Books

Books
Arts

'Guests' Is A Story Of Mystery, Manners And Dramatic Love

3:21pm September 28, 2014

NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to novelist Sarah Waters about her latest book, The Paying Guests. It's a historical novel and a lesbian love story, with a courtroom drama mixed in.

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Paul Theroux is known for both his fiction and travel writing. His books include The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express.

Books
Arts

Writer Paul Theroux: The Short Story Is 'Diabolically Hard To Master'

12:21pm September 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

"It's only 10 or 15 pages," he says, "but still you got to get it right." Theroux's new collection, Mr. Bones, tells stories of the odd person out.

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The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank regularly makes banned book lists, but not because it details the terror of hiding from Nazi occupiers.

Books

Banned Books Remind Us Of The Power Of The Written Word

11:07am September 27, 2014

by Scott Simon

Pick up a banned book. Look for the scenes and language that once made people blush. Do those sections still have the power to make you gasp?

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Books
Arts

'Love Is The Drug' For A Teen Caught In A Dystopian D.C.

7:03am September 27, 2014

by Genevieve Valentine

Alaya Dawn Johnson's latest is about senior at a Washington, D.C. prep school in the midst of a global pandemic. This book offers a chilling glimpse of a dystopia that could be just around the corner.

As The Ebola Outbreak Worsens, A Book About Compassion

6:59pm September 26, 2014

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

This week, the CDC predicted there could be tens of thousands of Ebola cases if the disease is not controlled soon. Author Alaya Dawn Johnson turns to a favorite novel for wisdom amid this epidemic.

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Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild (left) and Wade Brookbank of the Vancouver Canucks exchange punches during a fight in the first period of a November 2005 game in Vancouver, Canada.

'Boy On Ice' Explores The Emotional And Physical Toll Of Dropping The Gloves

5:51pm September 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

In 2011, 28-year-old Derek Boogaard — one of the NHL's most fearsome fighters — was found dead of an accidental overdose of painkillers and alcohol. He also showed signs of serious brain injury.

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Books
Arts

What's Mittens Thinking? Make 'Sense' Of Your Pet's Behavior

4:32pm September 26, 2014

Animal behaviorist John Bradshaw's books Cat Sense and Dog Sense detail what cat and dog owners should expect from their animals. Cat Sense originally aired Sept. 5, 2013. Dog Sense originally aired May 26, 2011.

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Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of September 25, 2014

4:03pm September 26, 2014

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of September 25, 2014

4:03pm September 26, 2014

A poor mother and daughter in London fatefully decide to take in boarders in the wake of World War I. Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests debuts at No. 12.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of September 25, 2014

4:03pm September 26, 2014

Debuting at No. 14., Lawrence Wright's Thirteen Days in September presents an account of the 1978 Camp David conference during which Jimmy Carter convinced Israel and Egypt to sign a peace treaty.