Books

A sensitive monk, a charming mercenary, and the contested bones of St. Nicholas: NPR's Scott Simon talks with M.T. Anderson about his rollicking comic novel, "Nicked."

Auslander has written for decades about growing up in a dysfunctional household within an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. The title of his latest memoir comes from the Yiddish word for "yuck."

LeVar Burton has three roles he'll forever be known for: Kunta Kinte on the TV series Roots, Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation and host of Reading Rainbow. Those roles have had profound impacts on people and he now understands, as he puts it, "my job is to be LeVar Burton." He talks to Rachel about the tension of that job, his changing definitions of success and learning to embrace the chaos.

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Ukraine's bookstores have expanded despite the war, fueled by interest in works by Ukrainian writers, some who have been killed by Russian forces. But a Russian missile struck a top printing plant.

When President Biden heard that Donald Trump had picked J.D. Vance to be his running mate, he called the Ohio senator "a clone" of Trump. But when Vance first gained national attention, he was one of Trump's loudest critics.

Vance first drew the national spotlight in 2016 with the publication of his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." The book served as a biography of his upbringing in America's Rust Belt and social commentary on the white working class at a time when many were trying to understand those voting for Donald Trump.

On the press tour for that book Vance had a lot of negative things to say about Donald Trump. He said Trump was unfit for the nation's highest office, and in unearthed private messages, he compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.

J.D Vance went from New York Times bestselling author, to state senator, to Vice Presidential candidate. That political journey has brought him closer and closer to a presidential candidate he once professed to despise.

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Rosalind Brown's debut novel, Practice, centers on an undergraduate student trying to write an essay on Shakespeare. Along the way, we are treated to the fleeting insights of the the brain at work.

We're at the peak of summer, which means sunny days on the grass with a good book! Best-selling authors Tia Williams and Jean Chen Ho join host Brittany Luse to give their recommendations for great summer reads. They also offer some armchair theories on why we love a gossipy summer novel.

Books mentioned in this episode:

The Guest by Emma Klein
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong
Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove with Ben Greenman
Devil is Fine by John Vercher
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to author Stephen Graham Jones about his latest novel, "I Was a Teenage Slasher," which tells a gory tale through the eyes of a teenage killer in a small Texan town.