Kim Ran-do’s new collection of essays lacks depth, thoughtfulness

SNU professor back with another advice book for youthIt seems like Seoul National University Professor Kim Ran-do still has a lot of advice to give to young people, even after the success of his first collection of essays, “You are Young, Because You are Suffering.”The consumer science professor recently published another advice book, which is also written for 20-somethings in the country. While his former best-selling book specifically targeted university students, the new one, titled “You Beco

Aug. 30, 2012

Fluff with right amount of starch

Shadow of NightBy Deborah Harkness (Viking)Deborah Harkness’ “Shadow of Night,” a sequel to her best-selling “A Discovery of Witches,” pretty much defines excellence in the literary subgenre of fluff.The term fluff, as devotees recognize, need not connote bad, as “Shadow” irresistibly proves. Under Harkness’ assured, witty hand, it remains feather-light over the course of nearly 600 pages, with plenty of suspense and a romance for the ages. Literally, as it happens.Spoiler alert: To discuss this

Aug. 23, 2012

Novel lacks humanity

Kill DecisionBy Daniel Suarez (Dutton)The most interesting characters in Daniel Suarez’s new techno-thriller, “Kill Decision,” are a trained pair of ravens who hover over the good guys as guardian angels.That’s unfortunate.There are a lot of big ideas in this novel, which warns against a future where machines make even the ultimate decision ― to kill ― without human intervention.And I’m sure Suarez’s book will find many fans among tech heads and futurists. But his audience would be much larger,

Aug. 23, 2012

Self-publishing or vanity press? The answer may surprise you

If author Tina Folsom let big publishing stand in her way, she never would have become a millionaire.In 2010, after more than 30 literary agents and publishers rejected “Samson’s Lovely Mortal,” the first in her series about lusty vampires, the San Francisco romance writer decided to self-publish her book on Amazon.com.Today, Folsom, 46, has made it e-big. She has generated at least $33,000 a month since December 2010 selling her full-length books, novellas and short stories online. In November

Aug. 23, 2012

Jogye Order publishes bilingual series on Korean Buddhism

Late Ven. Jigwan’s ambitious project comes together seven months after his deathJogye Order, the nation’s largest Buddhist sect, has published an English and ancient Chinese bilingual book series on the teachings of Korean Buddhism, it announced this week.The 13-volume series, titled “Collected Works of Korean Buddhism,” contains teachings of celebrated monks throughout Korean history, including Wonhyo (617-686), Jinul (1158-1210) and Hyujeong (1520-1604). The series’ Korean edition, translated

Aug. 23, 2012

Nobel laureates to celebrate literature in Gyeongju

The 78th PEN International Congress to feature North Korean writers, human rights issuesThree Nobel Prize winners in literature will be in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next month to discuss human rights, literature and media at the upcoming 78th PEN International Congress. Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio will give lectures about their literary works along with renowned local poet Ko Un, PEN International Korean Center announced on Wednesday. No previous editio

Aug. 22, 2012

Book offers deliciously ironic moments

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia ChildBy Bob Spitz(Alfred A. Knopf)In a characteristically chatty letter from Paris to her sister-in-law, Freddie, Julia Child expresses curiosity about a “newfangled sensation” called television. “How much do you really use it? . . . How do you like the programs? . . . My heavens, I am beginning to feel very out-of-date indeed.” It was 1952. Television was a novelty, and Child was debating the wisdom of collaborating with her new friend Simone Beck on the coo

Aug. 16, 2012

Tricks play in new Burke novel

Creole BelleBy James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)If all crime novelists were as thoughtful and nuanced as James Lee Burke, we could finally put to rest those groundless prejudices against genre fiction. The marks of the thriller ― violence, greed, unspeakable secrets ― are always present in Burke’s stellar Dave Robicheaux series (as well as his fine Hackberry Holland series). But the books are works of dark art. At their unflinching best, they examine the cost of violence, even when it’s perform

Aug. 16, 2012

Choosing story over medium

Sandi Tan’s past is teeming with ghosts. The Pasadena, California-based filmmaker-turned-novelist isn’t a seer herself ― she’s a self-described scaredy-cat and doesn’t particularly enjoy supernatural books and movies ― but her childhood in Singapore in the 1980s was populated with ghost stories and family members who saw spirits. Even her elementary school, a dank World War II-era military hospital, was said to be haunted.“It’s such a big part of people’s lives in that part of the world,” says T

Aug. 16, 2012

‘50 Shades of Grey’ marketing fad goes mainstream

NEW YORK (AP) ― You’ve bought rope for that special someone, picked up a few sex toys and read those “Fifty Shades of Grey’’ books a time or three. You know who you are.Well, no need to skulk about at naughty shops or the hardware store as Fifty Shades of Consumption makes it further into the mainstream.Stuart Weitzman and Marc New York have Grey-struck campaigns in the fat September issues of fashion magazines, the former touting black stilettos and high, Anastasia Steele-worthy boots called “F

Aug. 16, 2012

Former Culture Minister Kim returns to TV screen

Former Culture Minister and actor Kim Myeong-gon will return to the small screen for the first time in four years with KBS’ TV drama “Gaksital,” according to reports.Kim, who served in the government post from 2006-2007, will play Yang Baek, an independence activist and spiritual leader of the Joseon people.“I accepted the offer because the role was based on the story of Kim Koo. There has been no drama like ‘Gaksital’ so far that seriously tells the story of the anti-Japanese movement,” Kim was

Aug. 16, 2012

‘Coldest War’ heats up alternative history

The Coldest WarBy Ian Tregillis (Tor)With “The Coldest War,” Ian Tregillis continues an impressive fantasy/alternative-history trilogy he began with “Bitter Seeds.” The first novel, set in Britain’s darkest hours of World War II, pitted British warlocks, calling on dark otherworldly forces, against young Nazi Ubermenschen, whose X-men-like superpowers (invisibility, flamethrowing) are fueled by battery power fed directly into their brains.Now it’s 1963. The Russians rule everything east of Paris

Aug. 10, 2012

Passion for theater shaped Dickens

Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the WorldBy Simon Callow (Vintage)In 1831, the 19-year-old Charles Dickens ― having long dreamed of a career on stage ― secured an audition at Covent Garden. But he came down with a cold on the appointed day, forcing him to request a postponement until the following season. By then, Dickens was a cub reporter, taking his first steps toward becoming the greatest English novelist.As actor Simon Callow points out in his splendid “Charles Dickens and the Grea

Aug. 10, 2012

Is there anything left to say about Marilyn Monroe? Well ...

In the decades since her death on Aug. 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe has been the subject of so many books that the actress practically deserves her own Dewey Decimal classification.And although it seems unlikely that there’s any aspect of her 36 years that hasn’t been adequately dissected, analyzed and scrutinized half a century on, the books keep coming, like the following ― two weighty tomes and two glossy coffee table books ― that have been published in the last few months.“Marilyn: The Passion an

Aug. 10, 2012