WORLD CULTURE BOARD
World Culture Board
Culture, cities, history, and world affairs are gathered for slower reading.
4 Books the World Is Reading | August 27, 2026
4 Books the World Is Reading | August 27, 2026
English-language 2 books
Homecoming
Author: Kate Morton
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Jess works as a journalist writing articles for a newspaper. One day, Jess returns to the house where she lived as a child. In that house, Jess learns of an event that happened long ago. It is a sad event of the Turner family that has been buried for a long time. Jess finds a book in the room Nora used to use. It is a book that records a real crime in detail. The book contains exactly what happened to the Turner family. It also describes how the police investigated the case. Jess turns the pages one by one, following the events of that time. The start of everything is a major crime committed long ago. The marks left by that crime are not easily erased. The traces of the case stretch across the ocean to several continents. Time also flows beyond one generation, spanning several generations. It asks how far one can go for the person they love. It also shows how people protect the lies they have told. Jess takes one step closer to the hidden truth.
Author profile
Kate Morton is a novelist active in Australia. She has enjoyed reading Enid Blyton's stories since childhood. After moving several times with her family, she attended a small country school in Tamborine Mountain. She completed speech and drama courses at Trinity College London. She graduated with honors in English Literature from the University of Queensland in 1999. She received a scholarship to study tragedy in Victorian literature. In 2006, she published her first novel, "The House at Riverton," and also wrote "The Forgotten Garden" and "The Distant Hours." Her seventh book, "Homecoming," was released in April 2023.
The House of Hidden Letters
Author: Izzy Broom
Publisher: Cornerstone
Skye is someone who carefully considers everything before making a decision. She never acts suddenly on a whim. Then one day, an old house on a small Greek island becomes available. It is a house that has been vacant for a long time and is falling apart in places. The new owner of the house is decided by a lottery. Skye enters the lottery because she wants to make a new start. In this way, Skye obtains the old house on the Greek island. Andreas takes charge of repairing the collapsed areas. Andreas is someone who repairs houses on that island. The two find a bundle of letters hidden inside the fireplace. The letters have yellowed paper and faded writing. The letters contain a love story that was forgotten long ago. The sad events of that time are also written there. The two look for the people who used to live in that house one by one. They piece together the past while reading the letters in order. They also learn how the people on the island have lived.
Author profile
Izzy Broom is a British novelist who also publishes books under the name Isabelle Broom. Broom lives in Suffolk, traveling all over the world to find clues for her stories. She started making up stories when she was around six years old. So far, she has written thirteen novels that offer an escape from daily life. Broom's books have met readers in fourteen international markets. In 2015, she won an award at the Great British Write Off for a short story. Her recently published book is "The House of Hidden Letters." Broom is known as a bestselling author.
Japanese-language 1 books
異世界薬局(13)
Author: 高野聖, 高山理図 & KEEPOUT
Publisher: KADOKAWA
A small pharmacy opens in a town in another world. The person working there makes medicine by hand for the sick. The way they make medicine is quite different from what we know. In that world, there are still many diseases for which a cure is not yet known. People who have suffered for a long time due to a lack of medicine visit the pharmacy one by one. The pharmacist carefully examines the physical condition of the visitors. Then, they make customized medicine for each person. To prepare the medicine, they must first obtain the necessary ingredients. The path to gathering these ingredients is not always easy. The pharmacist also teaches people how to take precautions to avoid getting sick. The work at the pharmacy does not run on the power of one person alone. Helpers by their side join in to help. The number of people waiting for medicine increases slightly day by day. The work of preparing medicine continues without missing a single day. The pharmacy in the other world opens its doors again this morning.
Author profile
Koya Hijiri is the title of a short story written by Japanese author Izumi Kyoka. Izumi Kyoka published this work at the age of twenty-eight and established themselves as a writer. This novel was published in the March issue of the magazine Shinshosetsu on February 1, 1900. It is structured as a traveling monk from Mount Koya telling a young man a strange story he experienced. The monk passes through a mountain path filled with snakes and mountain leeches and meets a beautiful woman living in an isolated house. Izumi Kyoka wrote the story using vivid words and short sentences. The book version released in February 1908 included illustrations drawn by Kaburaki Kiyokata.
Chinese-language 1 books
没可能的夜晚
Author: 金呆了
E-book platform: 豆瓣阅读
Qin Lan is a teacher who teaches students at a health school. She has a gentle personality and easily goes along with others. However, her husband is secretly seeing someone else outside the home. Even so, he tries to act as if nothing is wrong at home. Yuan Boyi is a surgeon in charge of surgery at a hospital. He has a gentle way of speaking and suppresses his emotions well. His wife has also shared her heart with another person, leaving her husband behind. He swallows the words he wants to confront her with. The two meet for the first time on Nanao Island during a trip. Strong winds blow on the island, and the evening glow sets red. The wind dishevels Qin Lan's hair. In the same wind, Yuan Boyi's heart sways as well. Since both are married, they hesitate for a long time to approach each other. At first, they do not even try to exchange contact information. As time passes, they write long letters to each other late at night. The day also comes when they travel halfway around the world to meet each other.
Author profile
Jin Dai Le is a writer who writes online novels in China. She publishes her works on a web novel website called Jinjiang Literature City. She also uploads her novels on a platform called Douban Read. Her representative work is a piece titled Romantic Pill. She mainly writes about the love of young people living in cities. She enjoys telling stories about two people who meet again after being separated for a long time. Her written novels include Wumeng National Road, Rose and Mask, Unrequited Love Rhapsody, and Wall, Snow, and Knee. Wumeng National Road is the story of Zhou Mo and Yu Wei, childhood friends who grew up together in a small town in Jiangnan.
KIMKJ.COM