The stories behind their books

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

“To recommend books I enjoyed reading, first, “Ordinary Words (Kim Eana).” Even though I’d only read it, I thought, “The author’s thoughts are so healthy and profound,” and the author felt like a “senior in life” to me. And then, “On My 29th Birthday, I Decided to Die a Year Later (Amari Hayama).””

“They say one person’s life becomes a landscape for someone else. To EXO-L (EXO’s official fan club), I’ll continue to show you many wonderful sides of myself. Thank you. I love you.”

“I remember reading this book while crying. I hardly ever cry when I’m reading. The protagonist has a terminal illness.”

“A book that made me realize that everyone has mistakes in the past they wish they could fix, but even those mistakes are what made me who I am today.”

“These days, I think I’ve come to prefer books and works with this kind of humanism.”

“Things one might call one’s absolute favorites are few and far between. I sometimes think of life as an unfinished movie.”

“I really enjoyed reading the book. It helped me see the world a little more deeply and broadly.”

“Watching this, I thought, “The mystery novels I’ve read up to now were only fragments. The real roots were here.””

“I haven't shown it to PD Park Jin-young yet.”

“Oh, I started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, but then I stopped, remember? It was so hard.”

“I was really burdened by it. When I heard they were making a musical about Big Bang’s story, like *Shout to the World!*, I was scared at first. And since this was only my second musical, I also wondered whether it was too soon to perform our songs. There were a lot of things I felt cautious about.”

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

“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 not saying this because I’m an emotional person, but give this book a read. It’s the kind that will annoy you… A person’s life is supposed to have a mix of happy and sad days, but they keep giving this person a hard time in life… Sigh… It made me think, “Wow, the author is cruel,” but it is fun to read.”

““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*.””

“This book is called “Anyway, Memo” by Hyeyoon Jung.”

“I was worried that I might write down too many notes, but I felt comforted as soon as I read the title.”

“And I felt like my actions were being validated.”

“The first chapter is called “I Should’ve Written It Down.””

“This is the thought that comes to mind most often.”

“So I thought that as I read this book, I’d feel like my thoughts were really understood.”

“So if you write down notes as much as I do,”

“or if you’re the opposite and want to build a habit of taking thorough notes,”

“I recommend reading “Anyway, Memo” by Hyeyoon Jung. (Recommend) (recommend)”

“I got interested while reading Small Things Like These, so I finished Foster and am drinking coffee now.”

“It was the last birthday present my late grandfather gave me. He also wrote me a letter. Since it was a story about a grandfather and granddaughter, a lot of it really resonated with me. I kept reading it again and again—two or three times.”

“In The Hedgehog’s Wish, when none of his friends come to visit, the hedgehog gathers his courage and decides to invite the animals, but in the end, he can’t bring himself to do it.”

“I wrote the book thinking that I hoped it might give someone strength.”

“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…”

“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.”

“That is a definitive answer. If this is the Gertrude Stein who supported Picasso and Matisse, then isn’t this a kind of conclusion from someone who supported artists endlessly? It’s a book I enjoyed reading six or seven years ago.”

“It's a book called < 1cm+ >, and a fan gave it to me.”

“I recently read Almond, but I don't know what it was about. I'm the type who only reads the beginning and can't make it to the end.”

“I also liked Hideo Okuda’s The Aerial Trapeze. Each short story features unusual patients who receive counseling and suggested treatments. I wanted to get counseling from Ibura, the doctor in the novel, too.”

““I found The Buddha’s Words in a Modern Translation really impressive when I read it, and hearing the words gave me so much strength, so that’s what stayed with me.””

“the wings of kirin”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down, pile up a ton of books, and read. I like bookstores because people there don’t pay attention to others. I brought home a whole stack recently, too: “Children of Gaeng-i-buri Village,” “The Little Prince,” “Confession,” “March Is a Red Ravine,” and “Norwegian Wood.” I also have a poetry collection by poet Lee Byeong-ryul. I get a lot of book recommendations, really often.”

“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.”

“I read Gu Byeong-mo's book *Gills* three times.”

“My life will be divided into before and after this book comes out.”

“[Unread Book with a Pretty Cover #1] 'Don't Let Your Mood Become Your Attitude' by Lemon Psychology”

“I’m especially enjoying the webtoon <The Return of the Mount Hua Sect>.”

“I like it. I especially like it then, too. It makes me feel very calm and lets me think a lot, so I’ve been writing quite a lot of lyrics. I like it.”

