The stories behind their books

““Don’t compare yourself to anyone else; compare yourself only to who you were yesterday. When someone else is speaking, think of them as someone who may tell you something you need to know. Speak clearly and precisely. Keep company only with people who expect the best of you. Choose the meaningful path, not the easy one. Through these and all twelve rules, I hope you can end a meaningless life and wisely ‘navigate’ the sea of life.””

““Ah, Paris” is something the author wrote after going to Paris, like a diary. At first, I bought it because the style was pretty and because I wanted to go to Paris. I’d never been to Europe. It feels like I’m secretly peeking into someone’s diary written in Paris. It captures the little details and atmosphere of everyday life in Paris—the restaurants, the streets, and so on—so I felt as if I were there in Paris myself.”

“That book, Na Tae-joo’s *Wildflower Life Lessons by Na Tae-joo*—my dad went to a bookstore, bought it, and got me a copy to read on the way.”

“The Little Prince”

“I bought There Are Days Like This, a book that seemed nice to read together with children by a café window on a rainy day.”

“If I were good at English too, I would have read it that way.”

“예전에 <시크릿>이란 책도 읽었었고, 거기 나오는 끌어당김의 법칙과 비슷하길래”

“I didn't start writing because of any particular occasion. I gathered the things I had jotted down—fleeting thoughts, like entries in a diary—and they came to be a book.”

“Actually, I haven't even read the book The Sorrows of Young Werther yet, so I think I'll start with joy!”

“I immediately bought and read the translated original novel.”

“Well, first of all, the reason I started reading it is—there’s a producer. The producer who first got me to debut on a program called New Nonstop, Producer Ginisi, and I have a book club, just the two of us. I was going to introduce this book…”

“I find it so amazing too, and hearing that the song I made as a gift for my child is coming out as a picture book like this feels quite moving.”

“It’s a name taken from a character in the webtoon *Tower of God*. I was so gentle-natured, so the CEO gave me the name to make me tougher.”

“I wondered how a lie could be elegant, and I was interested because it was by the author of Wandeuk.”

“La Divina Commedia Written by Dante Alighieri 1308-1320 (The Divine Comedy written by La Divina)”

“It’s about how she became a star when she was young and what life as an actor was like; it’s a really sad story.”

“But these days, I’ve been reading a book called An Unexpected Season.”

“I looked it up, and apparently one of them is water residue.”

“I think I found a lot of comfort.”

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

“This is a mystery novel I read recently.”

“You have to put down deep roots so you can stand more firmly as you rise.”

“I've been really enjoying Alain de Botton's book The Sorrow That Brings Joy lately.”

“Of course, you need to have practiced enough, and you also need to be fully prepared in terms of how you look onstage. But what matters most is believing in yourself and enjoying the stage.”

“I was so immersed in the work that I read it in one sitting despite being busy with activities. I even recommended it directly to the members.”

“As I got further into the latter half, I found myself thinking how astonishing it was. This is the first book that has made me feel that way. I was amazed by how it planted clues and then brought them back later.”

“In the end, both those inside the book and all of us outside it were alive, and living.”

“Our mountain grandfather, who grades our pointy day as a long oval.”

“I started receiving psychological counseling in 2018, and I was advised that it might be good to try writing a book. I thought sharing my writing as well might help people understand my music.”

“I read *At the Edge, But I Haven’t Fallen Yet*! It’s divided into various topics, so I enjoyed reading it, and it warmed my heart. It’s a book that really helps you regroup. Now let’s get moving!”

““A book Choi Ja recommended to me; it was written based on research on aging.””

“I started reading *Darkness at Noon* the day before yesterday.”

“I’ve been very interested in composing lately, and the book contains a lot of things that people like me, who want to compose popular music, would want to know for themselves. People tend to think composing is difficult, but it explains very clearly and simply what composing is and how to do it. One of our songs is included in the book, too, so I thought, “That’s how this song was made,” and it brought back a lot of memories of recording and singing it at the time. It also helped me with composing.”

“It’s a book I really hope you’ll make time to read.”

““When I ask you an awkward question, you know? (Announcer Kim Ju-woo) smiles and politely turns me down.””

“I didn’t study music theory separately, and there’s a book called Popular Music Theory. It’s a thick book that teaches you things like the basics of arranging and how chord progressions work. That’s how I learned.”

“Scary Stories Are the Best!”

“I define a singer as “someone who conveys.” Elements like pitch and performance are certainly important, but in the end, the most important thing is conveying a song and its meaning to someone.”

““Watching people from all walks of life take on challenges with courage filled me with a sense of adventure!””

“At age 20, I suddenly remembered a book called *Reading the Analects Happily*. At the time, while reading it, I felt for the first time that my thinking was awakening, and”

“I highly recommend all of Matsumoto Taiyo’s works. For example, Ping Pong and Monster.”

