Whether The Story of Hong Gildong is the oldest extant Korean prose fiction or the second oldest, whether it was written by poet and statesman Heo Gyun (1569-1618) about a real bandit or whether it's popular fiction by an anonymous commoner in the second half of the 19th century matters greatly to some. Not so much to the lucky English-language reader who comes upon Minsoo Kang's exciting new translation of this ancient story, now available from Penguin Classics.

About the length of The Epic of Gilgamesh, this little 77-page classic of the pre-Korean Kingdom of Joseon is the account of a high minister's son who, because he is born of his father's concubine, is "not allowed to address [his] own father as Father and [his] older brother as Brother." This is the famous, often-quoted lament for which Gildong is known in Korean culture. The sons of secondary wives had access to wealth and education, but no legal standing in society and were not accorded the rights of nobility.

The fast-paced, plot-driven narrative is fueled by scenes of exciting action alternating with scenes of high emotion. As Korea has been historically conquered and colonized, Gildong's recovery of dignity and respect has a national echo that has made it persistently popular. As a secondary son who is "disrespected, unappreciated and underrated," attempting to overcome the disadvantages of his birth to prove his true worth as a leader of his people, Hong Gildong is the embodiment of an oppressed and underestimated Korea. --Nick DiMartino, Nick's Picks, University Book Store, Seattle, Wash.

Susan Higginbotham (Her Highness, the Traitor) turns to the American Civil War with this historical novel about Mary Surratt and her young boarder, Nora Fitzpatrick. Told from the alternating perspectives of both women, Hanging Mary is Higginbotham's account of their world in the days following President Lincoln's assassination.

As the war nears its end, Mary, a widowed mother of three, is running a boarding house in Washington, D.C. She is a Confederate sympathizer, and her son, Johnny, is an active secessionist who falls in with John Wilkes Booth and becomes a messenger for the Rebel cause. Soon Johnny's cohorts, including Booth, are regular fixtures at the Surratt house.

Nora is recently out of convent school. She lost her mother at a young age, and Mary serves as her surrogate; Nora even contemplates matching her widowed father with her. Despite Nora's loyalty to the Union--she reads to injured soldiers at the local hospital--she is devoted to this woman who provides a welcome maternal presence in her life.

When John Wilkes Booth assassinates Abraham Lincoln, Booth's routine presence at Mary's boarding house leads investigators to suspect all of the residents in the unthinkable crime that rocked the nation.

Hanging Mary is well researched, but the novel's greatest quality is its empathetic narrators, especially Nora. Her passion and self-sacrifice create a humanizing view of some of U.S. history's greatest villains. In Higgenbotham's hands, this little-known woman is heroic and riveting. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts

Stylistically and thematically reminiscent of Raymond Carver, the 16 stories in Something Will Happen, You'll See concern the harsh realities of the working poor suffering from the economic and political crisis in Greece. Christos Ikonomou uses spare punctuation and heavy repetition of words, phrases and paragraphs to mirror the relentlessness of the lives and struggles of his protagonists. 

One character tells his drinking companions--a poor naval pensioner, a family man who had to beg for money to pay for a funeral, and a junkie's father--"sometimes I think hatred is like the air we breathe in this city. It may be killing you slowly, but you still can't live without it." Indeed, it is often hatred, of the wealthy, of the police, of politicians, of romantic partners who have failed them, that drives characters' actions--perhaps the only thing that gives them agency in a world outside their control. In a later story, one worker remarks, after going unpaid yet another month, "it's so strange to be poor, you're like one of those penguins they show on TV watching the ice melt all around them and they have no idea what to hold onto or how to keep themselves from going crazy and so they start attacking one another out of fear."

This collection dovetails with The Scapegoat by Sophia Nikolaidou, also translated by Karen Emmerich, which features students questioning education and facing a miserable future due to the austerity crisis. Something Will Happen, You'll See may be their future. --Evan M. Anderson, collection development librarian, Kirkendall Public Library, Ankeny, Iowa

Translator Scott E. Myers's introduction to Beijing Comrades is itself an engrossing story: the tale was originally serialized online, and the author--listed here as Bei Tong, elsewhere as Beijing Comrade, Miss Wang and other names--remains anonymous; Myers does not know Bei's gender. This is the first English translation and the third version of the novel to be published, combining two previous publications and a new manuscript by Bei with an expanded story and explicit sexual detail.