“I cried a lot, especially at the parts about parents.”

“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.”

“Lily's book rec for today: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie.”

“좋은 책이에요. 한번 보세요. 가볍게 보시기도 좋고 추천드립니다. 남녀 노소 모두가 봤으면 좋겠어요.”

“Anne Napolitano’s novel Hello Beautiful”

“It’s really good, and...”

“There’s a book by bell hooks called *All About Love*. In English...”

“LOL, my mom might say something if she sees that I read these, but these are the books I picked up from January to March at the beginning of this year while talking about things like “the energy of the universe.” The Nature of Money and Rich Dad Poor Dad, at least, seem like books worth genuinely reading two or three times, and the other books left me with a lesson along the lines of “use your heart for good.” You shouldn’t live a narrow-minded life, you know.”

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

“I’ve read a lot of Bernard Werber’s works, and I’ve read almost all of the Thanatonauts series.”

““It’s a book called At Ease Without Trying Too Hard.””

“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.”

““These days, I think I’ve come to prefer books or works with this kind of humanism.””

“Even things I had never tried and couldn’t say I liked often turned out to suit me and become things I cared about once I actually experienced them.”

“Facts are sacred. Facta sacra sunt”

“So, if I were to recommend one, there’s a book called Snowball. It’s really dynamic and fun, so I think it would be nice to read it together.”

“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.”

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

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

“If I remember correctly, it’s The Jindo Dog Baekgu Returns.”

“Whereas my previous book told, almost in diary form, various stories about life that a woman in her twenties learns while living with a cat, with Sweet Remedy I wanted to use as few words as possible and, alongside the flow of the photographs, give readers the feeling that we are traveling “together.””

“I bought this book, “Magnolia Flower Blooms Again,” from Aladin.”

“My grandmother once told me, “You’re like a magnolia flower.””

“That really touched me and resonated with me. (Touched) (Almost teary)”

“So I went to Aladin bookstore and found this pink book—the color I really like! (Pink) (Pink)”

“The title, “Magnolia Flower Blooms Again,” felt like a message meant for me.”

“When I was going through an anxious, difficult time, I felt withered, like a flower...! But this book says “blooms again,” and that made me feel so comforted!”

“So I bought it as soon as I saw the title.”

“While I was reading this book, I felt lonely.”

“[Recommended for these people!] If you want to feel understood and comforted, reading this poetry book will really help.”

“My mom told me to take another look at this.”

“Whenever that happens, I reread it, and perhaps because my own experiences are added to it, I feel that what moves me changes with age.”

“I think every artist should read it at least once”

“I’m reading Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving.”

“In conclusion… I recommend reading it at least once.”

“I’m not someone who reads a lot, but I started reading books while working. I like philosophy.”

“Even when I read books, I imagine all the scenes as I go.”

“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 have it open to a page.”

“I recently read the book *Philosophy Changes the Weather*.”

“My life will be divided into before and after this book is published. If my life up to now was given to me so that I could write this book, then I think my life from now on has been given to me so that I can make people want to read it.”

“I'm slightly in love with it”

“Not long ago, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which tells the story of four men and women who are very different from one another. It seems to me that people are born as light as feathers and gradually take on weight as they go through life. Personally, I thought Sabina’s life was wonderful.”

“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.”

“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…”

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

“I read To Kill a Mockingbird back in school, and...”

“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.”

“At first, I read it as a print book, and then I tried listening to it as an audiobook too; hearing it in the actor’s voice made it resonate with me more.”

“It’s very good.”

“My brother had received this book as a gift, so it was at home. I tried reading it and liked it so much that I take it out whenever things are hard. The saying is really true: when I'm in a good mood, I can laugh off a bad situation, and when I'm in a bad mood, even a small thing feels big. Managing your mood may not be easy, but it made me reflect on myself a little. Since I'm the one living my life, I think everything begins with me. If I have good qualities, they'll spread a pleasant scent like perfume and have a positive influence”

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

“Personally, my goal this year is to read more than twenty books. I really enjoyed reading Human Acts again last year, so this year I’ll read lots of interesting books too.”

“Although many stories I didn’t want to make public became known, I had never properly told my own story. As I kept those things bottled up, they began to fester.”

“As I was reading the book, my mom’s spicy whelk-and-noodle dish came straight to mind.”

“There was also a book called _Eleven Steps._ It was kind of a philosophy book. But with any of the different books, I found myself putting myself into the text. Like imagining myself as a character in a novel, for example. I was so deep in my imagination at the time. Was it helpful? I’m not sure.”

