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Try On 'Black Suit' For A Beautifully Real Approach To Grief

7:36am January 08, 2015

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Jason Reynolds' new young adult novel, The Boy in the Black Suit, begins on familiar ground. But this tale of a boy dealing with his mother's death is tragic, funny, hopeful and almost too realistic.

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Remembering 'Generation Mex' Writer And Proud Outsider Michele Serros

6:17pm January 07, 2015

by Mandalit del Barco

Serros wrote about being a bicultural Chicana who was influenced by both her working-class, Mexican-American heritage and Southern California pop culture. She died Sunday at the age of 48.

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Confident Tales Of 'Small Mammals,' Funny Videos And Childhood Ghosts

11:40am January 07, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Thomas Pierce's debut story collection, Hall of Small Mammals, focuses on finding the surreal within the mundane. Reviewer Michael Schaub calls Pierce "an endlessly incisive and engaging writer."

Prince celebrates his birthday and the release of Purple Rain at 1st Avenue in Minneapolis.

All Possibilities: The 'Purple Rain' Story

7:19pm January 06, 2015

by NPR Staff

Though revered now, Prince's iconic 1984 film and album succeeded against daunting odds. Music critic and journalist Alan Light provides the details in his new book, Let's Go Crazy.

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Book Review: 'Descent' By Tim Johnson

6:36pm January 06, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Alan Cheuse reviews Descent by Tim Johnson.

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George Pelecanos is a crime novelist who was a writer and producer for the HBO series The Wire and Treme.

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D.C. Author George Pelecanos Writes What He Knows In 'The Martini Shot'

3:46pm January 06, 2015

In his new collection of short stories and a novella, Pelecanos explores crime, adoption and writing from an African-American point of view. He says he's "aware of the responsibility" to get it right.

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'Descent' Is A Twisty Thriller-Plus

7:03am January 06, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Tim Johnston's suspenseful novel follows a family that begins to come apart after their teenage daughter is abducted during a mountain vacation. Critic Alan Cheuse says his heart is still pounding.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 19: Actor Patton Oswalt attends 18th Annual Webby Awards on May 19, 2014 in New York, United States. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)

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From Patton Oswalt, A Movie Memoir That's Best Outside The Theater

10:02am January 05, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt recounts his movie addiction in the memoir Silver Screen Fiend, which finds its best stories away from the theater.

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How Tinseltown Got Tipsy: A Boozy Taste Of Hollywood History

4:59pm January 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mark Bailey, who detailed old Hollywood's legendary love affair with liquor in his book Of All the Gin Joints, shares stories from a bygone era over cocktails at a legendary Hollywood bar.

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John Cleese got his first big break in London's West End and as a script writer and performer on The Frost Report.

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'Comedy Is Extraordinarily Difficult': John Cleese On Being Funny

4:48pm January 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

John Cleese of Monty Python fame has written a memoir, So, Anyway ... , which brings him from boyhood in a quiet British town called Weston to the footlights of London and screens all over the world.

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