#Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

[dk-thrive]

"I had thought of work as stairs. Stairs to climb to reach the top. Now, I see work as food. Food that you need every day. Food that makes a difference to my body, my heart, my mental health, and my soul. There is food you just shove down your throat, and food that you eat with care and sincerity. I want to be one who takes great care in eating simple food. Not for anyone, but for myself."

— Hwang Bo-reum, from Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop in a book review by Apoorva Tadepalli in "What Comes After Workism?" (The Atlantic, March 18, 2024)

[tinynavajoreads]

Okay, full honesty. I have not been able to stay invested in The City of Brass, which won my what to read next book poll a month or so back. I tried, I did try, but it just didn't keep me hooked. So, I set it aside for now and that seemed to have help still because I have read 5 other books since then. And they were good! And I enjoyed them!

Recently Finished: Book of Night by Holly Black, Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy, and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Book of Night by Holly Black - 3.5 stars, interesting premise about shadows and magic and how it's all hidden behind old money. But the shadows were the most interesting thing. Not my absolute favourite, but glad to have read it.

Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy - 3.75 stars, the first book was better, the ending didn't feel fully supported by what came before it. Granted, I may need to reread to see if I can spot clues about the ending. The lyrical writing still saved it though, I love how New Orleans is described and just how Sister Holiday talks. Curious if there will be a third book.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - 3.75 stars, this gave me The Library Book by Susan Orlean vibes. And it did kind of give me a small collecting bug for certain books. Or at least find ways to find certain copies of books I love. Very interesting look into the world of antique/secondhand books and those who steal from that world.

Recently Finished: Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum and Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum - 5 stars, I fully fully loved this book! A slice of life in a neighborhood bookstore and how the bookstore affects not only our main character, Yeongju, and her customers and employees. It put more fuel on the small fire I have at the back of my mind about someday owning a bookshop. We shall see how that turns out though.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett - 3.5 stars, only my second Terry Pratchett, but I can definitely see why so many people love his books. It did have Macbeth vibes and I love the witches so much! I do need to read more of their books and learn more about their stories.

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them if you have?

[jruthphipps]

Finally had time to visit a bookshop and use the gift cards from my birthday. Thank you to friends and family who willingly feed my book addiction.

📚 Bungo Stray Dogs by Kafka Asagiri / Sango Harukawa

📚 Moriarty the Patriot by Ryoskue Takeuchi / Hikaru Miyoshi

📚 Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

📚 Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faries by Heather Fawcett

📚 The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

📚 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum / Shanna Tan

[marsymallows]

Exploring Slow Living: Documentaries, Movies, and Books

I don’t know a lot of people who share the same desperation I have for a slow life except for my boyfriend, a friend I constantly talk to these days and a bunch of online strangers in a Reddit sub I’m subscribed to. My boyfriend lived in a farm. LOL. But setting aside all the memes and controversies now infamously associated with that line, he really did and he has always dreamed of leaving the…

[mlemedt]

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop- Hwang Bo Reum

💛💛💛🤍🤍 (3/5)

——————————Summary & Introduction———————————

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, has been one of the most academically intriguing book thus far. There is no story as such, but rather follows the daily life of Yeongju, the owner of the titular bookshop. This novel has no epic plots or incredible romances, yet still maintains an incredibly evocative narrative, however I’ve found this novel has had little lasting impact.

🩷

——————————————Discussion—————————————

Whilst one might consider there wasn’t much to this novel, it was a realistic depiction of life and I enjoyed the individual stories of the regular visitors to the bookshop. It was grounded in reality and an enjoyable change from the mythological retellings I’m often embroiled in. There was interesting discussions about society and capitalism and the strain of work that are certainly worth noting.

🩷

For me the most interesting discussion was ‘What does it mean to have a successful life?’ For one character in particular this was good grades, a good university and a good job. Perhaps this was the most interesting to me as I find myself on a similar train of thought. Hwang explores the strain of corporate grind and how success is individual and can be simplify defined as contentment. Another interesting theme was Hwangs exploration of literature, and what it means to read.