“The book I read quickly and enjoyed just as much is Dante’s Divine Comedy. Turning each page is so enjoyable and fun.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down, pile up a ton of books, and read. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole bunch just recently, too. There are The Children of Gwaengiburi Village, The Little Prince, Confession, March Is a Red Ravine, Norwegian Wood, and a poetry collection by poet Lee Byung-ryul. I get a lot of book recommendations all the time.”

“I’d like to recommend it.”

“I shouldn’t laugh, but that last line is so powerful.”

“It had such a strong pull that I’d throw my entire last paycheck at it. Reading this, I got such an intense feeling, and this kind of reading as a 10-minute read...”

“They say the book is called A Thousand Blues. If many of you also felt a strong pull toward this passage, I recommend giving it a read.”

“In the early hours of Friday, I finished reading A Little Life.”

“I think I used to follow it a bit like a fandom thing, reading comics too, reading Lee Mun-yeol’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, and watching Chimchakman’s Three Kingdoms.”

“Because I want to make the contents of the book my own.”

“And the book I’d like to recommend today is The Tea House at Cape Rainbow. It’s a book I read as I entered my thirties. Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to the author’s descriptions of scenery and flavors. When I encountered abstract and emotional ideas, I felt a deep attraction to the writing, savoring it as I formed my own images from my experiences.”

“And this book—I'm reading it now.”

“Since it was a book that prominently covered stories about Italy, the birthplace of poisoning, I brought it along on my business trip to Italy and read it twice during the journey.”

“Oh, I did like that. I did like that classic. That was was a good book,”

“If you want to read something a little better, I recommend what I’m reading right now.”

“Still, I’ve read three of this author’s books, and From the Shore is number one. I was reading it at a bookstore, then bought it right away and kept it.”

“A few days ago, I took that book out and read it again. It’s still on my desk.”

“I resolved that I would read it all the way through, but…”

“For me, who has been running nonstop since my debut, books give me a little breathing room and help me gain insight.”

“After reading the book, I also gained the courage to take on a field I want to study, using my spare time even when I’m busy with group activities.”

“After Blonote, I think this book is going to become my all-time favorite.”

“Amid a busy schedule, I picked up a book that deeply moved me. The book I really want to recommend to others is The Five-Percent Miracle by my senior Lee Dong-woo, the comedian formerly of Tintin Five.”

“After reading No Longer Human, I also sought out and read The Setting Sun.”

“It shocked me a lot, and it was a book that gave me many realizations and resonated deeply with me.”

“A book I’m so glad to find, for me, who dreams of becoming a showbiz singer at sixty.”

“When I read books, I imagine everything in the scenes. These days, I’m reading a book called Dallergut Dream Department Store, and when they talk about the dream department store, I can see it in my head. I imagine I’m shopping there as I read. It’s not just novels, but other books, too—for example, if there’s a sentence where Einstein is talking, I imagine him saying it. (Laughs) That’s probably why I was able to learn video production so quickly.”

“If I were to buy [a dream], it’d be one where I’m flying through the skies or swimming freely in the deep sea. But those kinds of dreams don’t sell well.”

“I read Dallergut Dream Department Store.”

“For me, I’d buy one where we become whales and swim together in the sea. What’s the relation? Because it’s a whale, I’m a whale shark.”

“I’ve told this to CARATs several times. After reading Dallergut Dream Department Store, I haven’t been able to read a book because I’ve been busy with work.”

“I read a lot while thinking, ‘It must be made-up stories.’”

“I collected about 20 volumes of the Conan manga.”

“Someone recommended a book called Look at This Poem to me.”

“Personally, I like spending my time studying and reading books!”

“Although it's really gross, I also like this kind of manga.”

“As I was publishing my book, I read Jeong Yu-jeong’s *The Origin of Species* and Shim Eun-hee’s *The Wind Blew in Ireland, and Waves Rose in My Heart*.”

““One familiar poetry collection, one I want to read anew. And this one is one I really love. I always carry three poetry collections in my bag.””

““I also read the slice-of-life novel The Uncanny Convenience Store,””

“In life, you do things with many different people, and this book helps you keep the focus on yourself amid all that. I especially want to share the words, 'You don't have to do it well.' I recently tried acting. Wanting to do well matters, but that desire can also make you feel pressured and nervous. 'So what if I don't do it well?' Sometimes it's good to take things lightly”

“A Thousand Years of Love, Father.”

“Even today, when the word “sublime” has been reduced to a tedious and stifling word, it is unavoidably sublime.”

“One thing that really stuck with me from it was the line, “It was possible because I didn’t know it might be impossible.” I tend to think positively, so I always read it believing that anything was possible.”

“This book carefully explains how both cats and their guardians can be happy, accompanied by cute and fun illustrations. When you run into a problem that affection alone cannot solve, I’m sure you’ll be able to find an answer in this book, just as you might ask Teacher Nyaongshin for advice.”

