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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Thinnest Paper In The World, by Oliver Whang, New York Times

Inside the factory, the air is steamy from warm baths of alkaline water in which bushels of kozo — the stems of mulberry trees — are soaked. Workers remove dirt from the kozo and pound it into strands of pulpy fiber, which they lay in a tub containing water and neri, a thick viscous liquid that is derived from the tororo-aoi plant, also known as sunset hibiscus. Reacting with the neri, the kozo fibers gain a sticky, gummy quality, which allows them to be broken down even further and pulled apart into long white ropes, which are removed from the tub and spread out evenly over a screen. The ropes are massaged together and flattened to the width of a couple of spiderweb-like fibers. As the liquid dries away, these fibers are left woven together, clinging to each other in a delicate sheet of paper.

Tengujo can help reinforce and repair damages from many sources. Ms. Choi calls it “the bread and butter in paper conservation” and “probably the most gentle way of reinforcing anything.” Sometimes tengujo is used for spot-treatment, other times to completely line a manuscript. Its long fibers provide structure and support while remaining almost completely unnoticeable.

For Joanna Gaines, Home Is The Heart Of A Food And Design Empire, by Julia Moskin, New York Times

In just seven years, since “Fixer Upper” began airing on HGTV, the couple has renovated more than a hundred houses and expanded the Magnolia brand into restaurants, craft markets, books, villas, real estate agencies, furniture, a magazine, a Target brand and — coming up shortly — their own cable channel, the Magnolia Network.

Their continuing negotiation between Texas tradition and modern taste makes for good television, and has also proved to be a wildly popular approach to home design, beloved by millions of followers on Pinterest and Instagram. In their hands, there is no house too small, too dark or too old to be transformed with topiaries (formerly known as houseplants), giant clocks, ironwork and white shiplap into her signature bright style, best described as Boho-Glam-Industrial Farmhouse.

A Novel From North Korea Offers Glimpses Of The Everyday, by E. Tammy Kim, New York Times

It may be surprising, though it shouldn’t be, to learn that North Korea has novelists and literary critics, fiction prizes and best sellers. Some books have been republished in South Korea, but English translations remain scarce and geared largely toward dissident memoirs. “The Accusation,” an absorbing story collection by a man writing under the name Bandi (or “Firefly”), was published in English in 2017, but it never had a life inside North Korea: The stories were critical of the regime and had to be smuggled out of the country to be read.

What is North Korean literature, as read by North Koreans? One of the few English translations of a novel from Pyongyang — “Friend,” by Paek Nam-nyong, originally published in 1988 — offers a beguiling introduction to the everyday, with none of the rockets and military parades that the words “North Korea” often bring to mind. As recent coverage of the health and whereabouts of the nation’s leader, Kim Jong-un, reminds us, fiction may offer more durable truths than speculative news.

The Funny Thing About Depression Is ..., by Melissa Broder, New York Times

Not every book is for everyone, and not every book on depression is for every depressive. But the question that might be asked of any mental health book, regarding its raison d’être, is: Can this help someone?

“The Hilarious World of Depression,” by John Moe, the veteran NPR host and creator of the podcast after which this book is named, could be a particularly useful tool for those who grew up in homes where seeking therapy was seen as weakness, those who don’t have the language for mental illness, and particularly for men age 50 and older. If you’re looking for a Father’s Day book for a depressed dad who is aware of his condition but averse to seeking treatment, this is the one.

The Chess Player, by Howard Altmann, The Guardian

They’ve left. They’ve all left.
The pigeon feeders have left.
The old men on the benches have left.
The white-gloved ladies with the Great Danes have left.

The Waltz, by John Freeman, Literary Hub

Tonight in the park I was reminded of
the first waltz I attended, dancers turning
across the floor in orchestration, lights