My biggest take-away from this book was advice to read how you feel. If you hate your job, read about someone hating theirs. If you’re feeling depressed read about someone else feeling that too. But it’s not as simple as it seems. I’ve found I don’t look towards these characters for solutions but rather resonance. When you can see your own thoughts and feelings projected upon another character, everything becomes clearer. You don’t necessarily look to the book in search of a conclusion but to understand yourself. In this ambition to read so many books this summer, in the few I have read so far I have understood more about myself from each. I believe it was ‘Orphia & Eurydicius’ that said something along the lines of ‘stories are continued within the lives of the listener.’ I’m sure I’ve heard something similar before, but taking time to discuss the value of literature and why we read, is something I hadn’t yet done, which seems bizarre, since I now have a blog dedicated to my reading exploits.

🩷

Whilst these themes provoked exploration into the working culture we live in, I will be honest that I am writing this as I almost finish my next book. Ive not been that inspired to record what I think, because truthfully, I don’t think I thought much of it. Perhaps I was not the audience for this book. I can sit here and tell you the discussions were interesting but they were really quite tepid. I think Hwang could’ve gone further.

I intend to make note to read this again in the future, perhaps when its themes have more prominence within my own life. After all many of the focal characters were around thirty contemplating dead-end jobs, whilst I’ve barely begun my exploration into the workplace.

🩷

——————————————Conclusion——————————————-

To be brutally honest, I was just a little bored reading this, maybe a little curious, but hardly invested. But my interest is hardly indicative of great literature. I think I simply wasn’t the audience for this, I couldn’t relate to the characters due to my lack of experience, and that created a disconnect between me and Hwang. However, with regards to a rating, I did not actively dislike reading her pages so it would appear logical to report a 3/5. But this is my issue. I think I need to increase my ratings to out of 10. I gave ‘Psyche & Eros’ 3/5 and it has pretty much haunted me since. It didn’t feel right to give 4/5 but I really enjoyed it, much more than ‘Orphia & Eurydicius’ which I gave the higher rating. My experience with ‘Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop’ and ‘Psyche & Eros’ couldn’t be more different yet they might share the same rating? Then should this particular book be 2/5? This seems to low, but it appears it must be.

I will make sure to update this system, and note the new ratings under my old posts, but I will leave the reviews themselves as they are. I think I struggle to rate a book low because I try to find value in everything, and I’m certain many others that can actually relate to the characters will find lots of value in WTHDB. This is where I have to remind myself these reviews are subjective.

I’ve concluded, it must be 3/5 but I will also note a new score out of ten below once I’ve come up with a fairer system. This is simply because I didn’t enjoy it much but felt its discussions had much value and relevance in contemporary society.

♥♥♥

-Gaia

⚠️ Content Warnings ⚠️

-Mild + Infrequent swearing

[moonchildcaffeine]

currently reading!

[kendeljennerind]

REVIEW-Welcome to The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

Link dari Goodread sebagai perspektif dari pembaca lainnya. Seperti biasa, memperoleh cara pandang orang lain cukup bagus untuk memperkaya sudut pandang kita.

"First, to cruise alongside what life has to offer. Then, to live it chasing dreams. And for the last shot in life, to live the life that i was better suited for, and to enjoy it as much as i can" - Minjun

Banyak banget point yang sangat bagus ketika tiap tokoh bercengkrama satu sama lainnya. Cara penulisan dari Ibu Hwang Bo Reum membuat pembaca ingin berhenti sebentar lalu merenungi tiap percakapan tiap tokohnya. Walaupun diawali dengan perkenalan leading tokoh Yeongju yang membuka toko buku di daerah Hyungnam-Dong. Sesimpel ketika Yeongju memberikan nama toko buku sekedar nama daerah dimana lokasi toko tersebut.

Tokoh dari cerita perlahan ditambah ketika Yeongju membutuhkan barista hingga penyedia kopi serta orang-orang yang rutin mengunjungi toko buku . Dalam ceritanya juga menggambarkan perjuangan leading tokohnya dalam mengembangkan toko buku tersebut hingga populer. Dimulai dari buku serta penulis apa saja yang ingin dijual serta ide dan karakter apa yang ingin ditonjolkan dari toko bukunya.

Misalnya, Tokohnya menengaskan bahwa "Buku best seller menjadi best seller karena bias "best seller tersebut", padahal banyak buku yang akhirnya tidak terjamah oleh pembaca dengan ada title "best seller". Dan menurutku itu ide yang brilian.

Bagaimana banyaknya dari penyuka buku, mencari buku yang lagi trend atau yang punya title best seller. Si tokoh utama berusaha untuk tidak hanya membaca banyak buku tapi menyarankan membaca buku secara mendalam. Pertanyaan apakah penulis yang menuliskan buku dan persepsi pembaca akan penulis, apakah sama di real lifenya? hingga akhirnya dalam cerita, Yeongju mengundang penulis dari buku yang ternyata di real life sangat berbeda.

