Susan Straight lives mere blocks from where she was born in the Inland Empire town of Riverside. She says there are two types of people, those who stay and those who leave. Straight has always stayed.“All I am is a writer and a mom,” says Straight, the author of eight novels, divorced mother of three daughters and a professor of creative writing at UC Riverside.On a recent Monday afternoon, just a few days before the release of her latest novel, “Between Heaven and Here” (McSweeneys, $24), Strai

Oct. 11, 2012

FRANKFURT (AFP) ― The world’s biggest book fair opened here on Tuesday with the spotlight on children’s literature, traditionally an “under-recognized” sector but now seen as a driving force in publishing.More than 7,000 exhibitors are expected from Wednesday at the five-day Frankfurt Book Fair, which this year also puts the literary traditions, arts and culture of New Zealand in the spotlight as its guest of honour.“Childrens’ books have been doing very well around the world,” Richard Robinson,

Oct. 10, 2012

Former Justice Minister Kang Geum-sil on Monday said Korea should move away from its authoritarian political system, during a press meeting promoting er latest book “Politics of Life” published by Rhodos Publishing.The former minister said the ruling Saenuri Party has been following the authoritatian and controlling political style of former President Park Chunghee, nd the party with such a system should not rule the country for the next five years.“We cannot move forward if we don’t move away f

Oct. 9, 2012

The Vanishing PointBy Val McDermid (Atlantic Monthly Press)Reality television may be the ultimate con game, as British author Val McDermid shows in her highly entertaining 26th novel, “The Vanishing Point.”After all, don’t you wonder just how much of all that bad behavior is an act and how much is truth. Is it reality or clever acting?With the consummate scam as its foundation, “The Vanishing Point” also is about motherhood and the lengths that one will go to save a child as the action bounds fr

Oct. 4, 2012

Black FridaysBy Michael Sears (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)A first-time novelist at age 61, Michael Sears displays a flair for description in his debut financial thriller, “Black Fridays.”When a Wall Street executive tries too hard to compensate for his lack of height, Sears’ main character, Jason Stafford, observes: “His desk sat on a three-inch riser ― it helped a little, but when he stood up he still knew he was short.” And when Stafford gently checks whether his 5-year-old autistic son is finally asl

Oct. 4, 2012

Korea: Policy Options for Today and Tomorrow, Edited by Rhyu Sang-young, Park Cheol-hee, Kang Won-tak, Suh Moon-gi, (Asia Foundation)East Asia Foundation, a nonprofit research group, has published a book analyzing key political, economic, social and security issues for the next Korean government. Essay collection “Navigating Korea: Policy Options for Today and Tomorrow” is also designed to assist policy debate in the presidential election, the foundation said. “As the economy staggers and societ

Oct. 4, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Twenty years ago, actor Andrew McCarthy read a book about walking the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route in Spain, and it inspired him to walk the Camino himself.“That sort of changed the way I felt in the world and it helped me stop being afraid of the world,’’ recalled McCarthy, 49. “It helped me realize travelqs obliterate fear.’’McCarthy, whose best-known films include his work as part of Hollywood’s “Brat Pack’’ in “Pretty in Pink’’ and “St. Elmo’s Fire,’’ is n

Sept. 27, 2012

First MothersBy Beverly Gherman and Julie Downing (Clarion)It’s no secret that mothers shape their children’s lives. Even if you are president of the United States, Mom still thinks of you as her baby. First Mothers by Beverly Gherman and Julie Downing tells about some of the odd and interesting natures of the women who, in a roundabout way, helped shape this country.Barbara Pierce Bush, mother of George W. Bush, worried about her weight until she was an adult. When her husband ran for president

Sept. 27, 2012

Telegraph AvenueBy Michael Chabon (Harper)One of the great boundary-defying outlaws of contemporary American fiction, Michael Chabon revels in high culture and low. He’s as likely to write about comic books (“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay”) as the mysteries and snares of the literary life (“Wonder Boys”). He has written a Harry-Potteresque novel for young readers (“Summerland”) and a grown-up detective tale (“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union”). Whatever the subject or genre, the languag

Sept. 27, 2012

David Byrne is, to use one of his favorite words, a context unto himself. Founding member of Talking Heads, he blew up the concept of that band at least three times before disbanding it in 1988 for good.By then, he was already a film director, artist and composer, working on projects such as Robert Wilson’s 1985 “The Knee Plays” and Twyla Tharp’s 1981 ballet “The Catherine Wheel.”In the years since, he has created his own world music record label, written movie soundtracks and published half a d

Sept. 27, 2012

A new library for the disabled opened on Monday at the National Library of Korea in Seocho-dong, Seoul. The fully equipped independent library designed to provide improved services replaces the former information center for the disabled.The purpose of the new library is to “tear down the barriers of information accessibility” in order to give hope to some 2.5 million disabled people in Korea who wish to have easier access to information, the library said in a statement. The Independent Library f

Sept. 24, 2012

The Cutting SeasonBy Attica Locke (Harper)The intertwining of the past and the present is an ongoing theme of mystery fiction. So many of our actions have a foundation in the past, whether it be a personal history or that of a country.Attica Locke illustrates the changing face of racism and classism in her superb second novel. The inventive plot of “The Cutting Season” is matched by complex, believable characters, some of whom are motivated by the need to have full lives while others have succum

Sept. 20, 2012

French economist Guy Sorman, who also serves as a global advisor to the Lee Myung-bak administration, said Korea needs to promote its traditional culture as well as fine arts ― rather than K-pop and other forms of popular culture ― during a press conference promoting his latest book last week.“In Europe, people consider Korea’s idol groups as pop artists, not necessarily as Korean artists,” the scholar told reporters on Sept. 14 in Seoul. “I don’t think the current K-pop wave in Europe makes Eur

Sept. 20, 2012

Juong Young-sin’s photo essay captures Korea’s traditional markets over a quarter of a centuryPhotographer and author Juong Young-sin has been taking photographs of Korea’s regional traditional markets for 25 years.“I just wanted to meet people, and the local market is where you go when you want to do that,” she tells The Korea Herald. “Markets also tell you stories of the real people.”Though she has now published her collection of essays, Juong was only an aspiring writer in 1986. She was deep

Sept. 20, 2012