The stories behind their books

“My mom bought it for me.”

“I heard this book was a bestseller, so I bought it.”

“As I felt changes in my vocal production while taking lessons from Director Lee Yun-seok and reading the book alongside them, I kept thinking that I had understood vocal production in an overly complicated and difficult way all this time. “Use your abdominal muscles,” “sing as if sending the sound backward,” “lift the sound,” and so on—one of the things that confused me most when learning vocal production was these abstract expressions. I was the same way. They are not incorrect expressions, but when you are encountering vocal production for the first time, it seems inevitable that you’ll feel confused and wonder, “What does that mean?” After taking the director’s lessons, what struck me most was singing in the most natural state. Don’t try to embellish your sound too much; make sound as comfortably as possible, without tension. Since everyone’s appearance is different, the sounds and pronunciations that feel comfortable to produce may differ, but ultimately the path the sound takes is the same for everyone, and I think a person’s own color emerges from how they sing along that path. This is the point most emphasized in the book, too, so I hope you’ll remember to make sound in the most comfortable state. This book helped me realize that sound isn’t something I create, but something that comes naturally when I’m most comfortable, and I think it explains that in the simplest way. If your work involves using your voice, I hope you’ll read it at least once and find a more comfortable sound. I hope everyone who reads this book finds a sound that is not the best, but their only one!”

“Ah, is that it?”

“These days, I've been reading <When Attitude Becomes the Work>.”

“I had read it once before, and it was really difficult.”

“I brought “20th Century Boys,” which I’ve really enjoyed reading recently. It’s so good. I have the complete series.”

“There are times when we can’t open up to anyone about anything, shut ourselves away, and feel empty. When our hearts are lonely like that, I think the most important—and truly necessary—thing is for someone to reach out first. The author describes that hand as “connection.” Just as I hope my music can reach someone like a hand reaching out, I hope this book will be like that hand, too. Hoping that love and peace will spread through the world instead of isolation, I recommend this book.”

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

“There’s a book by author Kim Eana called *Ordinary Words*.”

“If we're talking about books that have stayed with me, I think I've read these three books many times: The Lighthouse Keeper, You Too Are a Daylily, and Yeontan-gil.”

“Then I remembered that I had read Musso’s earlier book, Call from an Angel, some time ago…”

“I usually read books, but I've been busy lately and haven't been able to read often. I'm reading The Fault in Our Stars, the book the movie The Fault in Our Stars was based on.”

“It's interesting.”

“There is a poetry collection by Na Tae-joo called I See You as a Flower. It was a book that helped lift me up when I was feeling a little down.”

“Through this book, I want to share the happiness of cooking for yourself.”

“Until now, making music was the only way I knew how to talk about myself. I’m not someone who likes to go on at length to people about myself, so I had only put my voice into music. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to talk about myself through a book, in writing and photographs, I decided that since I was doing it, I might as well be honest.”

“The book has so many meanings and I have a lot to learn from the Prince. [Despite his age], he’s emotionally more mature than adults. His values are incredible,”

“She doesn’t express her feelings well, but in every action, sincerity is included. I think she and I deal with things similarly. I try to express my real thoughts and emotions truly to others, but it’s not easy.”

“I believe that sincerity does reach others eventually,”

“the bond depends on how much each [person] cares about developing that particular relationship.”

“I love the story, too,”

“I sympathize with the fox, waiting for the Little Prince [to express his desire for friendship.] When it comes to relationships, I usually take time to observe and wait for the other person [to express their feelings] first.”

“Living in a different environment [is] like living on a different planet,”

“I have a larger heart in understanding the difference between others than I had before.”

“#Coloring”

“I changed even more after reading the books The Power of Positive Thinking and The Secret.”

“As for books, I enjoyed Ito Ogawa’s The Snail Restaurant.”

“This one is a novel. I told you all about it, right?”

“I like profound novels rich in poetic expressions, like Haruki Murakami’s “Barn Burning,” which is also the source work for the film Burning.”

“I brought a book, an iPad, and headphones with me, you know? Once I finish eating, I’m going to read a book. I’m going to read while listening to music.”

“I hope this book can offer even a little strength and comfort to those standing at a crossroads of choice or feeling exhausted and weary.”

“I also liked *The Little Prince* and *Harry Potter*, among others.”

“I like the scene where the protagonist is standing in first place among the other aliens.”

““I also read a book called ‘Moss Forest.’””

