ck
New Addict
Posts: 12
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Post by ck on Sept 18, 2013 8:17:52 GMT -5
I am beginning to try to keep track of Korean themed reading and wondered if anyone read the Living Reed by Pearl Buck?
It is multi generational story that begins in late 1880's and ends after WW2. I enjoyed it and thought some of you might also.
CK
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Post by sageuk on Sept 18, 2013 16:33:50 GMT -5
Huh. I only knew Pearl BUck of The Good Earth, a Chinese setting. Aren't most of her books CHinese settings? SHe did grow up there after all. No idea she did Korea
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ck
New Addict
Posts: 12
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Post by ck on Sept 19, 2013 7:31:31 GMT -5
You are right. I was surprised to find it and it appears to be the only book she wrote set in Korea.
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Post by nuwildcats on Mar 9, 2014 15:31:02 GMT -5
as recommended from the 2014 Skokie-Niles Twp. Korean Festival brochure (check local libraries for available copies)
Suggested Korean readings
Fiction
Long for this World - Sonya Chung
The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson - 2013 Pulitzer Prize Winner
All Woman and Springtime - Brandon W. Jones Fox Girl - Nora Okja Keller The Calligrapher's Daughter - Eugenia Kim The Interpreter - Suki Kim Black Flower - Young-ha Kim Your Republic is Calling You - Young-ha Kim _______________
**Native Speaker - Chang-rae Lee **The Surrendered - Chang-rae Lee - 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist - May 2014 Bilingual Book Discussion selection ... See details under "Semi-Annual" Bilingual Book Discussion (Bezazian Public Library only) thread _______________
Drifting House - Krys Lee Somebody's Daughter - Marie Myung-Ok Lee Free Food for Millionaires - Min Jin Lee Secondhand World - Katherine Min This Burns My Heart - Samuel Park Please Look After Mom - Kyung-sook Shin Our Twisted Hero - Mun-Yol Yi Snow Hunters - Paul Yoon
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Non-fiction:
Korea: as Seen - Magnum Photographers The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future - Victor Cha Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History - Bruce Cumings Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea - Barbara Demick A Brief History of Korea - Mark Peterson with Phillip Margulies The Food of Korea: Authentic Recipes from the Land of Morning Calm - David Clive Price A concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present - Michael J. Seth Your Bright Future: 12 contemporary artists from Korea - Christine Starkman and Lynn Zelevansky Phoenix in a Jade Bowl: Growing Up in Korea - Bonnie Bongwan Cho Oh
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**Chang-rae Lee is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where he has served as the director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing.
Lee's first novel, Native Speaker (1995), won numerous awards including the PEN/Hemingway Award. The novel centers around a Korean American industrial spy, explores themes of alienation and betrayal as felt or perpetrated by immigrants and first-generation citizens, and played out in local politics.
In 1999, he published his second novel, A Gesture Life. This elaborated on his themes of identity and assimilation through the narrative of an elderly Japanese-American doctor who remembers treating Korean comfort women during World War II. For this book, Lee received the Asian American Literary Award.
His 2010 novel The Surrendered won the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a nominated finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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Post by ginnycat5 on Mar 12, 2014 21:52:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the list, nuwildcats! Isn't it great that inter-library loan is free, in case our local branches don't have those books! I haven't made my own list yet, but the children's section of libraries probably has some good books too. Here's a link from Amazon books: www.amazon.com/Favorite-Childrens-Books-Korean-Americans/lm/25Q1P8SN21HOULinda Sue Park wrote The Firekeeper's Son, also A Single Shard, Bi Bim Bop, and When My Name Was Keoko. These are all enjoyable, with a lot of background information and atmosphere.
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Post by nuwildcats on Mar 12, 2014 23:46:03 GMT -5
Thanks, ginnycat, for the Amazon link. Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now (5 stars/8 reviews) sounds useful but probably more so for adults. Since you're interested in children's books, I'm adding on (from Korean Celebration brochure) their suggestions for youth and younger readers. You'll see all your recommendations, and Land of Morning Calm are on their list of recommended books. Good choices, ginny!
Note: They recommend checking your local library first for available copies before buying.
Books for Younger Readers:
The King's Secret: The Legend of King Sejong - Carol Farley Bee Bim Bop! - Linda Sue Park The Firekeeper's Son - Linda Sue Park My Name is Yoon - Helen Recorvits Yoon and the Jade Bracelet - Helen Recorvits Sori's Harvest Moon Day: A Story of Korea - Uk-Bae Lee Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth - Joan Schoettler
Books for Youth:
A Single Shard - Linda Sue Park When My Name was Keoko - Linda Sue Park Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo Poems - Linda Sue Park Project Mulberry - Linda Sue Park Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now - John Stickler The Royal Bee - Frances and Ginger Park Sun & Moon: Fairy Tales from Korea - Kathleen Seros
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Post by ginnycat5 on Mar 17, 2014 20:53:36 GMT -5
Thank you for the suggestions, nuwildcats! The first one I'll look for is about King Sejong.
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Post by nuwildcats on Mar 27, 2014 12:37:08 GMT -5
Thank you for the suggestions, nuwildcats! The first one I'll look for is about King Sejong. You're welcome. It's safe to say that you're the Board's go-to person for Korean book suggestions!
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Post by bird11 on Apr 2, 2014 23:00:31 GMT -5
I have been meaning to post this for awhile and decided tonight I better do it tonight so I can get the book back to the library --- but I recently read a book called " Korea The Impossible Country" by Daniel Tudor. The book is broken down into different parts: A brief History, Foundations: discusses religions, Cultural Codes:Jeong - the invisible hug, Competition,Han and Heung, ect. Hyun-Shil-Cold Reality: North Korea, Politics, working environments, English mania, In the hours not working: living spaces, Movies, K-pop, work all day, stay out all night, More of us, less of them: Multicultural in Korea, women working, ect. It was really interesting, I even surprised myself on how much sounded familiar when reading about the Korean history! There were some spots that were "slow" but overall I enjoyed it.
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Post by nuwildcats on Apr 3, 2014 16:42:47 GMT -5
I even surprised myself on how much sounded familiar when reading about the Korean history! There were some spots that were "slow" but overall I enjoyed it. Aah, the subtle benefits of watching kramas!
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