Beijing Comrades is about Handong, a privileged, successful, egotistical businessman, and Lan Yu, a younger man of modest circumstances. When Lan Yu arrives in Beijing as a student, Handong immediately takes him as a lover. The older man had been accustomed to myriad sexual conquests of both men and women, defined by psychological domination and materialism, but this liaison is different, eventually coming to dominate both men's lives. Over the years, Handong and Lan Yu strain to reconcile their relationship with a culture in upheaval: late 1980s China, experimenting with capitalism, approaching the Tian'anmen Square protests, increasingly materialistic and anti-gay.

While the dialogue is stylistically inconsistent, reminding readers of the fact of translation, the emotions of the story reinforce its realism. First-person narrator Handong is not always a likable character: he is cynical, profit-driven, fickle in love and often cruel. But these flaws make him credible, and even increase the impact of both men's anguish.

Beijing Comrades is an important entry in the Chinese historical record as well as a moving, erotic and emotional novel. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

Klancy Miller, pastry chef and contributor to Food Republic and Recipe for Success, hopes Cooking Solo will "encourage you to spend a little quality time with yourself, regardless of your age or station in life." Over brunch one day, Miller asked a few friends what they most enjoyed about being single. Answers ranged included "freedom," "never having to compromise" and "the opportunity to have space and time to myself." Miller realized these qualities reflect many of the joys of cooking solo, too: "Preparing a meal for yourself is a special exercise, an unpressured act of creativity, self-care, and validation."

While Miller's love and background in French cuisine is evident throughout Cooking Solo, most of her recipes can be prepared in 30 minutes (or less). To expedite the cooking process, Miller begins with the section Stocking Your Larder, covering staples such as salts and oils, grains and pasta, and flours and meals, to name a few, as well as basic equipment essential for any home cook. Miller's personality shines through her recipes; for instance, Chocolate Pancakes with (Oh My Gosh) Ganache and Emerald Elixir (Going Green in the A.M.); Grilled Blue Cheese with Curried Red Onions (When You Need a Hug) and Roasted Chicken Sandwich with Mango Chutney on Rye (The Tina Fey); Pasta with Kale (The Easiest Way to Eat a Superfood) and Milk Chocolate Sorbet (Bonjour Happiness). Cooking Solo celebrates the uncompromising freedom that so many singles relish, one meal at a time. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics

On a Sunday afternoon in 1973, 11-year-old Jon Kushner rode his bike through the woods to the 7-Eleven. His four-year-old brother, David, had asked for one kind of candy in particular. Jon's family never saw him alive again. Journalist David Kushner still struggles to fathom his brother's murder and his family's experience; Alligator Candy is his memoir of investigation and connection.

Kushner lovingly portrays his hippie parents, eldest brother and Jon, who struggled with an auditory deficit disorder and was known for his compassion. Their community in Tampa, Fla., included activists and academics, and emphasized freedom and the outdoors. It was perfectly natural for a boy to ride alone through the woods. Jon's murder presaged an end to the "ability of kids to simply get on their bikes and go," as one family friend put it.

Alligator Candy explores how a family and community survive loss. The twin terrors of not knowing fully what happened but knowing the horrific details of exactly what was done to Jon comprise only two reasons that this is a painful story. However, Kushner can also be funny, and he skillfully captures a child's innocent curiosity, even in loss. He writes so simply, but this is deceptive. Alligator Candy is sensitive, insightful and understated.

Forty years later, Kushner (Bones of Marianna; Masters of Doom) still struggles with grief, isolation and guilt. In writing Alligator Candy, however, he discovers certain details of his brother's case for the first time, begins to comprehend his family's coping methods and, finally, achieves a long-sought connection with Jon. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

Over the years, writer, blogger and social media consultant Bethanne Patrick (An Uncommon History of Common Courtesy) has interviewed hundreds of authors and celebrities on her favorite topic: books. In The Books That Changed My Life, she collects 100 mini-essays (averaging three pages each) from notables about the literature that has inspired or changed the course of their lives. This is the perfect gift for book lovers. The impressive contributors are highly persuasive evangelists, and few readers will finish this delightful volume without creating a lengthy list of what they must read next.

Most contributors find it hard to narrow their choice to just one. Monty Python's Eric Idle writes, "My life is not changed by a single book. My life is changed by books. On a daily basis." Most essays suggest at least two or three other titles. Sidestepping the question in opposite directions, Fran Lebowitz writes of amassing 10,000 books in her small apartment, while Fay Weldon admits, "I am not fond of books as objects."

