Recent Books

Bonno Reset Keikocho

Ryunoosuke Koike; Bulgwang Publications: 304 pp., 13,800 won

People tend to leave a trace of emotion whenever they do, say or think about something. Ryunoosuke Koike, a Japanese monk and writer of the new book “Bonno Reset Keikocho” says this trace is karma. Among the different emotional karmas, the negative ones are anguish, and the monk say people nowadays are swimming in a pool of such feelings.

The book is an adorable comic book written and drawn by the monk himself, with short descriptions and guidelines of how to escape anguish and become a happier and less angry person. The short cartoons are far from serious, but readers will be able to take a break from all the stress, anger and greed that follow them on a daily basis.

“This book tries to talk about the fundamental teaching of Buddhism: the mind. As you read and skip some parts, you will hopefully learn about the human mind, and I hope the (readers) will get to reset their emotional anguish and start all over again,” the writer wrote on the preface.

— HAN SANG-HEE

The Accidental Billionaires: the Founding of Facebook

Ben Mezrich; Open House: 320 pp., 13,600 won

It’s hard meeting anyone today who does not have a Facebook account. The American social networking site has infiltrated even the shores of Korea, and most now use the name as a verb, integrating the jargon into daily speech. But the turbulent, personal story of the site’s success has long been a source of interest and Ben Mezrich’s penning has been met with equal skepticism and praise.

Following the story of co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin from their Harvard undergrad years, the author takes a new journalism approach, narrating based on interviews and court records. Following the duo’s relationship into present-day lawsuits (or, what was present-day for the original 2009 publishing date), the book is both a product of the times and a victim. Brought to Korea right before the theatrical release of the David Fincher adapted film here, ``Billionaires’’ proves an intriguing tale of one the world’s most influential websites of our time — but told in perhaps the only way it can: in retrospect and too late.

— Ines Min

Living as a Doctor

Kim Ae-yang; Munhwa Baljeon: 336 pp., 12,000 won

When gynecologist Kim Ae-yang was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a writer. Her father was a devoted fan of Shakespeare but when she told him that she wanted to become a writer, he opposed the idea and eventually led her into becoming a doctor instead.

Despite her career, Kim still continued her dream of becoming a writer and has finally made that come true with her new book ``Living as a Doctor.’’ While most of her colleagues spend their time reading books about traveling and their hobbies, she enjoys reading fiction. Her love toward the genre led her to write a book about two of her favorite things: fiction and doctors. ``Living as a Doctor’’ deals with doctors that appear in 24 novels, including ``The Unbearable Lightness of Being,’’ ``Madame Bovary’’ and ``Veronica Decides to Die.’’

The book is interesting as it is uncommon for readers to focus on characters that only briefly make appearances in novels. The author explains the reasons why each doctor acts in a unique way, their role throughout the story and defines medical terms to further help her readers understand the flow of the narrative.

— Han Sang-hee

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer; Baobab: 392 pp., 13,000 won

The story of Christopher McCandless has piqued the interest of many adventurers and philosophers alike. Author Jon Krakauer, also a mountaineer, delves into the two-year tale of the lonesome vagabond, who ultimately traveled into the Alaskan wild and survived on the bare minimum of shelter and food for more than 100 days before succumbing to starvation.

McCandless tale — criticized by some for his disregard for nature’s brute strength and exalted by those who find it brave — is paired in the novel with Krakauer’s own stories of the wild, encounters and comparisons to other young men fascinated by the world around them. McCandless first hit the road after graduating from Emory University, donated his saved $25,000 to the charity Oxfam and traveled up through the southwest, living a life of quiet contemplation. After embarking on his dream trip into the 50th state, he was not seen for several weeks, before his body was found by moose hunters. His apparent last words, scribbled into a well-worn journal: ``Beautiful Blueberries.’’