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Arts

American Archetypes On A Bloody Funny Path In 'The Harder They Come'

7:03am April 02, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

In his latest novel, T.C. Boyle is at play in his usual fields: California, baby boomer angst, fathers and sons. But critic Jason Sheehan says it's a gory, absurdist, expertly paced frolic.

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'Crescent Moon' Counts Down To Political Mayhem

6:02am April 02, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Fatima Bhutto (niece of assassinated Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto) has written several volumes of nonfiction and poetry; her first novel is a delicate but tense political thriller.

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Margaret Howe Freydburg — seen here at 104 — was still writing and publishing well past her 100th birthday.

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Centenarian Poet Was A Fearless Guide To 'The Country Of Old Age'

8:00pm April 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

Poet and author Margaret Howe Freydburg died last week at 107; she wrote and published well past her 100th birthday. Her friend Nancy Slonim Aronie has an appreciation of a remarkable woman.

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Change Your Habits And You'll Be 'Better Than Before'

6:43pm April 01, 2015

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Gretchen Rubin about her new book, Better Than Before. It's her philosophy of how to create good habits and nix the bad ones.

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A Ghostly Chorus Narrates 'The World Before Us'

6:26pm April 01, 2015

by Jean Zimmerman

Aislinn Hunter's new novel tells two parallel tales of two young girls — both gone missing in the same place, a century apart. Reviewer Jean Zimmerman says the book's tough truths held her interest.

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A Filmmaker's Surreal Vision On The Page In 'Where The Bird Sings Best'

4:15pm April 01, 2015

by Juan Vidal

The multitalented Alejandro Jodorowsky turns to fiction (sort of) with a semi-autobiographical novel. Critic Juan Vidal calls it "brilliant, mad, unpredictable."

Jon Ronson's previous books include The Psychopath Test and The Men Who Stare At Goats.

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Jon Ronson Has Nothing To Be Ashamed Of, But What About The Rest Of Us?

3:12pm April 01, 2015

by Eric Weiner

His new book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, looks at the ways social media shaming affects both the targets and those doing the shaming. Critic Eric Weiner calls it sharp-eyed and often hilarious.

Arts

From 'Banana' To 'Cucumber,' New Series Spans The Spectrum Of Sex

2:55pm April 01, 2015

Cucumber tells the adventures of a middle-aged gay man; Banana is a series of short stories. Russell T. Davies, who made Queer As Folk, says the titles came from a scientific institute in Switzerland.

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Arts

New Frank Sinatra Documentary Charts His Professional Ups And Downs

2:55pm April 01, 2015

by David Bianculli

Alex Gibney intersperses recently unearthed concert footage from 1971 with vintage and newly recorded interviews to make Sinatra: All or Nothing At All. It's illuminating and by no means a puff piece.

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Arts

Diana Greene's "The Final Rummage" To Screen At RiverRun

8:46am April 01, 2015

by Eddie Garcia

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