““My time is musical notes; I’m making notes day by day. I find myself thinking, ‘I hope that on the day the piece is complete, I’ll be able to sing it with a smile.’” Is that the kind of meaning that comes to mind?”

“Encyclopedia of Strange Diseases.”

“Another one is a book called *All the Time in the World*. These days, everything moves so fast, and it’s hard to imagine life without videos like Shorts, right? This book is about a life of slow accumulation, in connection with quantum mechanics, and offers various perspectives on letting time rest, bending it, and stretching it. It’s a good read for people who want to create some breathing room in their lives.”

“I was able to spend time with the makeup team and photography team as if we were family, and the shoot was fun in a warm atmosphere.”

“Most recently, I read a book called Almond that a friend gave me.”

“Then, when the members made their remarks, I was really moved. “Ah… this is crazy, like a movie. Right, this is what I had been missing.””

“At the time, I really liked the great insight I gained from the story of the Indians in writer Park Min-gyu’s book *Pavane for a Dead Princess*.”

““It was content that gave me insight and resonated with me.””

“Maybe because I read it when I was young, it has somehow stayed in my memory.”

“Having experienced it firsthand and then reread it, I thought, “This was totally a Kurly promotional book.” I was moved by a different aspect, thinking, “So you really can grow this much in six months.””

“The scenes where Tsuchida, a bookstore clerk, delivers monologues about impressions he has formed while watching customers, family members, and others are striking.”

“I read a novel called Horrorstör.”

“It’s a book called Do It for Myself.”

“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.”

“There was nothing to do at the training camp, so I read books. I also kept a diary, and I cried twice.”

“Rather, I think it’s a book that makes me look back on myself, so it has a lot of meaning.”

““I read it when I was young, too, but it seems to mean something different each time I read it. As I get older, and at each stage of my life, my interpretation changes. There are lots of plays on words in the book, and it’s a world of make-believe, isn’t it? They stimulate my imagination, and it’s fun to picture a Wonderland in my mind. And above all, I think the book’s strength is that it doesn’t force a lesson on you.””

“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.”

“Maybe it’s also similar to the story of *Peter Pan*. So before this round of activities, I started digging into *Peter Pan* and went through various dark fairy tales. The dark fairy tales in particular felt new to me because they were different from what I knew as a child.”

““The part I like best is when the man, who had kept his heart closed off, opens up to the woman and says, ‘Stay with me tonight, Clara.’ Even in the film based on the novel, that scene is the best.””

“The Little Prince”

“This book is so good ❤️❤️”

“Still, I thought, “I hope lots of people get to know about this,” and I really hoped it had helped, even a little.”

““I’m proud of my mentor.””

“I’m studying Japanese on my own using Japanese books. I work hard at it whenever I have free time between schedules.”

“A friend from my hometown whom I met then gave me a book by writer Yeonjeong called *The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow, but What About Tonight?* Rather than explaining how to overcome hardship, it simply presents difficult and happy moments as short episodes. It also has lots of beautiful words and comforting phrases. I was happy because, as I read it on the rooftop, I realized for the first time that I was enjoying that moment.”

“I think this is a perfect novel.”

“I enjoy calligraphy on a daily basis, so I like to read books that have great quotes in them. I would like to recommend a book called, “The Precious You” by Writer Kim Ji-hoon.”

“After reading Anne of Avonlea thoroughly, I felt a strong pull…”

“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.”

“Watching that, I resolved to make an album the way I wanted.”

“I've read Tell Me with Flowers several times.”

“내가 하는 위로가 살기 위해 한 위로였다면, 이 책을 읽으면서는 내 삶이 치유를 받는 기분이었죠.”

“I brought a book”

“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.”

“I definitely recommend reading it as a book, too.”

“In particular, the poetry collection *Love as if You Have Never Been Hurt* left a deep impression on me.”

“I stopped watching The Ravages of Time partway through.”

“The Courage to Be Disliked.”

“The Devotion of Suspect X.”

“This is really interesting. You absolutely have to read it. People who create things absolutely have to read this. It’s a book called Sparks of Genius.”

“And this is a line from the novel Dallergut Dream Department Store.”

“I think it would be good to read it with a light, relaxed mind.”

