Books

Books

Author Xelena Gonzalez and illustrator Adriana Garcia on their new children's book

8:00am March 25, 2023

by Scott Simon

Author Xelena Gonzalez and illustrator Adriana Garcia talk about rocks and about working together on their new children's book, "Where Wonder Grows," for our series "Picture This."

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Books

In defense of fan fiction, and ignoring the 'pretensions of polish'

3:15pm March 23, 2023

by Patrick Wood

Fan fiction may not command the same respect as other literary pursuits, but it's a rich mode of expression, says one author who mounts a passionate case for the style.

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Florida teacher Adam Tritt and his group, Foundation 451, led the launch of a "Banned Book Nook" at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store in Melbourne, Fla.

Plot twist: Activists skirt book bans with guerrilla giveaways and pop-up libraries

8:20am March 23, 2023

by Tovia Smith

This year is expected to set a record for the number of book bans by public school libraries, so many people are finding creative ways to make banned books available to young readers outside schools.

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Ari Shapiro became a host on NPR's All Things Considered in 2015. In addition to working as a journalist, he sings with the band Pink Martini and performs in a cabaret act with actor Alan Cumming.

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Arts

It's impossible to fit 'All Things' Ari Shapiro does into this headline

2:35pm March 22, 2023

by Terry Gross

Shapiro co-hosts All Things Considered, co-stars in a cabaret act with Alan Cumming, and sings with the band Pink Martini. Now, he's written a book, a memoir called The Best Strangers in the World.

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Books

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq brought terrorism to my country, Iraqi author says

7:50am March 22, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Iraqi novelist and poet Sinan Antoon about the legacy of the invasion of Iraq which happened 20 years ago.

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Carole Lindstrom's new book My Powerful Hair features illustrations by Steph Littlebird.

'Like a living scrapbook': 'My Powerful Hair' is a celebration of Native culture

6:12am March 22, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

Author Carole Lindstrom follows Caldecott-winning We Are Water Protectors with another children's book featuring Native culture. She says she hopes it helps kids "see themselves in a positive way."

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Arts

In 'Old God's Time,' Sebastian Barry stresses the long effects of violence and abuse

5:32am March 22, 2023

by Michael Schaub

Sebastian Barry's relentlessly bleak, stunning new novel follows his character Tom, a retired police detective, as his life is thrown into disarray when he's confronted with a past he'd rather forget.

Books

The loneliness of the central character in Esther Yi's 'Y/N' is universal

5:15pm March 21, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Yi about her novel, which features a Korean American woman who finds awakening in her devotion to a K-pop star.

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Books

Dan Ahdoot explores his relationship with food in 'Undercooked'

5:15pm March 21, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with the comedian and actor on his new book, Undercooked: How I Let Food Become My Life Navigator and How Maybe That's a Dumb Way to Live.

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An unhoused individual sleeps under an American flag blanket in New York City on Sept. 10, 2013. In 2021, approximately 11% of Americans lived below the federal poverty line.

Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor

4:41pm March 21, 2023

by Dave Davies

Poverty, by America author Matthew Desmond says if the top 1% of Americans paid the taxes they owed, it would raise $175 billion each year: "That is just about enough to pull everyone out of poverty."

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