“It’s a story about my cat. It’s called *I Love You Every Day*. But after I finished writing it, I realized there was a lot about my dad in it.”

“This book is called "If I Could Life My Life Again" by Hyenam Kim.”

“She wrote "What would've been better if I had known at age 40."”

“So like this, it was like messages that are very professional but also messages from my mom.”

“So I cried while reading this book too.”

“Unlike the poetry books I recommended earlier, this book is not abstract.”

“I recommend this book to those who want to feel comforted in a direct manner.”

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

“I received a book called The Creative Act as a gift. I don’t often read self-help books, but this one made a strong impression because I related to it and found a lot to learn from it.”

“Through Demian, the embodiment of the perfect, ideal human being, I discovered the essence of jealousy within myself.”

“Among the books I’ve read recently, I read a book called Reading Schopenhauer at Forty. Schopenhauer is pessimistic, but there are times when I actually find comfort in that aspect of him.”

“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.”

“It’s Kim Byeol-ah’s novel Passionate Love. I haven’t actually read it recently, but it’s a book I recommend.”

“This is a book I'm reading. It's about how the story keeps going back through the generations—my mother's mother, my mother's mother's mother, and so on. So it's really interesting and has a great atmosphere. It's a healing book to read.”

“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.”

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

“That author had a lot of books listed as bestsellers in Korea, including one called *Save Me*, and”

“So I started reading Guillaume Musso's books. As I read love stories such as Save Me and The Paper Girl, I wanted to read other kinds of stories too.”

“Prince is actually my favorite of the whole series”

“There are many passages that resonate with me, so I keep reading it.”

“I'm reading *Contradiction* right now.”

“As I read the book, I found myself agreeing and thinking, “Oh, that’s right, I was born in the ’90s too.” I think it could help people born in the ’70s and ’80s understand those born in the ’90s. As time goes by, we could become “old fogeys” too. People born in the 2000s might find us really hard to understand. In that sense, I think it would be good for people born in the 2000s to read it as well.”

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

“I bought volumes 1 and 2. I’ve finished volume 1, and I have about half of volume 2 left.”

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

“This is a very warm and easy-to-read book.”

“That one read a little like a series, kind of like Gilmore Girls. I found it fun, too.”

“I read 'The Vegetarian' (2007) while serving in the military. Congratulations,”

“The wit in Berlin Diary was really something.”

“I sought out and read Pachinko because I suddenly wanted to get a feel for Korea’s modern history.”

“I read it on the flight to Europe and at the hotel. Even though I was in a good situation, reading that book weighed on my heart.”

“Your writing is so vivid and skillful that I was impressed as I read it.”

““The noble-minded are open and at ease; the petty-minded are always troubled.””

““The way it looks at events from a fresh perspective felt refreshing, and it’s an immersive book that allows you to think about the human nature the author intended to portray.””

“This book reminds me that life is worth living, so I confidently recommend it.”

“But I apparently read it.”

“It's really fun. I read it in no time.”

“This is also a book read by Heath Ledger, an actor I like. It's Gustave Flaubert's novel Sentimental Education. After seeing the book appear in the documentary film I Am Heath Ledger, I became curious about what he was thinking when he read it.”

“My favorite series is Percy Jackson.”

“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.”

“I remember crying so much when I read The Giving Tree as a child.”

“Books are difficult. I didn’t understand it, so I closed it around halfway through.”

““I got into poetry by reading ‘Love, as if You Have Never Been Hurt (Ryu Si-hwa).’””

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

“I thought about it a lot. Our fans range across different age groups, but there are quite a lot of younger fans.”

“So I brought some must-read books that I hope you’ll read during your teenage years.”

““I’ve started another new book.””

“Cool, cool. #LifeBalancer”

“I’d like to introduce a book called At Dusk. Its main character is also extremely busy. This person is worn down by life and has a very hard time, yet still meets many people, falls in love, and keeps doing their best to live. I think seeing that comforted me too. If I met the main character, I’d want to give them a big hug.”

“It’s like a debate among philosophers about love. It allows us to seriously reflect once again on how love is being consumed in modern society, our attitudes toward dating, and things like that.”

“Recently, among the books I’ve read, there’s one called *Schopenhauer at Forty*… People read it at forty, but I wanted to read it at twenty, thinking it might be good to know about it at twenty… So Schopenhauer is quite, kind of… pessimistic…”

“it looks like the illustrations from the book the little prince.”