Tiap percakapan dan kisah yang dialami oleh tokoh-tokoh dalam cerita sangat releate dengan kehidupan banyak orang. Kisahnya manusia biasa, rakyat jelata, baik seorang ibu, wanita single, fresh graduate serta suami-istri yang biasa seperti di real life.

Luarbiasa tenang dan hubungan yang dijalin satu sama lain sangat biasa. Bukan pria kaya yang datang menyelamatkan dan jatuh cinta pada wanita miskin is NO!

Buku ini kayak comforting ketika kita lagi stuk dengan kehidupan. Penulis juga menambahkan dalam pesannya bahwa tiap tokoh seadng mengambil small steps forward dalam kehidupan. Apakah lagi belajar sesuatu yang baru atau lagi mencoba merubah hidupnya. Bagaimana mereka berjuang tidak tertekan dengan persepsi defenisi masyarakat akan kesuksesan.

Pada akhirnya, saya tidak mendambakan satu tokoh tertentu, tapi tokoh disemua pantas untuk diperhatikan dan semua tokoh adalah penting.

Rate yang kuberikan 8.5/10.

[bloodmaarked]

➸ reading list

just added:

we'll prescribe you a cat, syou ishida

the full moon coffee shop, mai mochizuki

death at the sanatorium, ragnar jónasson

the lantern of lost memories, sanaka hiiragi

the queen's spade, sarah raughley

we solve murders, richard osman

welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop, hwang bo-reum

dallergut dream department store, mi-ye lee

the secret lives of baba segi's wives, lola shoneyin

sula, toni morrison

[themelodyofspring]

Isn't that what life is about? Forging forward with the answer you have – stumbling along the way and picking yourself up - only to one day realise that the answer you've held on to for a long time is not the right one. When that happens, it's time to look for the next answer.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-Reum

[zeewhatiwrote]

My Liberation Notes

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop - Hwang Bo-reum

[highsummonermercar]

Books about bookshops and booksellers 📚

[princessofbookaholics]

on my asian readathon tbr 🏮

[catbrarian]

my dream job is to be open a bookshop with a cafe and a flower shop alongside it so the shop will forever be smelling of coffee and flowers and for me to read all the books there are and leave little notes in the ones i’ve finished as little treats for the next readers to make them smile

(welcome to the hyunam-dong bookshop sponsored thought)

[promiseforeverstay]

"Halbuki yaşamak zaten bu işte. Öylesine yaşıyoruz. Doğmuşuz çünkü."

[asilmayanduvarlar]

“Kendisini ne zaman geçmişinden koparabilecekti? Geçmişten kurtulma çabası da özünde bir tür hırs değil miydi?”

[thechanelmuse]

My Book Review

Books are not meant to remain in your mind, but in your heart. Maybe they exist in your mind too, but as something more than memories. [...] While I may not remember all the details, the stories continue to exert a quiet influence on me.

An ode to bookshops, books, finding solace, and the seekers of them all. ✨

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop is a light, calming, episodic novel translated from the Korean that reminds me of the high fantasy novel, Legends & Lattes. It's cozy and character-driven. This book illustrates how bookshops are more than a places that house books. They are havens.

Yeongju, our main character, follows her dream in opening an indie bookshop café as it weaves together the lives of interesting characters, each with their own stories and struggles, drawn together by their love for books and peace. Oh how I related to the character Minjun regarding the self-discovery with that "life after college." (I binge-watched movies too.) 

Now, the dialogue in this novel is didactic at times. But I find it thought-provoking, not bothersome or annoying like I tend to with other books. For example:

"Dissonance before moments of harmony makes the harmony sound beautiful. Just as harmony and dissonance exist side by side in music, life is the same. Because harmony is preceded by dissonance, that's why we think life's beautiful."

Here's another:

"Life is too complicated and expansive to be judged solely by the career you have. You could be unhappy doing something you liked, just as it was possible to do what you didn't like but derive happiness from something entirely different. Life is mysterious and complex. Work plays an important role in life, but it isn't solely responsible for our happiness or misery."

Granted it could be the author's own opinions put onto the characters, but it fits the characters and their book/author discussions. This approach adds to their sense of community and connection while making sense of life, its challenges, the expectations of others, and their personal journeys.