The Start-up of You: Adapt to the future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha; RHK Korea: 284pp., 13,000won

Unemployment rates are getting higher and higher and everyone is facing fierce competition in the job market regardless of age, gender and field. Even those who are currently employed are worried if their retirement is approaching.

LinkedIn cofounder and chairman Reid Hoffman and author Ben Casnocha tell readers how to accelerate their own career in today’s competitive world. They emphasize the importance of managing a career as if it were a start-up business.

The book also stresses the huge importance of networking today, making effective suggestions on how people manage relationships successfully.

Readers will also find the best practices of Silicon Valley start-ups and how to apply these entrepreneurial strategies to their career.

The book is for everyone working in different situations; a giant multinational corporation, a small local business, or launching a venture company.


Curtain Twitching English Gentleman
Lee Sun-mi; Risu: 298 pp, 13,900 won

Lee Sun-mi lived overseas for more than 10 years as the wife of a sojourning employee and “Curtain Twitching English Gentleman” documents her life in Great Britain and the true spirit of British people she encountered.

She first thought the English were a timid and picky “curtain twitchers” with blank looks, coming from a history of Peeping Toms. They seemed to be cold and unfriendly, but they surveyed the neighborhood from behind curtains, Lee writes.

She later understood that it was their way of caring about neighbors and protecting themselves. Lee came to observe the British respect human nature, embrace the weak and are well mannered.



Globesity: A Planet Out of Control?

Francis Delpeuch, Bernard Maire, Emmanuel Monnier and Michelle Holdsworth; Georeum: 288 pp., 16,000 won

Being slim and fit is a goal for many. Models and TV entertainers with nice bodies are worshipped and we have come to think that kind of shape is a luxury for people who can put so much time into working out.

But are our love handles natural? Four health care and nutrition specialists in this book say no. They dig into biology, medicine, psychology as well as the history of food, its production and marketing to argue that our eating habits are shaped expressly to get fat.

Chips are cheap while fruit is becoming more expensive every time you go to the supermarket. Meats juiced up with additives are flavorful, while vegetables, modified (or dulled) to suit everyone’s tastes are as bland as it gets. What would you buy, then?

Those with even the slightest interest in food know that obesity is a problem: a study by the World Health Organization says in 2008 more than 1.4 billion people over the age of 20 were overweight or obese. Even more shocking is the fact that there are more overweight than underweight people on the planet today.

It is time for people to receive more information about the absurdity of modern food.