The Korea Herald

‘The Girl Who Escaped ISIS’

Dec 14, 2016

“The Girl Who Escaped ISIS” by Farida Khalaf and Andrea Hoffmann, translated from German by Jamie Bulloch Atria Books (240 pages, $24) Amid the endless war news streaming out of Syria, the need for...
Change is a sign of health, not corruption, in language

Dec 14, 2016

“Words on the Move: Why English Won’t -- and Can’t -- Sit Still (Like, Literally)” By John McWhorter Henry Holt and Co. (272 pages, $28) John McWhorter’s breezy “Words on the Move” is the umpteent...
Cartoonist shares untainted love of childhood

Dec 14, 2016

Exuding youthful exuberance and expectations, American cartoonist Jeff Kinney decided to make a living sketching comics while in college. Majoring in computer science at the University of Maryland, ...
Award-winning novelist, Shirley Hazzard, dies at 85

Dec 14, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Hazzard, an award-winning novelist who wrote of love affairs disrupted and intensified by age, distance and war, has died at age 85. Hazzard had been in failing health and ...
Top translators awarded for promoting Korean literature overseas

Dec 7, 2016

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea has announced the winners of translation awards that recognize their role in the promotion of Korean literature worldwide. The awards, which will be giv...
Murakami's new novel set for release in Japan in February

Dec 1, 2016

TOKYO (AP) -- Haruki Murakami’s new novel is set for release in Japan in February -- and that’s about as much as his fans are being told. Publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. made the announcement We...
Spanish author Mendoza wins 2016 Cervantes literature prize

Dec 1, 2016

MADRID (AP) -- Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza has won the 2016 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, for bringing a “new narrative style to Spanish fiction.” Educat...
'Napoleon's Last Island,' by Thomas Keneally

Nov 30, 2016

“Napoleon's Last Island” By Thomas Keneally Atria Books (423 pages, $30) Australian Thomas Keneally, author of “Schindler’s List” and 2013’s brilliant “The Daughters of Mars,” is one of the finest...
Lead-up to day of infamy

Nov 30, 2016

“Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack” By Steve Twomey Simon & Schuster (416 pages, $30) As Hollywood regularly reminds us, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec...
‘The Lion in the Living Room’ explores why we love cats

Nov 30, 2016

“The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World” By Abigail Tucker Simon & Schuster (237 pages, $26) I read much of Abigail Tucker's “The Lion in the Living Room,” ap...
Coll Thrush’s ‘Indigenous London’ spins history’s lens

Nov 30, 2016

“Indigenous London: Native Travelers at the Heart of Empire” By Coll Thrush Yale University Press (328 pages, $38) Vancouver-based scholar and author Coll Thrush cleverly spins history's lens with...
Megyn Kelly's memoir revisits controversies with Roger Ailes and Donald Trump

Nov 30, 2016

“Settle for More” By Megyn Kelly Harper (352 pages, $18) This was supposed to be the Year of the Woman. Instead, 2016 has shaped up to be the Year of Powerful Men and the Women They Demeaned, Hara...
From fashion to film, gift-worthy coffee table books abound

Nov 17, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) - Come holiday time, there's never a shortage of splashy coffee table books to please just about any aficionado. Some suggestions: Fashion & style “Fashion Made Fair,” by Magdalena ...
Tragedy, hope and a little magic mix in 'Faithful'

Nov 16, 2016

“Faithful” By Alice Hoffman Simon & Schuster (272 pages, $26) Shelby is that girl in high school -- the smart one who seems popular and happy when basking in the reflected glow of her best friend,...
How electric guitar came to dominate music world

Nov 16, 2016

“Play It Loud” By Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna Doubleday (379 pages, $26.95) The scream of the electric guitar was the dominant soundtrack of the 20th century. First developed to provide loude...