“When I first heard about this book, I couldn't help laughing. ‘A whole book about Bibi Curry?’ But after reading it to the end, I completely changed my mind. I could feel how the owner, who likes me, had thoughtfully put each and every word on the page with sincerity and honesty. It's wonderful and impressive, and I feel both pleased and proud. Someday, I'll definitely take Bibi to have Bibi Curry. Bibi can't eat curry, but they'll give Bibi an apple, right? Lucky you, Bibi. They say they like you more than me. Let's go soon. Let's just drop by. Even if I can't go inside, I'll have the car waiting out front.”

“Recently, I read Stephen King's Billy Summers.”

“I like the title ‘Knowledge and Love’ better than ‘Narcissus and Goldmund.’”

“Recently, I read José Saramago's *Blindness* and *Seeing*.”

“I really recommend 0 to people like that.”

“The most recent book I read was a novel called Whale, which comedian Park Ji-sun gave me.”

“The Miracle of the Namiya General Store.”

“Meeting this book was a great stroke of luck. It helped me understand my fans a little better and made me want to become a better person. I want to hold on to the precious feeling of liking someone, too.”

“This time, I bought a book called The Practice of Not Reacting. I wanted to calm my mind. (Laughs)”

“I like writing by people who aren’t professional writers. They didn’t live in order to write; as they lived, their lives became writing.”

“While reading a book, I suddenly came across a passage I really wanted to show someone... There is much to learn from the words of adults, then as now. When I was young, my father used to tell me as a matter of habit, “Choose your friends well.””

““Reading is the foundation of music creation.””

“카뮈의 <이방인>을 재미있게 읽었어요.”

“If your memories were slowly fading, who would you least want to forget?”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit and read with a huge pile of books. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole stack recently, too. There’s “Children of Gwaengiburi Village,” “The Little Prince,” “Confession,” “March Is a Red Abyss,” “Norwegian Wood,” and a poetry collection by poet Lee Byeong-ryul. I get so many book recommendations all the time.”

“Actually, while creating the music for this show, I think I drew a lot of inspiration from books and videos I liked when I was young. For example, I worked with books like Peter Pan and Snow White, and videos of myself playing outdoors as a child playing in the background.”

“I think being a singer or entertainer is a profession where you’re only recognized if you achieve something big. You always have to come in first, set records, and win the grand prize at award ceremonies. People who are used to focusing only on major achievements—which can seem futile in a way—need to learn, as this book suggests, to appreciate the small joys of everyday life, or I don’t think they’ll avoid depression.”

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

““Hatrick” is actually inspired by The Great Gatsby, which I was reading while trying to improve my SD reading scores.”

“A book that comes to me when I make time to read, even for just five minutes, because I want to clear my mind and feel happy.”

“This is a mystery novel I read recently.”

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

“I enjoyed reading Han Kang’s Love of Yeosu and The Vegetarian, Yang Gui-ja’s Contradiction, and Jeong Dae-geon’s Torrent, among others.”

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

“The 8 Rules of Love, by Jay Shetty.”

“I read a memoir recently called Everything I Know About Love where the author pursues romantic love her whole life, only to realize something profound in the end: She had always been surrounded by amazing friends, and always been loved, and always gave love—that she’d been experiencing it all along, and that love had always been there by her side. When I read that, I kept thinking about the other members of the group. When I think about the future together with them, I feel like I could end up thinking something similar to the author. Being with them has made me learn to appreciate friendship even more.”

“And maybe that’s essentially what love is—learning to be kind through friendship, then practicing and showing it, like the book says.”

“I was intrigued by the way he invited people close to him to a funeral before he died, so they could share their memories of one another. It even made me want to have a funeral like that before I die.”

“The protagonist has the ability to see how much longer other people will live. A friend gets into an accident, and afterward the protagonist can see how much longer the friend has to live, which causes them anguish. It’s a novel that made me wonder whether being able to see the future is really a good thing.”

“Tongue Fu! is a book I've read several times.”

“Be sure to read it, everyone.”

“Until now, I’ve thought imagination was the greatest power music gives us. Songs leave their beginnings and endings open. When you sing about a breakup, no one tells you why the couple broke up or what happened afterward. I wondered whether a single story running through my music, whose beginnings and endings are ambiguous, might bring out more complex emotions and clearer images. That curiosity led me to write it.”

““I’m rereading the novel Almond, which takes me straight back to my middle-school days.””

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

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

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

“It feels like only yesterday that I started yoga, and I’m truly happy to have earned my instructor certification and even published a book like this.”