BOOKS & MORE BOOKS: WHEN A READER BECOMES A WRITER

 

A Story Sixteen Years in the Making

A few weeks ago, I was absent-mindedly scrolling through Instagram when a familiar name suddenly made me stop.

June Hur.

For a moment I wondered, Could it really be the same June?

It was.

Sixteen years ago, she was one of the young bloggers I interviewed on FLY HIGH!. We used to exchange emails about Jane Austen, period dramas, British actors and, above all, books. She often told me about her greatest dream: one day becoming a published writer.

Life moved on. We gradually lost touch.

Then, thanks to one of those rare moments when social media gets something wonderfully right, June unexpectedly found her way back into my life.

Only this time she wasn't an aspiring writer anymore.

She was a New York Times bestselling author celebrating the publication of her fourth novel.

Some stories begin with a book.

This one began with a reader.

SCREEN STORIES: THE COURAGE TO SLOW DOWN

 

Some stories entertain us. Others stay with us because, almost without noticing, they ask questions we have been carrying inside for a long time.

Meet Yourself is one of those stories.

When I started watching this forty-episode Chinese drama, I expected a comforting slice-of-life series. What I didn't expect was to find myself wondering, episode after episode, what it really means to build a meaningful life.

THINKING ALOUD: CAN ART BE DIVIDED BY GEOGRAPHY?

 

 

During the Covid pandemic, a friend suggested I watch my first Korean drama. I accepted almost out of curiosity, with no idea that one recommendation would open the door to an entirely new cultural world. One series led to another, then to Korean cinema, Korean literature and, eventually, to BTS.

Around the same time, I discovered that Michela Murgia—whose work and public voice I deeply admired—shared the same passion for Korea, K-dramas and BTS. Listening to her speak about K-pop changed something in me. She argued that a genuine passion is never superficial: if it drives us to learn, to understand and to explore, it becomes an act of knowledge. Those words stayed with me. They gave me permission to stop apologising for my curiosity.

Yesterday's news brought them back to mind.

BOOKS & MORE BOOKS - THE VEGETARIAN BY HAN KANG: THE IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE

 

Some novels leave us with a clear opinion.

Others leave us disturbed, fascinated and uncertain about what, exactly, we have just experienced.

The Vegetarian belongs to the second category.

BOOK & MORE BOOKS: INTERMEZZO BY SALLY ROONEY, THE QUIET MIRACLE OF LITERATURE

 

There are writers we admire from the very first novel we read. And then there are those rare moments when, after following their work for years, we realise they have reached a new stage in their artistic journey.

That was my experience with Intermezzo.

I have read all of Sally Rooney's novels. Normal People introduced me to a voice that felt fresh, intelligent and emotionally honest. I enjoyed Conversations with Friends and Beautiful World, Where Are You, but neither quite recreated that exhilarating sense of discovery.

Intermezzo did.

TEACHING IN THE AI ERA: 10 TIPS FOR TEACHERS WHO WANT STUDENTS TO REALLY LEARN

 

 

When ChatGPT and other AI tools became widely available, many teachers wondered whether homework had suddenly become pointless.

If a chatbot can write an essay, answer comprehension questions, solve grammar exercises and even analyse a poem in seconds, what is left for students to do?

Rather than asking how we can prevent students from using AI, perhaps we should ask a different question:

How can we design learning that students cannot outsource?

After experimenting in my own classroom, I have come to believe that AI has not made teaching impossible. It has simply forced us to rethink some of our habits.

Here are a few ideas that may help.

WHY SCROLLING ISN'T ENOUGH: WHAT READING BOOKS DOES FOR THE BRAIN

 

Reading vs scrolling

A few weeks ago, I conducted a simple survey among my teenage students about their reading habits. The results surprised me—and, to be honest, worried me.

Among fifteen students, only one student reported reading books regularly. Just one.

Most of the others told me that they "read online": social media posts, websites, chats, news snippets, or content recommended by algorithms. While this certainly involves reading in a broad sense, it is very different from the sustained, focused reading that books require.

Their responses prompted me to dedicate a couple of lessons to a topic that has been receiving increasing attention from educators, researchers, and parents alike: the reading crisis among children and young people. Together, we explored videos, podcasts, articles, and studies examining the decline in book reading and its possible consequences for learning, thinking and personal development.

The more we discussed the issue, the more I realised that this is not simply a question of whether young people enjoy reading. It raises deeper questions about attention, language, empathy, critical thinking, creativity  and even how our brains develop.

The reflections that follow emerged from those classroom discussions and from the research we examined together. They are not intended as an attack on technology or digital media. Rather, they are an invitation to consider what books offer that scrolling alone cannot.

BEYOND THE PAGES: 5 JULY K-DRAMAS WITH STORIES THAT MATTER

Hello, FLY HIGH readers! 🪁

If you’ve been following my recent journeys here, you know how much comfort I find in the pages of healing fiction like Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, or in the profound psychological wisdom of Korean literature. Last month, I shared how JTBC's We Are All Trying Here -which I saw on Netflix - looked directly into my soul. It reminded me once again that TV drama, at its best, can be just as deeply human and moving as a great novel.

With July officially underway, a brand-new roster of Korean storytelling is arriving on our screens. While I don't post about TV lineups often,  a few upcoming releases caught my eye and I want to share them with you all.

DIGITAL ADDICTION: WHY TEACHING AWARENESS MATTERS MORE THAN PROHIBITION

This past school year, I worked with my students on two texts dealing with social media, digital addiction, algorithms and the growing concern about the effects of excessive screen time on young people.

The topic immediately generated lively discussion. Almost every student recognised some of the behaviours described in the texts: checking notifications repeatedly, opening social media apps without a specific reason, losing track of time while scrolling, or feeling the need to stay constantly connected.

As teachers and parents, we often hear alarming messages about social media. We are told that young people spend too much time online, that platforms are addictive and that digital technologies are damaging attention spans and mental health. Some governments have started discussing  or even passed  age restrictions and bans.

Yet I have become increasingly convinced that prohibition alone is not the answer.

What young people need most is awareness.

BOOKS & MORE BOOKS - DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP: FINDING HOME AMONG BOOKS

Some books arrive not with a bang but with the gentle rustle of turning pages. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa is one of them.

Set in Jimbocho, Tokyo's famous book district, this charming little novel tells the story of Takako, a young woman whose life is thrown off course when her boyfriend unexpectedly leaves her for another woman. Adrift and uncertain about her future, she reluctantly accepts an invitation from her eccentric uncle Satoru to move into the small room above the family's second-hand bookshop.