I like Guillaume Musso's novels. Thanks to his vivid descriptions and fantastical elements, finishing one of his books

leaves me with the kind of emotional impact you get from watching a movie. Not long ago I read his book The Girl on Paper.

Bestselling author Tom Boyd meets the captivating Aurore. But their romance ends

very quickly, and the novel opens with Tom, who had fallen deeply in love, coming down with writer's block after the breakup, unable to write another word.

I'm nowhere near a bestselling author like Tom Boyd, and I'm not even a particularly good writer, but I think I'd fallen into a case of writer's block too.

Last year, I was reading books and writing reviews of them pretty enthusiastically,

but at some point I simply couldn't write anymore. For nearly a year after that, I didn't write a single book review.

I suspect it started with Hyun-taek Park's book Old Design.

The book clearly took interesting subjects tied to our culture and unpacked them in a way that was light yet engaging.

From the story of the roughly-shaped writing desk of Song Si-yeol to the design of currency, each chapter

was put together in an engaging way. But when I finished the book and sat down to write a review, I couldn't get past a few lines

before I hit a wall, and I was completely thrown off. Honestly, caught off guard by that, I found myself, absurdly, blaming the book itself

in my head. I read the book again a few more times after that first read, but I still couldn't put together

anything coherent to say about it. Whenever I read other people's reviews of Old Design after they'd finished it,

I'd wonder why I couldn't write one, and it only chipped away at my confidence.

Why was that? Maybe, back then, having read this book, I was straining myself trying to express something

logical, concise, and polished. Only now, having kept this book close for a "long" time and read it more than a few times,

do I feel like I can finally put a little of it into words. Old Design reminds me of a sprig of lemon balm:

our culture, not flashy but with a plain, understated flavor, sitting quietly by your side until the moment you brush against it, when it lets off a bright, refreshing scent.

I still feel like that's a lacking description, but I'm sure some of you will know exactly what I mean.

Given all that, missing the event Ahn Graphics put together, a museum tour together with Hyun-taek Park himself,

is a regret that's going to stay with me for a long time. From now on, I'm not letting a good opportunity like that slip by.

I wonder how it is for other people: enjoying a book thoroughly, yet not being able to write an equally enjoyable review of it,

that exact situation. :- )

Old Design