Arranged alphabetically, the contributors (including Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Gillian Flynn, Carl Hiaasen, Laura Lippman, Gregory Maguire and Susan Orlean) write astutely about their chosen titles, and offer funny and touching details of how the book altered their lives. Jodi Picoult's thoughtful essay compares reading Gone with the Wind as a romantic 13-year-old to revisiting it as an adult dealing with its race and social issues. Bibliophiles will find engaging and smart compatriots among the contributors and treasures among their book choices. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant

After almost 50 years of writing poetry and nine published collections, John Koethe (ROTC Kills; Ninety-fifth Street) is at ease with himself and the conundrums life hands him. At 70, he admits to being "in the warm September of my years" and "Declaiming, as the golden hour wanes, my long apology/ For all the wasted time I'm pleased to call my life." The long, ruminating, mostly free-verse poems of The Swimmer touch on some of Koethe's favorite themes: music, community, philosophy and "little highs defining days/ In need of definition: the package on the porch/ The email, the unexpected phone call."

Some, like "Tulsa" and "Chappaquiddick," venture into the dark waters of American politics. Others, like "La Durée," consider modern philosophy in which Koethe admits "real time,/ Objective time.../ Is something Bergson didn't understand, and I don't either." His eclectic interest in music finds expression in poems like "Frank Sinatra's Trains," "Von Freeman" and "Covers Band in a Small Bar"--the latter tracking the evolution of his rock tastes: "more Stax, less Motown,/ Then the Velvet Underground and IQ rock--/ God, I was a snob."

There's something for everyone in The Swimmer, but mostly it reflects the mind of a thoughtful, observant man contemplating his future, where "What's left/ is wonder, wonder and waiting, canvassing the possibilities." Koethe is the Leonard Cohen of American poetry--passionate, self-deprecating, unpretentiously aging, resiliently young--who might nod along with Chelsea Hotel #2: "We are ugly but we have the music." --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.

"The sky is DARK, and the/ Opposite Zoo is CLOSED./ But the monkey's door is OPEN! Time to explore...." Chaos usually erupts when a monkey's cage is open at night, but all is quiet--except for the noisy baboons--in The Opposite Zoo, a dazzling concept book for preschoolers by Korean-born illustrator Il Sung Na (A Book of Sleep; Welcome Home, Bear; A Book of Babies).

The monkey seizes its chance to visit all the zoo animals, giving young readers the pleasure of locating the curious creature in each illustration. The owl--in jewel tones with rough, loopy crayon scribbles as feathers--is "AWAKE!" and the panda is "asleep," draped in a tree. The monkey checks them out, hanging by an arm from a nearby branch. The lion, whose mane is an explosive wreath of kinetic lines, is "Hairy," and the swimming blue hippo is "Bald." The monkey peeks at a temporarily rock-colored chameleon over the top of a boulder... and that's "shy." A peacock flashes its spectacular tail and is "BOLD." The monkey grabs on to a "Fast" cheetah's tail and the "S l o w" sloth has no hope of catching up.

By the time "BRIGHT" morning comes, the zookeeper closes the monkey's cage and, in the closing aerial zoo view, preschoolers will revel in having met each and every beast up close, whether noisy or quiet, fast or slow. The dreamily washed skies, playfully loose line work and unusually splendid colors alone will keep readers mesmerized, from that sublime peacock tail to the Chagall-like owl. Two monkey thumbs up. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness

From far away, a flower garden may look still, unpopulated. But get a lot closer and there will be bugs.

Illustrator Gwen Millward opens Stories from Bug Garden with a lush, beautiful garden so detailed in ink, pencil and watercolor it's almost pointillist, inviting readers in with an open gate, a path, a creek. In the first poem, "The Garden": "No one came down the weedy path/ to take care of it/ or sit among the flowers./ So they moved in/ one/ by one/ by one." The "they" author Lisa Moser (Railroad Hank) is referring to are bugs. The garden's comical, sweet-faced, bug-eyed residents are introduced in storylike poems, or poem-like stories, full of teasing humor and wordplay. In "Ladybug," Ladybug is no lady--she runs barefoot and makes mud angels. Butterfly doesn't see the mighty horse hooves Horsefly is pretending to have, but Horsefly gets even: "Well, you're not Butter, either," he sniffs. In "Dragonfly," Dragonfly tries to warn Horsefly "Go no farther," but Horsefly ignores him... and flies right in to "a gob of tree sap." Bee just wants to be, despite all the bugs bugging him to make honey or sip nectar. Big Ant and Little Ant snuggle up to watch the botanical equivalent of a fireworks display: flowers blooming.

In the spirit of The Wind in the Willows, this whimsical collection of sometimes fable-like storylets offers a cozy microcosm of creatures. Readers will be glad to see the wheelbarrow and gate they glimpsed from a distance among the garden's close-up wonders... a home for the bugs now, no longer abandoned. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness