HallucinationsBy Oliver Sacks(Knopf)Enter a nondescript building in the West Village, ride an old elevator a couple flights up and suddenly you’re in a world of wonder long in the making.You’ve entered the office of Dr. Oliver Sacks.The well-worn lair of the world’s most literary neurologist bespeaks a restless spirit that all but says, “Yeah, I’ve been at this awhile.” A vintage, multicolor Chart of Electromagnetic Radiation dominates one wall; it looks like something you’d find in a gargantuan

Safe HouseBy Chris Ewan(Minotaur)Most Americans probably have little idea where the Isle of Man is on the map. For the record, this self-governing British Crown Dependency is located in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland and may be best known to sports fans as the site of the annual TT (Tourist Trophy) motorbike festival, going on since 1907.The Isle of Man also makes for an intriguing backdrop for “Safe House,” Chris Ewan’s first stand-alone thriller. “Safe House” works as an emot

Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards Into BattlegroundsJim Sterba(Crown)The nature-challenged reader will discover many new and startling facts in Jim Sterba’s new book. Among them all one stands out: Not only are America’s Eastern forests roaring back to life, they’ve been doing so for more than a century.Sterba, a veteran reporter for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, literally stumbles onto this truth one day amid the majestic trees of Maine’s

The Korea Culture and Information Service, an affiliate of the Culture Ministry, continues to publish books on Korean culture, this time about literature and the history of hallyu, the Korean wave.“K-Literature: The Writing World’s New Voice” is the latest addition to KOCIS’ English-language book series featuring Korean culture and artists.Earlier this month, the organization added two new volumes to the series, one about Korean sports and the other about fashion. The previously published books

Scholar’s book introduces fascinating story of movie industry during Japanese colonial period

Inventing the Christmas TreeBy Bernd Brunner, translated by Benjamin A. Smith(Yale University Press)If you’ve just returned from a tree lot and plan to pull out boxes of decorations this afternoon, you may find it hard to imagine that Christmas trees took well into the 19th century to be widely accepted in the United States.“In a sense,” writes scholar Bernd Brunner in his compact cultural history of the holiday icon, “the Americanization of the ‘German’ Christmas tree runs parallel to the Ameri

Cross RoadsBy Wm. Paul Young(FaithWords)Paul Young isn’t insulted at the suggestion that the lead character in “Cross Roads” has a dark soul.To the contrary, the author of “The Shack” chuckles with delight.“Thank you,” he said. “That is a compliment. ... I’m a writer that likes to explore questions, and one of my questions is: ‘How does grace or transformation get into the heart of someone who is really lost? Who’s really isolated themselves from relationships?’”Anthony Spencer’s desolation is c

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s hard to think of any song that has taken a stranger journey through popular culture than Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”Recorded in 1984, it was on the only Cohen album rejected by his record company. Virtually no one noticed when the song did come out on an independent label. Since then, through dozens of cover versions, high-profile performances and appearances on TV or movie soundtracks, “Hallelujah” has become a modern standard.Author Alan Light reflected upon that while a

Korea’s Culture Ministry recently published two English-language books, one about Korean sports and the other about local fashion, as the newest additions to its “K-series,” a book series featuring Korean culture.“K-Fashion: Wearing a New Future” and “K-Sports: A New Breed of Rising Champions” are published by Korea Culture and Information Service, an affiliate of the Culture Ministry.Among the two, “K-Fashion” is written by Kim Hong-ki, who works as a fashion curator and a journalist. He has sp

Celebrated author writes first novel on love, interweaving contemporary Korean history

LOWELL, Massachusetts (AP) ― Stephen King loves scaring people, but one student at University of Massachusetts Lowell tried to find out Friday what scares him. “Spiders, snakes ... my mother-in-law,’’ the writer said with a grin.The author of international bestselling books including “Carrie’’ and “The Shining’’ came to the college to talk with writing students. English Department professor Andre Dubus III, another bestselling author and an old friend of King’s, shared the stage for about an hou