The TwelveBy Justin Cronin (Ballantine Books)In Justin Cronin’s bestseller “The Passage,” plagues of vampires swarmed the earth, forming the “Twelve Viral Tribes” who laid “waste to every living thing,” except for pockets of survivors, and Amy, “a child to stand against them.”In my review last year of “The Passage” I suggested the novel was a creation story ― a poetic post-apocalyptic tale, part supernatural thriller and part philosophical meditation on the nature of humanity. If “The Passage” i

Han Mal-sook talks about her upcoming fiction, marriage with renowned gayageum player Hwang Byung-ki

Making new friends is always exciting, especially if they share your interests and understand the hurdles of what you do.Two writers, one from Korea and the other from Thailand, meet for the first time during a literary event in Korea and shared their thoughts about each others’ work. Thai writer Uthis Haemamool and Korean writer Yun I-hyeong are among the 20 writers participating in this year’s Seoul International Writers’ Festival. The literary bash, which also serves as a networking event amo

NEW YORK (AP) ― Like a prize-winning reporter, fame follows Tom Wolfe, even when he swaps the white suit for a blue blazer, even when he visits some strip club in Miami as research ― yes, research ― for his new novel.“I was the only man with a necktie,’’ he says with a chuckle, back in his trademark white during a recent interview at his Manhattan apartment. “They seat you in these little couches, and it was like a furniture show room ― all these pieces of furniture would stretch long for maybe

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ― The former black marketeer has read it. So has the beautiful young librarian, and the aging philosophy professor who has spent his life teaching the ruling doctrine of this isolated outpost of totalitarian socialism. At times it seems as if everyone in Pyongyang, a city full of monuments to its own mythology, has read the book. In it they found a tortured love story, or a parable of bourgeois decline. Many found heroes. They lost themselves in the story of a nation

‘Who I Am’By Pete Townshend (Harper)Pete Townshend has always been rock ‘n’ roll’s reluctant warrior.The driving force behind the legendary band the Who, Townshend revolutionized rock with his guitar and pen. He wrote numerous anthems, including “My Generation,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Baba O’ Reilly” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and, when he wasn’t smashing guitars, embraced his role as the thinking man’s rock star.At the same time, Townshend spent much of his life offstage trying to avoid all tha

“Lost Girls”By Caitlin Rother (Pinnacle)On the day in 2010 when a San Diego judge sentenced John Albert Gardner to life in prison for the rape and murder of two teenage girls, the fathers of his victims referred to him in court as a monster and a predator.“Lost Girls” by veteran journalist and true-crime writer Caitlin Rother is a deeply reported, dispassionately written attempt to determine what created that monster and predator. It is a cautionary tale and a horror story, done superbly by a wr

Fourth installment of series of classics features works of Nietzsche, Bunyan and Jung Do-jun

Latest volume in a series on Korean culture explores the country’s rich filmmaking historyKorea’s Culture Ministry published an English-language book about Korean cinema and its industry, as the newest addition to its “K-series,” a book series featuring Korean culture.The book, titled “K-Movie: The World’s Spotlight on Korean Film,” features Korea’s film industry today, relationship between hallyu and Korean films, prominent directors and actors, as well as notable film festivals held in the cou

Earlier this year, author Karen E. Quinones Miller found out that Walmart wouldn’t be carrying her semiautobiographical book on its shelves. The reason? There were concerns that the book’s title, “An Angry-Ass Black Woman,” might offend some of the retail giant’s customers.Given Walmart’s reach, a lot of authors would have picked a new title and maybe rejiggered things for the sake of book sales.Not Miller.Her decision wouldn’t surprise anybody who knows Miller ― or anybody who’s actually read h

We SinnersBy Hanna Pylvainen (Henry Holt)Hanna Pylvainen’s debut novel, “We Sinners,” is remarkably funny for a book about a deeply religious family grappling with loss of faith.Pylvainen tells the story _ in alternating chapters from the point of view of the parents and several of the nine children ― of the Midwestern Rovaniemi family, members of a Finnish sect of Lutheranism called Laestadianism.They live in a house too small to fit them all and get around in a vehicle so “mortifying to drive”

East Asian Capitalism: Diversity, Continuity, and ChangeEdited by Andrew Walter and Xiaoke Zhang(Oxford)Two scholars recently compiled a collection of academic papers about East Asian capitalism and its evolving patterns against the backdrop of regional and global market integration and periodic economic crises since the 1980s.The volume consists of a total of 12 writings on a variety of issues regarding capitalism in the region, focusing on China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines,

Global AsiaFall 2012(East Asia Foundation)The latest edition of “Global Asia,” a quarterly journal published by the East Asia Foundation, features seven articles on soft power, smart power and public diplomacy in Asia.“While economic and military power continue to dominate perceptions of geopolitical influence and shape the contours of traditional diplomacy, the idea that nations must also resort to soft power and public diplomacy in order to advance their interest has taken hold in much of the