If you keep watching short videos and still want more — or if you have ever bought enzymes after seeing a social media ad for melting bread — this book is aimed at you. The author, a science communicator, looks at everyday topics such as stress, sleep, exercise, short-video addiction and love through a scientific lens, encouraging readers to rethink routines and make better choices.
The book focuses on hormones. It explains that repeatedly watching shorts and reels can build tolerance to dopamine, pushing viewers to seek stronger stimulation in a self-reinforcing cycle. It also offers a remedy, highlighting the role of serotonin — often called a “happiness hormone” — and providing practical tips to promote its release.
Sleep, exercise and love are also tied to hormones, the author says. To benefit from fasted aerobic exercise, readers should avoid excessively triggering cortisol, a stress hormone. On love, the book argues that hormones shift as relationships mature, citing phenylethylamine and endorphins. Readers can choose sleep methods, workouts and diets suited to their own circumstances.
"In today’s world, dopamine is actually very easy to get without going through the process of dating and adjusting to each other. You can easily satisfy dopamine just by watching stimulating content like shorts or reels. In other words, we already have many ways to satisfy dopamine easily, anytime and anywhere, so dating is no longer the only channel for dopamine. Dating requires a lot of time and energy, yet it’s hard to predict a sure dopamine reward, and you never know when it might fall apart." (p. 190)
A Sad Murder=Written by Jonathan Rosen, translated by Park Dasom, Munhakdongne.
This memoir and nonfiction work centers on a real person, Michael Laudor. The author closely traces how Laudor, a childhood friend, lived with schizophrenia and, in his 30s, ended up committing murder.
Laudor was a celebrated elite: He graduated first in his class from Yale University in three years and joined a top-tier management consulting firm. Behind the résumé, however, was schizophrenia. Once seen as a symbol of hope for overcoming the illness, he shocked the United States in 1998 when he killed his fiancée.
Rosen writes his friend’s life in a restrained tone while examining the 1980s U.S. culture of elitism and family environments that prized intellectual achievement — factors he suggests helped worsen Laudor’s symptoms. He also points to the tragedy that can follow when appropriate intervention for mental illness disappears, and to the effects on individuals of a social climate that emphasizes performance while ignoring pressure and stress.
"Just as Michael himself had been a symbol of hope, Michael’s film was also seen as a symbol of hope. I had no idea, until the murder happened, what Michael meant to the hundreds of thousands of people who desperately wanted their existence to be recognized and made visible in society. I also didn’t know how much despair his downfall brought to so many individuals. The journal Psychiatric Times titled its article on the case, ‘From a publicity poster to a wanted poster.’" (p. 624)
Grand Prince Suyang=Based on an original work by Kim Dong-in, edited by Lee Jeong-seo, Saeum.
This edition adapts Kim Dong-in’s “Daesuyang” for modern readers. Without undermining the original form and intent, the editor revises sentences for clarity, adds titles to each chapter and explains difficult Chinese characters.
The novel follows events from King Sejong’s reign through King Munjong’s death, when King Danjong took the throne at age 12 and, at 15, handed it to Grand Prince Suyang. It depicts officials who belittled the young king while trying to secure their own power, and a court that effectively neglected state affairs such as border defense and institutional reform. Through this, it questions the familiar image of Suyang as a “cruel uncle who killed his nephew,” offering a more layered view of the era’s power structure and political realities.
“‘They say a lion will kill its own cub if it seems the cub can’t live as a lion, but people can’t do that, which is truly pitiful.’ Hearing this lament from his younger brother (Sejong) every time they met, Yangnyeong lowered his head and stayed silent for a long while before finally replying. ‘Your Majesty, it cannot be helped. It seems an era is coming when the qilin sleeps and the lynx (Munjong) dances …’ ‘Then I suppose you, elder brother, must watch over that lynx and guide him so he does not dance too wildly.’" (p. 49)
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.