The leader of the world-famous Korean boy band BTS, Kim Namjoon (aka Rap Monster or RM), is known to be the smartest of the seven members, with an IQ of 148, and is an avid book reader.
Let’s take a trip down his literary lane and check out some of his favorite and personally recommended books.
1. When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
This is a sad memoir by the late Paul Kalanithi which he wrote as he battled terminal cancer. The book is about his diagnosis and battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer.
2. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 – Cho Nam-Joo
This book is a mixture of facts and fiction told from the perspective of Ji-young’s psychiatrist who narrates the story of the titular character from her birth through her teenage years, adulthood, and marriage.
3. Human Acts – Han Kang
Set in South Korea during the Gwangjiu Uprising in the 1980s, the book explores the subject of violence, humanity, censorship, and more, with various narrations.
4. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
A classic dystopian novel by Eric Arthur Blair (better known by his pen name ‘George Orwell’). Nineteen Eighty-Four follows the tale of a low-ranking member of ‘the Party’ Winston Smith and his frustration with the ominous ruler ‘Big Brother’.
5. Stories of Your Life and Others – Ted Chiang
This is a collection of short stories by the American writer Ted Chiang, one of which became the premise for the 2016 sci-fi film Arrival.
6. Demian – Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse’s novel follows a young boy, Emil Sinclair, growing up in the pre-World War I era. The book is a beautiful narration of his struggle for new self-knowledge in an immoral world, with good and evil represented as realms of light and dark.
7. The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
This is an all-time classic by Douglas Adams that is full of humor, sci-fi, and fun.
(If you want the complete reading experience, The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has all five books of the incredible series).
8. Kitchen – Banana Yoshimoto
Japanese author Banana explores the themes of transience and brevity of life in her book, Kitchen, which follows the story of a young woman, Mikage Sakurai, struggling to overcome her feelings after the death of her grandmother.
9. Please Look After Mom – Kyung-Sook Shen
Please Look After Mom is a best-seller from South Korea that tells a deeply moving story of a family in search of their missing mother.
10. Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
The story of this iconic book by the Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami, revolves around two entirely different characters — Kafka Tamura and Nakata Sataru — and the people they come across in their journey.
11. 1Q84 – Haruki Murakami
This is another gem of a book by Murakami, which follows two characters who travel to an alternate reality that is almost identical to ours, except for an extra moon and the machinations of a group of magical dwarves who speak through a religious cult leader.
12. The Stranger – Albert Camus
Albert Camus explores the irrationality of human beings in this intriguing psychological thriller about a man called Meursault who is unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder.
13. The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera’s book is a story about two women, two men, and a dog during the war/rebellion period known as the 1968 Prague Spring in Czechoslovak history. His book explores the philosophical concept of eternal return in which everything is repeated in a more or less similar fashion across time and space.
About RM
The 28-year-old rapper, singer/songwriter, and record producer has a worldwide following, with most of his fans sharing his interests. He is known to like reading books and visiting museums in his spare time.
What do you think about RM and his book collection/ Do you have any of these books on your reading list? Let us know in the comment section below.
