September is designated as national reading month in order to encourage reading and promote reading culture. I would like to discuss two books that I read and want to recommend for Kyonggi university students. If you want to start reading in September but are worried about which books to read, you can check out these!

 Proof of Gu

Summary: The hero ‘Gu’ and heroine ‘Dam’ first met at age eight, and they fell in love with each other when they became adults. However, Gu met his death while he was being chased because of his parents’ debt. Furthermore, Dam ate the dead Gu little by little to grieve his death and show love at the same time. This is because she wanted to protect him perfectly by putting him in her mind, so that no outside power could damage him. In this process, she proved the existence of her love for Gu. 

Review: This book tells about strong love between a man and woman and also criticizes the filthiness of capitalism as cannibalism. The author tells us about human love through Dam’s grieving of Gu’s death and watching out for the weak like Gu in our society. Through the author’s short but delicate sentences, we can think about the meaning of love and death once more. Usually, love novels show a transparent storyline that almost always ends in a happy ending. However, this book is the most memorable love novel that I have ever read because it tells about love between men and women with a unique plot. Also, the dialogue between Dam and Gu was so heartbreaking that I could feel fully immersed in the book.

Famous line: “I’m not saying we should be together to be happy. I’m saying that let’s stay together because it is okay to be unhappy.”

Author

Choi Jin Yeong

Joyomi’s Score

★★★★★(4.5)

Courage to be Hated

Summary: This book is based on Adler’s psychology and written as dialogues between young men and philosophers. It largely consists of five stories: “Trauma”, “Human Relationships”, “The Tasks of Others”, “The Middle of the World”, and “The Present”. What the writers want to say is that the readers should make good use of what they have available and pursue freedom, contribute to society, find happiness, and accept their values as they are. Also, they said that in order to attain freedom, we have to pay the price of “being hated”. Therefore we have to take courage. 

Review: This book tells about the importance of accepting yourself and having the courage to pursue your goals. Also, this book makes readers realize how important it is to face their problems and not avoid difficulties. I think these morals help us overcome the difficult situations that we might face in the future. I recommend this book to people who are having difficulties in human relationships or want to straighten their direction in life. 

Famous line: “The thing that doesn’t change is my decision to not change myself.”

Author

Kishimi Ichiro, 

Koga Fumitake

Joyomi’s Score

★★★★☆

 These are the two books that we recommend. Any of these books can help you feel the autumn vibes. Furthermore, reading books is a great way to develop your thinking ability. Since it is September, how about focusing on reading books this month?

79th Reporter • CHO SEO YUN • jeoyum@gmail.com