Arts

Books
Arts

How We Deal With Loss In Different Ways In Two Beautifully Written Memoirs

7:16pm March 12, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

In Abigail Thomas' What Comes Next and How to Like It, the aging process robs the 70-something of beauty and energy. In H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald trains a goshawk after her father dies.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

The Ecstatic, Erotic Joy Of Reading 'Girl In The Dark'

5:45pm March 12, 2015

by Annalisa Quinn

Anna Lyndsey's pseudonymous memoir of her severe light sensitivity is full of rich, sensuous language, all grounded in the ever-present limits of a body that keeps her to the margins of normal life.

Horses drive traffic on London's Oxford Street in 1890. According to author Lee Jackson, by the 1890s, the city's horses produced approximately 1,000 tons of dung a day.

Books
Arts

'Dirty Old London': A History Of The Victorians' Infamous Filth

5:20pm March 12, 2015

In the 1800s, the Thames River was thick with human sewage and the streets were covered with horse dung, the removal of which, according to Lee Jackson, presented an "impossible challenge."

Queue Listen Now

Toasting or roasting brings nut oils to the surface, and pecans are practically overflowing: 75 percent of the nut is pure oil.

Southerners Are Getting Creative With Their Favorite Nut: Pecan

3:46pm March 12, 2015

by Jill Neimark

The pecan has become the latest obsession of Southern farmers, chefs and craft breweries. They're giving the buttery nut new opportunities to shine in the form of oil, flour and even beer.

Arts

Inspired By Monks, A Writer Embraces His Life Of Solitude

3:39pm March 12, 2015

Fenton Johnson says that while alone, people can "find the richest possible ways of being in the world." He's lived alone for more than 20 years. His Harper's article describes his pursuit.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'Gone Girl': A Gripping Film That's More Fun Than The Book

3:31pm March 12, 2015

by David Edelstein

Based on a screenplay by author Gillian Flynn, the movie is sensationally effective. It's made like a classic noir — evenly paced, with an elegance that in context is deeply perverse.

Queue Listen Now

Claire Danes plays Carrie Mathison on Homeland. Season 4 begins Sunday on Showtime.

Arts

'Homeland' Regains Urgency With Twin Protagonists And Divided Loyalties

3:31pm March 12, 2015

by David Bianculli

Last year, the Showtime drama about a CIA agent with a bipolar disorder lost its way. But the show's intensity is back in Season 4 when the CIA accidentally bombs a wedding in Pakistan.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'B & Me' Is Intelligent, Immoderate, And A Bit Belabored

5:18pm March 11, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

J.C. Hallman's audacious account of his engagement with the erotic writing of Nicholson Baker makes a splash, but critic Heller McAlpin says the book sometimes runs aground in self-indulgence.

Arts

A Travel Show For Your Favorite Weird-Museum And Dance Enthusiast

4:23pm March 11, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Ovation's American Canvas has a lot of fun in San Francisco, starting with the art installation at Alcatraz.

Books
Arts

In 'Shadow,' Change And Growth As A Story Sheds Its Scales

4:10pm March 11, 2015

by Amal El-Mohtar

Rachel Hartman continues her tale of half-dragon musician and unwilling diplomat Seraphina in Shadow Scale. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says the new book doesn't just live up to the old, it outgrows it.