The stories behind their books

“My favorite comic when I was young was Dragon Ball; I must have read it ten times.”

““It’s something like a debate among philosophers about love. It makes you think seriously once again about how love is being consumed in modern society and about our attitudes toward dating.””

“So I said I read about the scaly thrush’s call in The Rapids.”

“I ended up reading it on a whim because Chanyeol recommended it. When I read essays like this, I feel like I come to understand a wider range of lives a little better, and somehow feel more personally connected. I thought it was the kind of book that draws you into the situations and makes you laugh and cry along with them because they’re so absurd.”

“Wow... Thank you... I wanted to share my sincere feelings with all of you, so I didn’t use a ghostwriter—I wrote it myself, one character at a time. I’m truly overwhelmed that you’re showing it so much interest. Thank you so much.”

“I like books, so I try to read.”

“It’s Hwang Sok-yong’s The Evening Star. I first read this book in my second year of high school. By chance, I picked just one book from the many in the library, and it was The Evening Star. I was thinking a lot about my future at the time, so the main character, Yu Jun, felt just like me.”

“So we bought it together.”

“Even just reading her writing, I thought, “The author’s perspective is so healthy and profound,” and she felt like a “senior in life” to me.”

“to me I would definitely say five stars”

“The book I read yesterday was one called Maldok, and it was really interesting.”

“I also recommend <Happiness Doesn't Come Alone> and Sister Lee Hae-in’s essay book <Just Cry When Things Are Hard>.”

“It’s really fascinating: by coincidence, I always end up reading a book connected to our next album. After ‘EASY’ wrapped up and before we started promoting ‘CRAZY,’ I read a book called *The Madman* by Lee Hyuk-jin. The protagonist was literally a real madman. (Laughs.) So I read it thinking, ‘CRAZY—this person is really CRAZY.’ It was a book about how you can go that far when you become obsessed with something. So this book came to mind when we were promoting ‘CRAZY’ and then ‘HOT.’”

“If you find out the title of the book, most of you will probably give up [trying to read it]... The Perpetual Fluctuation of Wealth ^^ Hahahahahaha, everyone will give up. You should read it all. I also bought a book called People Born in the ’90s Are Coming. Try challenging yourself [to read] this book too 😄”

“I read *Romantic Love and Its Aftermath*. It’s such an adult book that I couldn’t understand all of it, but there was this line: “You can’t be in a relationship on feelings alone.” It meant that feelings of love or liking someone aren’t enough to be with a person; their tastes, depth of thought, and values have to align for you to become truly close to them. Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can have a deep relationship with them. It made me think that the adults who say that, as time passes, only one or two friends remain really have a point.”

“A little while ago, I read a book called *The Wizard’s Bakery*.”

“I found ‘The Buddha’s Words, Newly Translated’ an impressive read.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“Writer! I read Human Acts in the military. Congratulations.”

“I think my attitude changed after reading this short story, because it made me realize that there is hope even in places I had thought were dark times. It made me want to look around more carefully and find things to be grateful for, even in the little things. That’s why I recommend reading this short story, titled *Ahopsu Gawi*.”

“A book I read while at the TWICE dorm. A book that made me focus on myself. A book that helped me not be consumed by pressure.”

““I was drawn to the line on the first page of this book, ‘You’re crazy because of the person you love,’ so I bought it right away and read it.””

“The book I'd like to recommend is [Eleven at Night] by author Hwang Kyung-shin.”

“I think I was tempted by that blurb and read it. But it was such a predictable story... I read it in the bookstore and left it there.”

“I guess I replied to another post... As for books, I’m trying to read The Vegetarian now...”

“The protagonist, Jun, resembles me in his habit of not judging anything hastily and thinking things over again and again.”

“I recently read Philosophy Changes the Weather. I’ve always been quite interested in philosophy and found it fascinating, but this book discussed philosophy through everyday topics that were easy to relate to, so I really enjoyed it. After reading it, I wanted to try books that explore philosophy in greater depth.”

“Since it's about professional conversation techniques, it's difficult, so I can't read for long. I read a little at a time, a chapter at a time.”

“My favorite series is Percy Jackson.”

“I always carry around about two books like this.”

“Last year, my manager gave me *We Do Not Part* as a gift. I received a lot of comfort from reading this book.”