““TWICE’s Nayeon gave me I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki as a birthday present. We used to talk about books from time to time. That book gave me a lot of comfort.””

““I’ve been living in Korea for four years and have read many Korean literary works in English. Each time, I felt, ‘Ah, this is a translation.’ But I was surprised by how excellent the English was in these two works published this time. I think it’s at a higher level than the English I use. (Laughs.)””

““Torrent””

“Wow, author Shim Yong-hwan’s new book #365DaysOfKoreanHistoryInOnePage is coming out soon 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻”

“So I really, really recommend reading it.”

“Whenever I’m exhausted from practicing all day or performing overseas, Professor Shim, my spiritual mentor, has always awakened my self-esteem—the sense that I am the protagonist of this world—and given me courage. At last, he has published a book for young people. From now on, I should always carry this book in my travel bag. I sincerely want to recommend it to everyone I know.”

“A writer who portrays a natural attitude toward life with purity and precision. The moment I read her writing, I already belong to happiness. It is a clear and sturdy world that only those who live as themselves can enter.”

“Excuse me Jungkook has bought a copy of Crying in H Mart!!!!!”

“The Little Prince is, ah, really a song that's kind of like a fairy tale for adults. Um, it's inspired by the original novel, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, uh...”

“It's been quite a while since I bought Douglas Kennedy's The Big Picture, but I've been so busy that I still haven't started it.”

“Almost everything I know about love, I learned from my relationships with my longtime female friends. Love is laughing together so hard you can hardly breathe. It’s walking down the street together on a Saturday night and feeling that the whole city belongs to us.”

“I recently read the memoir Everything I Know About Love. The author talks about what she realized after spending her life pursuing romantic love.”

“I had never taken photos wearing lingerie before. Since this is my first time trying it, I hope everyone will pay close attention to the photos of me wearing lingerie.”

“Actually, there were many more kinds of baby food I fed Seo-a. I recorded them in a notebook or on my phone each time. They said the book shouldn’t be too thick, so I included about 20 recipes and snacks for each stage, making a total of 131 recipes.”

“I was immediately drawn into that book.”

“Among the many books, one is Music Short Story Collection, a book that gathers short stories inspired by music by five novelists.”

“I was able to continue the lingering feeling I had experienced in this novel through that poetry collection as well.”

“The book I’m reading is There Is No Such Thing as Nothing Now. I get a lot of comfort from it, and I’m learning how to think differently.”

“I’m Karon’s mom, Kim Jae-kyung, pleased to greet you as an author.”

““I really like the actor Park Jung-min, and he wrote a book called *A Useful Human*. I first read it in print, then listened to the audiobook once. Hearing it in the actor’s own voice made it resonate with me even more. It was so nice to have him read his own story aloud.””

“I cried so much reading Tablo’s Pieces of You. The very first chapter was so dry. The writing. From the second chapter on, the tears just kept falling, and I was like, “What do I do? I feel sorry.””

“It defines and interprets social issues I haven't experienced from the perspective of justice, and I think there are many questions you have to think through and judge for yourself.”

“Please see it as an honest account of my experiences, not an autobiography.”

“These days, I'm reading Jonas Jonasson's novel *Killer Anders and His Friends*.”

“I really like reading mystery novels, and there’s a book called *The Awakening of Magic* that I started but didn’t finish a while ago. It’s a quiet book, but the ending isn’t quiet; I think I might read it again.”

“I’m not really into scary movies, but I find it so much fun to feel tense while reading a book. I like thrillers and mystery novels.”

“All I could bring was a book and two pairs of AirPods.”

“Sometimes in life, a single word from someone else can easily bring us down. This book talks about how to protect yourself and love others through “just the right amount of positivity and just the right amount of courage.” I sincerely hope that all of you readers will come away from this book with “just the right amount of positivity and courage.””

“The 8 Rules of Love, by Jay Shetty.”

“I found myself feeling drawn in by a book I had picked up casually, so I’m writing this.”

“When I read those lines, I felt so comforted that I even had the ridiculous illusion that perhaps all the time I had lived through and experienced was for the sake of reading this poem.”

“I’m not sure yet what kind of thoughts and feelings the poet is speaking to me with.”

“And I, too, as I suddenly began writing down the poet’s poem, am not sure what on earth I’m trying to say to you all.”

“But one thing I can say for certain is that those lines brought me great comfort, and rather than offering you the usual, countless, dazzling pleasantries, I wanted to return that comfort to you by writing down my sincere thoughts, one character at a time.”

“This is exactly the book I want to find. It’s about the number 88 bus.”

““I recommend ‘Laugh Like Haha’s Mom.’””

“Like the picture diary you kept as a child, try drawing your own memories each day, following wherever your heart takes you. Finding little moments of happiness in everyday life is quite a joyful thing.”

“After that, I started seeking out and reading Murakami's major works, such as Dance Dance Dance and Kafka on the Shore.”