The Korea Herald

German magazine rethinking ‘no models’ policy

Sept 4, 2012

BERLIN (AFP) ― One of Germany’s top women’s magazines said Monday it was reviewing its policy of only publishing photographs of amateur models instead of professionals.The fortnightly magazine, Brigitte, made international headlines in October 2009 with the news that it would only print pictures of “real women” after readers complained they could not identify with ultra-thin professional models.A spokeswoman for Gruner + Jahr publishing house told AFP that a new editor-in-chief planned a thoroug
Chinese ‘blind spot’ for Western readers

Sept 3, 2012

HONG KONG (AFP) ― A potent mix of state censorship, conservative publishing choices and scant translation means international readers are given a narrow view of contemporary China, industry critics say.There are the occasional books by Chinese authors that hit the international bestseller lists such as the blockbuster “Wild Swans” by Jung Chang, which has sold millions worldwide, and Adeline Yen Mah’s “Falling Leaves.”But both of those authors are based in the West ― highlighting the paucity of
Recovery hits the road

Aug 30, 2012

The Revised Fundamentals of CaregivingBy Jonathan Evison (Algonquin Books)Who among us wouldn’t like to put the car in reverse, hurtling back past some long-vanished stretch where we somehow swerved from the road, forever changing life’s scenery through all the miles to come?Benjamin Benjamin, the 39-year-old narrator of Jonathan Evison’s “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving,” knows the feeling. As Evison’s novel opens, Ben has endured two rocky years reliving an accident ― which may have bee
When you learn you are dying

Aug 30, 2012

One Last Thing Before I GoBy Jonathan Tropper (Dutton)Drew Silver is one of modern literature’s more pathetic losers. And that’s before he discovers an aortic dissection is about to kill him.The good news for Silver ― which is what everyone, even his daughter, calls him ― is that surgery can save his life. There’s a bit of bad news, and part of it is that the procedure would be performed by Silver’s ex-wife’s fiance. The other is that Silver, who is 44, doesn’t want the surgery.The sad-sack hero
Posnanski’s ‘Paterno’ complicates Penn State story

Aug 30, 2012

Joe Posnanski moved to State College, Pa., to write a much different book.Posnanski, a former Kansas City Star sports columnist, imagined his biography of Penn State University’s heralded head football coach Joe Paterno would be about the man who, as Posnanski noted in a USA Today column last week, “always said ... that winning ... wasn’t what mattered. And yet, he won more games than anyone.” The book he was writing was based, after all, on full access to the coach and his records.And then ever
Kim Ran-do’s new collection of essays lacks depth, thoughtfulness

Aug 30, 2012

SNU professor back with another advice book for youthIt seems like Seoul National University Professor Kim Ran-do still has a lot of advice to give to young people, even after the success of his first collection of essays, “You are Young, Because You are Suffering.”The consumer science professor recently published another advice book, which is also written for 20-somethings in the country. While his former best-selling book specifically targeted university students, the new one, titled “You Beco
Beijing book fair to open with S. Korea as country of honor

Aug 28, 2012

The Beijing International Book Fair will open Tuesday with South Korea invited as the country of honor in celebration of 20 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Some 2,010 publishers from 75 countries around the world, including South Korea, will participate in the Beijing fair, one of the four largest book fairs in the world.During the 19th fair set to last till Sunday, 72 South Korean publishers and copyright agencies will seek ways to broaden their exports while displaying sele
Fluff with right amount of starch

Aug 23, 2012

Shadow of NightBy Deborah Harkness (Viking)Deborah Harkness’ “Shadow of Night,” a sequel to her best-selling “A Discovery of Witches,” pretty much defines excellence in the literary subgenre of fluff.The term fluff, as devotees recognize, need not connote bad, as “Shadow” irresistibly proves. Under Harkness’ assured, witty hand, it remains feather-light over the course of nearly 600 pages, with plenty of suspense and a romance for the ages. Literally, as it happens.Spoiler alert: To discuss this
Novel lacks humanity

Aug 23, 2012

Kill DecisionBy Daniel Suarez (Dutton)The most interesting characters in Daniel Suarez’s new techno-thriller, “Kill Decision,” are a trained pair of ravens who hover over the good guys as guardian angels.That’s unfortunate.There are a lot of big ideas in this novel, which warns against a future where machines make even the ultimate decision ― to kill ― without human intervention.And I’m sure Suarez’s book will find many fans among tech heads and futurists. But his audience would be much larger,
Self-publishing or vanity press? The answer may surprise you

Aug 23, 2012

If author Tina Folsom let big publishing stand in her way, she never would have become a millionaire.In 2010, after more than 30 literary agents and publishers rejected “Samson’s Lovely Mortal,” the first in her series about lusty vampires, the San Francisco romance writer decided to self-publish her book on Amazon.com.Today, Folsom, 46, has made it e-big. She has generated at least $33,000 a month since December 2010 selling her full-length books, novellas and short stories online. In November
Jogye Order publishes bilingual series on Korean Buddhism

Aug 23, 2012

Late Ven. Jigwan’s ambitious project comes together seven months after his deathJogye Order, the nation’s largest Buddhist sect, has published an English and ancient Chinese bilingual book series on the teachings of Korean Buddhism, it announced this week.The 13-volume series, titled “Collected Works of Korean Buddhism,” contains teachings of celebrated monks throughout Korean history, including Wonhyo (617-686), Jinul (1158-1210) and Hyujeong (1520-1604). The series’ Korean edition, translated
Nobel laureates to celebrate literature in Gyeongju

Aug 22, 2012

The 78th PEN International Congress to feature North Korean writers, human rights issuesThree Nobel Prize winners in literature will be in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next month to discuss human rights, literature and media at the upcoming 78th PEN International Congress. Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio will give lectures about their literary works along with renowned local poet Ko Un, PEN International Korean Center announced on Wednesday. No previous editio
Book offers deliciously ironic moments

Aug 16, 2012

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia ChildBy Bob Spitz(Alfred A. Knopf)In a characteristically chatty letter from Paris to her sister-in-law, Freddie, Julia Child expresses curiosity about a “newfangled sensation” called television. “How much do you really use it? . . . How do you like the programs? . . . My heavens, I am beginning to feel very out-of-date indeed.” It was 1952. Television was a novelty, and Child was debating the wisdom of collaborating with her new friend Simone Beck on the coo
Tricks play in new Burke novel

Aug 16, 2012

Creole BelleBy James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)If all crime novelists were as thoughtful and nuanced as James Lee Burke, we could finally put to rest those groundless prejudices against genre fiction. The marks of the thriller ― violence, greed, unspeakable secrets ― are always present in Burke’s stellar Dave Robicheaux series (as well as his fine Hackberry Holland series). But the books are works of dark art. At their unflinching best, they examine the cost of violence, even when it’s perform
Author Tayari Jones on her favorites

Aug 16, 2012

Just as William Faulkner tilled a fictional patch called Yoknapatawpha County for his many tales, Tayari Jones works the more urban setting of Atlanta for her novels.Her debut, “Leaving Atlanta” (2002), was a story of three children coming of age during the Atlanta child murders of 1979-’81, when Jones herself was a child. “The Untelling” (2005), with its family sorrows, secrets and a mythological touch, is a novel Faulkner himself might have enjoyed reading.“The Silver Sparrow” (Algonquin 2011,