“I still remember a sentence that went, “It must have been something like a snail advancing on the edge of a blade.” When I read that, I cried so much. I think that’s the charm of fiction.”

“i recently read a book called <me before you>. it was really touching. you should read it.”

“as i said earlier, there's a book called <me before you> and i hope you try and read it once. i think it'll be really fun if carats read it.”

“As I read it, I found it incredibly delicate. Not only the expressions and descriptions, but also the emotional threads are woven together so intricately that it pains my heart as I read. I think it’s a book every Korean should read.”

““It’s really, really interesting.””

““Don’t be attached. If you don’t cling to anything in the world, there’s nothing to be a problem; but the moment you become attached, that mindset gives rise to suffering and makes things hard.” Seeing those words gave me a lot of strength.”

“I like writing handwritten letters, and I’m very grateful to receive them, too. A letter is something you put your heart into, and you write it because you really like that person. In fact, (fans) can’t always see me. There are so many times when we’re far apart, but when I think that they must have pressed their feelings into each and every character as they wrote while thinking of me, I really can’t take the letters lightly. I feel like I get a lot of strength from reading them.”

“I read *Human Acts* while I was in the military, author. Congratulations.”

“It is set during the Japanese colonial period, a time when society was highly unsettled. Although women had relatively fewer opportunities than men at the time, she fought for the social course she believed was right. It was a book that made me reflect on myself.”

“This is the first book I’ve ever read while crying.”

“I underlined it because I really related to this description. When I have some kind of realization or feel really happy, I feel the same way: “Ah, this is what it feels like.””

““I want to look back on everything from our debut up to now before more time passes.””

“Reading it at the same age, I found another point of interest. I wondered whether, when I was that age, I could do serialized labor like that, and whether I could put my story out there so starkly for the world to see. I guess I’m not there yet.”

“When I was grappling with questions about life, I drew a lot of strength from Hwang Sok-yong’s The Evening Star.”

“And I like poetry collections. I really enjoyed reading the collection The Definition of Love Is a Cat.”

“I also recommend “One Person on Earth” (Jung Se-rang).”

“Hello! I'm Lily. The book we're reading together this time is [The Man Who Died Twice] by Richard Osman, the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series we read last time! You're curious about how the story continues, aren't you?! I am too! I want to read it together…”

“I found that fun too.”

“It’s a book written for artists, and I felt like it really opened up my perspective.”

“I also want to reread the Sherlock Holmes series, haha.”

“Ah, yes. Among the members, I like reading, so I often seek out books. I haven’t been able to read lately, but during the <Mansae> promotions, I’ve been reading <Sherlock Holmes>. I really like detective novels, especially the Holmes series; it really suits my taste.”

“I really like it.”

“Was it The Hound of the Baskervilles?”

“I learned about it through the novels and watched the English drama, too.”

“I like the Sherlock Holmes series.”

“Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles”

“Sherlock Holmes, haha.”

“Professor Jung Jae-seung’s *Twelve Steps*. It was the first book I read in the military. It made me realize that what I’m worrying about and finding difficult right now is actually perfectly natural. It was a book that guided me so I wouldn’t fall into self-pity.”

“I read when I’m bored. The book I’d recommend is <Castella>. It’s a short story collection by author Park Min-gyu. I really enjoyed reading it. It’s psychedelic, really!? So at first it can be a little disconcerting, but as you keep reading, you can get completely absorbed in it.”

““I was deeply impressed by ‘Words of the Buddha in a New Translation.’””

“Elizabeth, the protagonist of the novel Pride and Prejudice. I admire her bold approach to life, even in a time when women were socially oppressed.”

“Love as if you've never been loved.”

““The person who knows how to love themselves is the greatest person.” (From *315 Proverbs Worth Reading Even a Hundred Years from Now*)”

“Reading this book made me think that I should cherish and love myself more.”

“A book I found because I was feeling a strong thirst for travel”

“I think this passage very well symbolizes the lives of artists who carried art like a divine punishment until the day they died, so it seems to be a passage that broadly symbolizes the book.”

“I think at least The Attributes of Money / Rich Dad Poor Dad are books really worth reading two or three times.”

“I have so much I want to talk about that even writing it as an epic novel on the scale of *Toji* wouldn’t be enough, but…”

“The books I’m reading these days are The Picture of Dorian Gray and Contradiction.”