthinkable. McDermid continues her high standards in her compelling ninth outing with Carol and Tony, whose personal and professional relationship take myriad detours. While “Splinter the Silence” excels as a gripping crime fiction, the novel also works
Jan. 21, 2016
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Debut novel questions whether soldiers ever truly come home
Late in ”A Hard and Heavy Thing,“ University of Wisconsin-Madison law student Matthew J. Hefti’s debut novel, Levi Hartwig is drinking with his dad in a bar, more than a year after returning from stints as a soldier in both Iraq and Afghanistan. ”We‘re all trying to boil down our meaningless experiences to fit this tiny little conventional, three-act, linear narrative,“ the disconsolate Levi says."A Hard and Heavy Thing" By Matthew J. Hefti (Tyrus Books) Hefti -- who was raised in Wisconsin, ser
Jan. 21, 2016
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‘Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park’ gives graphic form to dying
Aneurin Wright’s debut graphic novel, “Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park ... When You‘re 29 and Unemployed,” is a shape-shifting chimera stuffed between book covers; a comic that explains the nuances of emphysema and elder care, a meta-meditation on death, loss and coping mechanisms, a tale of father-and-son reconciliation in which the father is a curmudgeonly rhino and the son a headstrong -- and totally ripped -- spectacle-wearing Minotaur. It’s all at once heartbreakingly sad, vi
Jan. 21, 2016
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Bryson tours Britain again in ‘The Road to Little Dribbling’
LONDON (AP) -- Bill Bryson loves Britain. Really. The Iowan-born writer, who takes an affectionate if sometimes exasperated look at his adopted country in “The Road to Little Dribbling,” cherishes Britain's landscape, its history, its architectural heritage, its people. He’s not so keen on its reality: TV shows, its litter and -- this is a shock -- its beer. With a touch of embarrassment, Bryson admits that he is no fan of real ale, the cask-conditioned beer that for many is iconically English.
Jan. 21, 2016
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Ethnic Korean Janice Y. K. Lee publishes second novel 'The Expatriates'
Janice Y. K. Lee, a Korean-American novelist, has recently published her second book "The Expatriates"seven years after her debut novel "The Piano Teacher."Lee has become an acclaimed novelist when her first novel shot to 11th on the New York Times fiction bestseller list less than two weeks after its publication in January 2009."The Piano Teacher" is a gripping tale of love, betrayal, safety and survival set in war-torn Hong Kong during World War II. The book, first offered at the German Frankf
Jan. 19, 2016
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Ta-Nehisi Coates among finalists for book critics awards
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ “Between the World and Me” and Lauren Groff’s “Fates and Furies” are finalists for the National Book Critics Circle prize.New Yorker literary critic James Wood, memoirist Helen McDonald and poet Terrance Hayes also were among the 30 nominees announced Monday. The NBCC selected five finalists in each of six competitive categories, ranging from fiction to autobiography.The poet, fiction writer and environmentalist Wendell Berry is to receive a lifetime achievemen
Jan. 19, 2016