‘The Obamas’ surprisingly lacks surpriseThe Obamas By Jodi Kantor(Little, Brown) With all the headlines about Jodi Kantor’s book on Barack and Michelle Obama, the biggest surprise about it is this: There aren’t any surprises.I learned little about the Obamas or the presidency that I didn’t know or imagine, and I’m not even a passionate follower of events in Washington. Well, one thing shocked me. Can you believe the White House residence has a spotty Internet connection and only one extension of

Jan. 20, 2012

Voices of Foreign Brides: The Roots and Development of Multiculturalism in KoreaBy Kim Choong-soon(AltaMira Press)One of the stars to emerge from last year’s silver screen hit “Punch” was Jasmine Lee. The Filipino-born Korean actress and activist, who rose to prominence as a panelist on KBS TV’s multicultural show “Love in Asia,” also appeared as an immigrant in the box-office hit. Aside from the film and TV roles, Lee was appointed one of Seoul City’s first foreign civil servants last year. The

Jan. 20, 2012

Staring down a no-good, gun-toting heir to a marijuana empire in rural Kentucky who’s just thrown a dead rat at his car, Raylan Givens stands unfazed.“You know how many wanted felons have given me that look?” he says, calm as a man on a Sunday stroll. “I say a thousand I know I’m low.”Cool.Raylan Givens is one cool character, whether he’s enforcing the law as a deputy U.S. marshal in Elmore Leonard’s new novel “Raylan” or on “Justified,” the taut, moody FX series that has become a critical favor

Jan. 20, 2012

GENEVA (AFP) ― Geneva once condemned Jean-Jacques Rousseau and burned his books, but is now preparing to celebrate his birth 300 years ago with pomp.The Swiss city has declared him one of its greatest citizens and a key figure of the Enlightenment.The official launch of the 300th anniversary entitled “2012 Rousseau for All” on January 19 will inaugurate an ambitious year-long programme.It will illustrate the writer’s many facets as a philosopher, thinker, teacher, musician and herbalist, who wro

Jan. 19, 2012

“Olje Classics,” a book series consisting of four local and Western classics. (Olje)‘Olje Classics’ sold out one day after hitting bookstore shelvesA book series consisting of four local and Western classics, published at a low-price to provide the texts to the less fortunate, sold out just one day after hitting the shelves last week.Provided by non-profit corporation Olje, the four-volume series in Korean titled “Olje Classics” includes Plato’s “The Republic,” Aristotle’s “Politics,” “Analects

Jan. 16, 2012

Last of ‘Child 44’ trilogy disappointsAgent 6By Tom Rob Smith(Hachette)There are two books fighting for attention in Tom Rob Smith’s latest novel, and the fact that one of them is fairly compelling isn’t enough to prevent “Agent 6” from becoming something of a mess. The third and final work in what has been up to this point a bracing, original series, “Agent 6” turns out to be a disappointment. It’s overcrowded with plotlines and stretches over too long of a timeline to sustain any narrative mom

Jan. 13, 2012

Special Lecture on Korean Paintings By Oh Ju-seokTranslated by Lee Subun, Cho Yoon-jung(Hollym)Of the many experts on Korean traditional art and paintings, the late scholar and author Oh Ju-seok had his own way of appreciating them. Oh believed one should “see them through the eyes of the past, and feel with the heart of the past,” while trying to imagine what the art must have meant for the people in those days.One of his popular books on Korean traditional art, “Special Lecture on Korean Paint

Jan. 13, 2012

Thirty years ago, Sara Paretsky published a crime novel about a character that until then hadn’t really existed: the tough, wise-cracking female private investigator. “In Indemnity Only” ― an anniversary edition is due to be published this year ― she introduced the world to V.I. Warshawski, the Polish-American detective in Chicago with a law degree, a way with a gun and a taste for a stiff drink and an attractive man.“It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years,” admits Paretsky, 64, whose latest Wa

Jan. 13, 2012

Korean novelist Shin Kyung-sook’s latest novel was put on the shortlist of the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize, the prize’s organizing committee said on its website on Wednesday.“Please Look After Mom” is one of the seven finalists of the prize along with works by authors from such countries as India, Japan, China and Pakistan.It was the first time that a South Korean novel has been included on the prize’s shortlist.“This is a moving and structurally compelling novel which examines a single family

Jan. 11, 2012

The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, or the annual records of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, will be translated into English by the year 2033, according to the National Institute of Korean History.The government-affiliated organization, who in 2010 announced their initial idea for the grand project, recently secured a budget of 500 million won for the starting phase of the venture this year. According to one of its officials, a total of 40 billion won will be needed until the completion of the projec

Jan. 9, 2012

The biography of late Korean-born French historian Park Byeng-sen, who contributed enormously to the return of Korea’s looted ancient royal texts “Uigwe” from France, has been published in the form of children’s book.The book is the first authorized biography of Park. According to the book’s publisher Gloyeon, Park approved the project as she liked the fact that it was going to be written for children. “Park had rejected every offer from many publishing houses before we wrote to her in December

Jan. 9, 2012