“on the side, it looks like the boa constrictor from <the little prince>.”

“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*.”

“I’m really enjoying it.”

“As I turned the last page of the book, I thought how lucky I was to have met you, teacher, as a child who could hear those precious stories for free.”

“There’s also a book I recently bought after it was recommended to me, which I’m planning to read: The Laws of the Mind by Volker Kitz and Manuel Tusch. My acting mentor, Min Jun-ho, head of the theater company Ganda, recommended it, and I’m planning to read it soon.”

“Achilles. I really love that book.”

“I’ve only read about twenty pages, but you know that thrilling feeling, that kind of feeling…”

“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.”

“Saying, “Am I a fan or a disciple?”—the book I’ve been working hard to read lately. I wonder if I’m going to stop being a fan and become a disciple now, or if I’ve become more resolute at heart. Because I’ve lived like a fan, I find stories about life in the world really interesting; I’ve thought I was lucky, liked having lots of money, and felt proud when I achieved my goals. But I don’t want to miss it.”

“The book I always recommend to SWITH as my all-time favorite is Hector and the Search for Happiness (François Lelord).”

“I recommend it.”

“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.”

“It felt like a drama that portrayed a very mature love.”

“I heard it was fun.”

“I recommend it to you.”

“Its implications were particularly distinctive, which left a strong impression.”

“When you’re working, there are moments when it gets difficult, and when that happens, if you read this book, there’s nothing in the world to get angry about.”

“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 😄”

“It isn't a classic itself, but I have a book about classics: 『Classics Answered: On the Life We Ought to Live』.”

“It's a book about how we ought to live this difficult life. Nothing in it feels difficult; it just tells you plainly, point by point. It's very clear.”

“Classics are actually difficult, and you can interpret them in so many different ways. I think that's part of the appeal of reading a book about a classic, too. You get to read that author's distinctive interpretation, and there's the pleasure of thinking, 'I found that classic difficult or it didn't really resonate with me when I read it, but I can read it this way too.' I think it's a really good thing. I think the real answers lie in the classics.”

“He has written many books, such as *Save Me*, *Will You Be There?*, and *Returning in Search of Love*.”

“Milan Kundera’s *Slowness* was good too. It was exactly what the word says: “slowness.” It felt like a book telling people who have to live in this fast-paced modern age that they should live slowly. I’m really slow myself.”

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

““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.””

“There’s a book by bell hooks called All About Love. It’s still my favorite work. Picking a favorite is so hard, especially for someone like me. (laughs) It taught me about the importance of community and how to create a culture where love can exist. So it also made me reflect a lot on my work with LE SSERAFIM. I think I would have come to this realization much later if I hadn’t read this book. The timing of when I read it, too, makes it a meaningful book. I’ve talked about it a lot with the members, so the memories I have connected with All About Love are incredibly precious to me.”

“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 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.”

““Torrent””

““It read like a series such as Gilmore Girls.””

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

“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.”

“If I had read The Stranger earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen my original name, Rap Monster.”

““I also like the Analects. I didn’t like it before, but after reading it, a lot of it really resonated with me, and I like learning from it.””

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

“These days, I'm reading a book called *Such Clumsy People* for about the fifth time...”

“I’d like to talk about Osamu Dazai’s *No Longer Human*, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s *The Little Prince*, and Han Kang’s *Human Acts*.”

“It really feels like a book tailored just for Lily.”

“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.””

“That book is also really good.”

“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.”

“This is also a book I really did order from Yes24 recently, you know? It arrived really quickly (laughs). I bought volumes 1 and 2; I’ve finished volume 1, and have about half of volume 2 left.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“The premise of the novel is very unique.”

“What is the most important book you have read?”

“I asked a friend: “Hey, I want to read! Do you have any books to recommend?” And he got really excited and recommended books by Han Kang and Keigo Higashino. So, that was literally everything I read. There was also a book called “Eleven Steps.” It was kind of a book about philo…”

“I’d like to give Françoise Sagan’s essay collection Life Is So Slow, and Hope So Wild as a gift.”

“I’m also reading Banana Yoshimoto’s *Kitchen* because I had it at home.”

““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.”

“So I brought it with me”

“<The Sound of Your Heart> is really entertaining. I don't think I've ever seen a comic this entertaining in my life.”

“read the book twice.”

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

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

“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.”

“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 Blues,” something like that.”