The Korea Herald

Little Free Libraries lets neighbors share books and a bit of themselves

Oct 12, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS ― They look like large birdhouses and act like water coolers. But the sustenance stored inside the wooden, windowed boxes is a blend of knowledge and recreation.Little Free Libraries, the brainchild of Stillwater, Minnesota, native Todd Bol, are popping up all over Minnesota, from tony L
Korea ruled ancient Japanese state: scholar

Oct 12, 2011

Professor presents new interpretation of ancient Chinese historical textsDuring ancient times in what is now Kyushu in southern Japan, people had tattoos, made a living by farming silkworms, and buried their dead in earthen jars and portal tombs.And they were described as being afraid of “Daesol.” T
Dennis Lehane starting imprint at HarperCollins

Oct 11, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dennis Lehane is the latest brand-name publisher.The author of “Mystic River,” “Moonlight Mile” and other thrillers is overseeing a new imprint at HarperCollins.The publisher announced Monday that Dennis Lehane Books will issue “a select” number of literary fiction works each year t
Public criticism needed for reform of capitalism: Kocka

Oct 10, 2011

German academic discusses crisis of capitalism, lessons from German reunificationA good mixture between market dynamics, prudent forms of NGOs, and more government regulations of the finance system could bring ideal reforms to modern-day capitalism, and such reforms often come from crisi
Book fair to tackle challenges of digital age storytelling

Oct 9, 2011

BERLIN (AFP) ― Authors once just had to deal with a publisher but are now being forced to embrace the digital age and negotiate the rights to their works for TV, films and ebooks.Organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair, which opens on Wednesday, said the challenges thrown up by the upheaval in the boo
Founder of Dead Poets Society visits bards’ graves

Oct 9, 2011

FREEPORT, Maine (AP) ― The founder of the Dead Poets Society of America is visiting graves and other sites associated with Jack Kerouac and five others in his effort to recognize fallen bards.Walter Skold of Freeport, Maine, says the Dead Poets 2011 Magic Bus Tour is in Massachusetts on Friday to pa
New Books

Oct 7, 2011

Dinner without a recipeThe Kitchen Counter Cooking SchoolBy Kathleen Flinn(Viking)If you are going to read one book to change your diet and your life, “The Kitchen Counter Cooking School” is it.The second book by Le Cordon Bleu graduate Kathleen Flinn starts with her stalking a woman in the grocery
Author gives an insider’s guide to publishing

Oct 7, 2011

Jennifer Basye Sander has forgotten more about the publishing business than most of us will ever know.The New York Times best-selling author has written and co-written more than 50 books, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Getting Published” (Alpha, $19.95, 400 pages; the fifth edition goes on
Grand Canyon’s majestic echoes

Oct 7, 2011

The vicarious pleasure of armchair travel is a well-explored genre for books, transporting the reader without ever opening a door. What such books do, when they are thoughtfully presented, is to share the excitement and immediacy of exploration while sparing the reader the discomfort.In “The Grand C
Japanese writer talks about life as laborer

Oct 5, 2011

Kenta Nishimura in Seoul for release of award-winning ‘Labor Train’He barely finished middle school, made his living as a day laborer, spent most of his money on liquor and sex, and somehow turned himself into a best-selling author. When Japanese writer Kenta Nishimura shared the prestigious 1
Annual New Yorker Fest has Shakespearean twist

Oct 5, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― To gab, perchance to argue. Ay, there’s the way to make New Yorker magazine fans happy.And so it was a delicious moment at the annual New Yorker Festival this past weekend when Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro mused to his co-panelist, Hollywood director Roland Emmerich: “I’ve long
Spain: Fugitive Basque separatist wins lit prize

Oct 4, 2011

MADRID (AP) ― A fugitive who escaped Spanish jail 25 years ago has been awarded one of the Basque country’s top literary awards, but told he cannot have the money that goes with it until he hands himself into authorities.The Basque regional government gave the award to Joseba Sarrionandia on Monday
Abuzz over Adonis for Nobel Literature Prize

Oct 3, 2011

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― Predicting the Nobel Literature Prize winner is near-impossible as the Swedish Academy stays tight-lipped and often honours writers off the beaten path ― so could it be Syrian poet Adonis this year?Each year the names of popular authors are tossed about ― U.S. novelists Philip Roth
New Books

Sept 30, 2011

Dreadfully distasteful listsTen Ways to Recycle a Corpse: and 100 More Dreadfully Distasteful ListsBy Karl Shaw(Three Rivers Press)This book could be called magnetic. It pulls you in, the way a magnet pulls a paper clip, and it doesn’t want to let you go.It recounts Julius Caesar’s attempt to cure h
Star-crossed lovers go against norm in late Joseon

Sept 30, 2011

Lost SoulsBy Hwang Sun-won(Columbia University Press)Late author Hwang Sun-won’s short story “Lost Souls” is a lot of things. It’s a story of star-crossed lovers, a literary record of Korea’s turbulent late Joseon period, as well as a tragic case of two innocent souls who went against everything the