New releases: 'Umma,' 'The Imagined Life' and other books to check out
Published: 09 Apr. 2025, 14:05
Updated: 09 Apr. 2025, 17:30
Umma
Author: Sarah Ahn
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Sarah Ahn’s viral food videos with her mom, or umma, have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational home life. This collaboration is now a must-have cookbook blending the emotional intimacy of "Crying in H Mart" (2021) with practical culinary advice from Nam Soon’s lifetime of kitchen experience. The recipes are framed by mother-daughter conversations that are funny, profound and universally relatable — plus all the food is backed by the recipe-testing power of America’s Test Kitchen. The Ahns understand that when generations come together in the kitchen, so much is shared: not only food, but also knowledge, advice, family history and love.
The Imagined Life
Author: Andrew J. Porter
Publisher: Penguin Random House
From the award-winning, internationally acclaimed writer of "The Theory of Light and Matter" (2008), comes a taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind. Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. This leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was 12, on a wave of ignominy. Yet with every revelation, Steve must confront truths about his own life. Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, "The Imagined Life" is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one’s parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence and about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son.
Great Big Beautiful Life
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Penguin Random House
In this sweeping novel from global best-selling romance author Emily Henry, two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of Margaret Ives: a tragic heiress and daughter of one of the most storied and scandalous families of the 20th century. But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they cannot swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room. And it is becoming abundantly clear that their story — just like the tale Margaret’s spinning — could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad, depending on who’s telling it. Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by The New York Times.
Careless People - A Story of Where I Used to Work
Author: Sarah Wynn-Williams
Publisher: Macmillan
Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy at Facebook, provides a shocking and darkly funny look into the decisions that are shaping our world and the people who make them. Upon joining the company, she saw Facebook's potential and believed it could change the world for the better. But rising up through the ranks, things turned out quite differently. From wild schemes cooked up on private jets to risking prison abroad, Wynn-Williams rubs shoulders with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and world leaders, revealing the personal and political fallout when boundless power and a rotten culture take hold — and the consequences this has for all of us. Gripping and often absurd, this is an intimate memoir that will change how you see the world.
The Floating World
Author: Axie Oh
Publisher: Macmillan
From Axie Oh, New York Times best-selling author of "The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea" (2022), comes a lighthearted romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of celestial maidens. Sunho is an ex-soldier living in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness, who comes across the score of a lifetime: a chest of coins for hunting down a girl who wields silver light. Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is an acrobat performing at villages with her family. But everything changes when they are attacked by a horrific demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light — a power she has kept hidden since childhood — and kills the monster. But her efforts don't come in time to prevent her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded. Determined to find a remedy that will save him, Ren sets off over the mountains, where she meets Sunho, who does not realize she is the girl that he is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts — and destinies — are far more intertwined than either of them could have imagined.
All books are available for purchase at dbBOOKS.
dbBOOKS
Author: Sarah Ahn
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Sarah Ahn’s viral food videos with her mom, or umma, have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational home life. This collaboration is now a must-have cookbook blending the emotional intimacy of "Crying in H Mart" (2021) with practical culinary advice from Nam Soon’s lifetime of kitchen experience. The recipes are framed by mother-daughter conversations that are funny, profound and universally relatable — plus all the food is backed by the recipe-testing power of America’s Test Kitchen. The Ahns understand that when generations come together in the kitchen, so much is shared: not only food, but also knowledge, advice, family history and love.
The Imagined Life
Author: Andrew J. Porter
Publisher: Penguin Random House
From the award-winning, internationally acclaimed writer of "The Theory of Light and Matter" (2008), comes a taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind. Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. This leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was 12, on a wave of ignominy. Yet with every revelation, Steve must confront truths about his own life. Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, "The Imagined Life" is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one’s parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence and about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son.
Great Big Beautiful Life
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Penguin Random House
In this sweeping novel from global best-selling romance author Emily Henry, two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of Margaret Ives: a tragic heiress and daughter of one of the most storied and scandalous families of the 20th century. But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they cannot swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room. And it is becoming abundantly clear that their story — just like the tale Margaret’s spinning — could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad, depending on who’s telling it. Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by The New York Times.
Careless People - A Story of Where I Used to Work
Author: Sarah Wynn-Williams
Publisher: Macmillan
Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy at Facebook, provides a shocking and darkly funny look into the decisions that are shaping our world and the people who make them. Upon joining the company, she saw Facebook's potential and believed it could change the world for the better. But rising up through the ranks, things turned out quite differently. From wild schemes cooked up on private jets to risking prison abroad, Wynn-Williams rubs shoulders with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and world leaders, revealing the personal and political fallout when boundless power and a rotten culture take hold — and the consequences this has for all of us. Gripping and often absurd, this is an intimate memoir that will change how you see the world.
The Floating World
Author: Axie Oh
Publisher: Macmillan
From Axie Oh, New York Times best-selling author of "The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea" (2022), comes a lighthearted romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of celestial maidens. Sunho is an ex-soldier living in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness, who comes across the score of a lifetime: a chest of coins for hunting down a girl who wields silver light. Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is an acrobat performing at villages with her family. But everything changes when they are attacked by a horrific demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light — a power she has kept hidden since childhood — and kills the monster. But her efforts don't come in time to prevent her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded. Determined to find a remedy that will save him, Ren sets off over the mountains, where she meets Sunho, who does not realize she is the girl that he is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts — and destinies — are far more intertwined than either of them could have imagined.
All books are available for purchase at dbBOOKS.
dbBOOKS
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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