Books

Books
Arts

A Former Wunderkind Drifts On In 'Some Other Town'

7:03am February 23, 2015

by Carmen Machado

Elizabeth Collison's debut novel follows a young art star who burned out and is now leading a hazily complacent life in her old university town — but that life is upended by an unexpected fling.

Kim Gordon is a founding member of Sonic Youth.

Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon On Marriage, Music And Moving On

7:23pm February 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore were indie rock's power couple — until their marriage, and their band, ended in 2011. Gordon looks back on the experience in a new memoir called Girl in a Band.

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Books

'First Edition' Of The 'Iliad'? Sure, Right Next To That 'FIrst Edition' Bible

12:36pm February 22, 2015

An online used bookstore reports that demand for a "first edition" of Homer's Iliad has soared, thanks to a new thriller starring Jennifer Lopez.

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Books
Arts

Reckoning With Afghanistan's Toll In 'Green On Blue'

12:36pm February 22, 2015

"Green on Blue" tells the story of the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of an Afghan orphan. NPR's; Rachel Martin speaks to the unlikely author: Elliot Ackerman, a former U.S. marine.

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Matt Sumell's fiction has appeared in Electric Literature, The Paris Review and McSweeney's, among other outlets.

Books
Arts

Through 10 Years Of Mining His Grief, A Novelist Makes 'Nice'

9:20am February 21, 2015

by Tom Vitale

Matt Sumell wrote Making Nice in part as a response to his mother's death from cancer. "I was using the good luck of bad luck," he says. "You use what hurts."

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Books
Arts

A Lot Of Sound And Fury In 'The Infernal'

7:03am February 21, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Mark Doten's debut novel has some beautiful writing in it, but critic Jason Sheehan says the book suffers from too much verbal and typographical trickery, and not enough actual story.

Blanco says his recordatorio, a memento of his birth, shows that he "was a man of the world before I could even walk."

An American Dream, A Cuban Soul: Poet Richard Blanco Finds 'Home'

5:05pm February 20, 2015

by Richard Blanco

While immigration is a subject of some of the most intense political debates in this country, inaugural poet Richard Blanco says it also drives his art. He shares his journey of becoming an American.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of February 19, 2015

4:03pm February 20, 2015

The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of February 19, 2015

4:03pm February 20, 2015

In A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler tells the story of a Baltimore family thrown into disarray by illness and sudden tragedy. It debuts at No. 3.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of February 19, 2015

4:03pm February 20, 2015

David Axelrod recounts his journey from Chicago journalist to presidential adviser in Believer. It debuts at No. 5.