Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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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
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Hillary Clinton’s ‘Hard Choices’ makes for compelling reading
She hasn’t decided yet.Or if she has, she’s not telling.But if Hillary Rodham Clinton does run for president in 2016, her new book “Hard Choices,” a chronicle of her four years as secretary of State, leaves no room for doubt about how she might conduct foreign policy (pragmatically), how she will defend herself against charges that she mishandled the attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya (robustly) and about how much she regrets giving President George W. Bush carte blanche to wage
June 12, 2014
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‘Harry Quebert Affair’: Better in French?
“The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” By Marion Winik (Newsday)I just finished “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair,” by 28-year-old Swiss writer Joel Dicker, and all I can say is, God save Europe.According to the jacket copy, this book sold a million copies in France, won three literary prizes there and was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt, while knocking Dan Brown from No. 1 spots in Italy and Spain. I am not a Brown fan, but this book makes him look like Marcel Proust.Let’s assume t
June 12, 2014
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Kidnappers turn War on Terror on head
“The Abduction”By Tish Wells(McClatchy Washington Bureau)In Jonathan Holt’s first book, he introduced readers to Capt. Kat Tapo of the Venice Carabinieri (police). She and 2nd Lieutenant Holly Boland make two interesting sleuths, along with the reclusive Daniele Barbo, creator of Carnivia, an elaborate online world that reflects Venice itself.His newest novel, “The Abduction” deals with the kidnapping of an American girl, interrogation techniques used by the United States in the War on Terror, d
June 12, 2014
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Kim Ae-ran receives French literary award
Korean author Kim Ae-ran’s short story “I Go to the Convenience Store” received this year’s French literary award “Prix de Linapercu.” (Literature Translation Institute of Korea)Korean novelist Kim Ae-ran has received a French literary award, the Prix de Linapercu, for her short story “I Go to the Convenience Store,” the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Monday. The Prix de Linapercu, meaning “Prize for the Unnoticed,” is presented for work that received less attention than it deser
June 11, 2014
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Shin Kyung-sook’s second book published in English
Best-selling novelist Shin Kyung-sook’s latest work, “I’ll Be Right There,” was published in English in the United States last week. It is her second book to be translated into English, after her critically acclaimed 2009 novel “Please Look After Mom” was translated and published in English in 2011, selling over 2 million copies worldwide.“I’ll Be Right There” begins with protagonist Jung-yoon receiving a call from her ex-boyfriend of eight years that their beloved literature professor, who insp
June 9, 2014