NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of February 5, 2015
In Jo Nesbo's The Son, heroin-addicted Sonny Lofthus breaks out of prison after learning the truth about his father's suicide. It appears at No. 11.
Books
The Past, Present And Future Of High-Stakes Testing
Steve Inskeep talks with NPR Ed's Anya Kamenetz about her book, The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed with Standardized Testing — But You Don't Have to Be.
Harper Lee's Friend Says Author Is Hard Of Hearing, Sound Of Mind
News of a second novel has raised concerns that the To Kill a Mockingbird author is being taken advantage of in her old age. But friend Wayne Flynt says Lee, 88, can "understand what's going on."
Nonprofit Fights Illiteracy By Getting Books To Kids Who Need Them
For kids to be exposed to reading, families have to have books to read to them, which isn't a given — especially in low-income areas. First Book works to get quality literature into those communities.
Novelist's 'Disgruntled' Heroine Is Drawn From Her Own Childhood
Asali Solomon's novel is about a girl growing up in West Philadelphia whose parents were black nationalists. "My parents taught us to revere Africa — people at school made fun of Africa," she says.
Marvel At 75: Still Slinging Webs And Guarding Galaxies
What became Marvel Comics got its start in 1939 as Timely Publications. It went through many changes — but one constant has been writer Stanley Lieber, better known as Stan Lee.
'America's Bitter Pill' Makes Case For Why Health Care Law 'Won't Work'
Journalist Steven Brill's latest book critiques the Affordable Care Act, which he calls "unsustainable." In the next few years, "something is going to snap," he says. "We cannot pay for this."
NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of February 5, 2015
Jennifer Senior examines the effects children have on their parents in All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. It appears at No. 13.
NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of February 5, 2015
Laura Ingalls Wilder's never-before-published autobiography, Pioneer Girl, debuts at No. 7.
NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of February 5, 2015
Private detective Jack Morgan stumbles into a murder ring in James Patterson's Private Vegas. It debuts at No. 8.