Books

"If she be worthy." A mysterious masked woman has taken up the hammer — and mantle — of Thor.

Books
Arts

Where's Thor When You Need Her? Women In Comics Fight An Uphill Battle

9:03am October 10, 2014

by Mallory Yu

The new female Thor has picked up her hammer, but the mainstream comics industry is still experiencing some growing pains as it figures out where women fit in as characters, creators and fans.

Queue Listen Now

Patrick Modiano, who's typically known for being media-shy, steps into the spotlight for a press conference in Paris following his Nobel win on Thursday.

Books
Arts

Book News: Get To Know Patrick Modiano, The Newly Minted Nobel Laureate

7:58am October 10, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

The French novelist may enjoy a vast audience in his own country, but for most English-only speakers, Modiano is still a mystery. Read a few profiles of the man — and excerpts of his actual writing.

Caitlin Doughty is the founder of The Order of the Good Death, a group of funeral industry professionals, academics and artists who focus on the rituals families perform with their dead.

Books
Arts

A Mortician Talks Openly About Death, And Wants You To, Too

4:58pm October 09, 2014

"You're never going to be completely comfortable with it," says mortician and author Caitlin Doughty. "But it's an important process." Smoke Gets In Your Eyes is her new memoir.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Simple Sketches Of A Complicated Cure In 'The Hospital Suite'

11:34am October 09, 2014

by Etelka Lehoczky

Cartoonist John Porcellino details a decades-long health struggle in his new graphic memoir. Reviewer Etelka Lehoczky says Porcellino's spare art is a powerful way to engage with the topic of illness.

French writer Patrick Modiano's most recent novel is Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier. Modiano is pictured in 2003.

Books
Arts

Literature Nobel Goes to French Novelist Patrick Modiano

9:52am October 09, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

The Swedish Academy lauded Modiano "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation."

Books

Nobel Literature Judge Disparages Western Writers - Again

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Lynn Neary

The Nobel Prize for literature is announced Thursday. This year, as the usual speculation about who might win heated up, a Nobel judge, known for his outspokenness, stirred up a little controversy.

Queue Listen Now

Books

French Novelist Patrick Modiano Wins Literature Nobel

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Lynn Neary

The Swedish Academy lauded Modiano "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation."

Queue Listen Now

The history of how the birth control pill was developed in the 1950s is recounted in Jonathan Eig's new book The Birth of the Pill.

The Great Bluff That Led To A 'Magical' Pill And A Sexual Revolution

4:20pm October 08, 2014

In the '50s, four people collaborated to create a pill so women could enjoy sex. They fibbed about their motivations and skirted the law. Jonathan Eig details the history in The Birth of the Pill.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. Albert Johnston passed in order to practice medicine. After living as leading citizens in Keene, N.H., the Johnstons revealed their true racial identity, and became national news.

'A Chosen Exile': Black People Passing In White America

2:24pm October 08, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

From the time of slavery, some light-skinned African-Americans escaped racism by passing as white. The new book, A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life, explores what they lost.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

In Cronenberg's 'Consumed,' An Appetite For Sex, Death And The Latest Gear

2:24pm October 08, 2014

by Jason Sheehan

Director David Cronenberg's debut novel is about two journalists chasing after sensational stories. This book is admirable in its unflinching gaze and beautiful in its depiction of a twisted reality.

Queue Listen Now