The Americans, like the Brits, has developed a high level of active participation and concern for issues that concerns their daily lives. It is this sense of involvement that makes these two country the leaders of modern parliamentary government. Politics is part of their lives, specially to the elite, as red wine is to meat.
One of the things that I have noticed when I first arrived in Korea was that whenever I look for a good book, whether it be a business book, a book about politics or just plain paperback, all the books that I like are translated into korean. Frustrating for someone who is having difficulty understanding the complexities and enunciations of your language.
I have to agree that a good book is one good way to beat the heat. A good book that I have recently acquired, after endless hours of perusal in an old dingy bookstore in metropolitan seoul is Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum and The Name of the Rose. Very entertaining books... both books have political, religious and psychological ingredients that are enough to keep you awake the whole nite.
Well, enough about that. So what good book have you read lately?
Mind recommending a title? And if you do have a book to suggest... I beg you tell me where to find the English printing of the book or else it would take me 10 years to finish a page of the KOrean version of the book.
Thanks,
SeoulChad
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When I was studying English conversation in an English language institutes last year, I thought it was a stupid question,” What is your favorite book?” or “ Have you read any good books lately?”
I was studying there with textbooks which have topics about family, hobby, education, politics and environment, and so on. Those topics were not easy to say, because my interests couldn’t follow them always. In fact, I was (and am) indifferent to politics, but many foreigners were interested in politics especially the reunification of our country. At that time, I had to have tests sometimes, so I had to prepare my own answers about those topics. To tell you the truth, it is difficult to express my own opinion in Korean about those topics, much less IN ENGLISH!(하물며..이렇게 표현하면 되나요?)
The worst topic was about education to me. I was dissatisfied at our education system…I didn’t have any good plan about it.
Anyway, I thought the conversation about those topics were not normal. And I thought I was so silly.
Yesterday, I began to read “Bridget Jones’s diary’ again, because I didn’t finish it yet.
I found the silly topic about book when Bridget met Mark at first. It is true they use the question to break the ice. I could imagine the awkward atmosphere when two singles met first. They didn’t know each other, so they had to try to find something common.
It is very hot today, and it is a very good season to read books.
Well……Hey guys….
“ Have you read any good books recently??”