Books

Author Katherine Bouton Opens Up About Going Deaf

7:14am February 21, 2013

After going deaf at the age of 30, writer Katherine Bouton's entire life changed. In her new book, "Shouting Won't Help," Bouton shares how she came to terms with hearing loss, and why more attention needs to be paid to a condition that affects nearly 50 million Americans.

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'The Dinner' Offers Food For Thought

6:11pm February 20, 2013

by Rosecrans Baldwin

The novel by Herman Koch is structured around a five-course meal shared by two couples. But it's not all fun and food. What's really going on at this meal is much more gruesome. Reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says the novel offers a fresh, modern take on basic moral questions.

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Jake Tapper's new book, The Outpost, tells the story of one of America's deadliest battles during the war in Afghanistan.

Jake Tapper: 'The Outpost' That Never Should Have Been

3:10pm February 20, 2013

In a new book, the CNN anchor tells the story of Combat Outpost Keating. The ill-fated American military base was in a remote Afghan valley, and on Oct. 3, 2009, it became the site of one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in the history of the war in Afghanistan.

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Today's Bullied Teens Subject To 'Sticks And Stones' Online, Too

1:27pm February 19, 2013

In her new book, Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon explores teen bullying, what it is and what it isn't, and how the rise of the Internet and social media make the experience more challenging. "It really can make bullying feel like it's 24/7," she says.

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"Many of us spend more than half our waking hours at work," writes Buettner. So he recommends you find the right job, limit your workweek to 40 hours, take vacations and go to happy hour for some satisfying socializing.

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How To 'Thrive': Short Commutes, More Happy Hours

1:03pm February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dan Buettner visited some of the happiest populations on Earth to figure out what makes them tick. After five years of study, he argues the real keys to happiness lie not in wealth or beauty, but in fundamental changes to the way we live. Buettner lays out his findings in his book Thrive.

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'Immortal' Cells Of Henrietta Lacks Live On In Labs

1:03pm February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

It was one of the most revolutionary tools of biomedical research: the immortal HeLa cell line. But few people know the cells belonged to a poor Southern tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot spent years researching Lacks and tells her story in The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks.

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Herman Koch is a Dutch writer and actor. The Dinner is his sixth novel; it originally came out in Dutch in 2009, and has since been published in 25 countries.

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'The Dinner' Asks: What Will You Do To Protect Your Family?

6:42am February 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Herman Koch's new novel The Dinner asks the uncomfortable question: How far will you go to protect your family? Two couples gather for dinner to discuss their teenaged sons, who've most likely committed a terrible crime. Will they report it? Or will they cover it up to keep their sons safe?

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John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, pictured above in January 1970, are the subjects of Jonathan Cott's new book Days That I'll Remember. Cott met Lennon in 1968 and was friends with the couple.

Days With John And Yoko: A Writer Remembers

5:00pm February 17, 2013

by NPR Staff

Rock writer Jonathan Cott met John Lennon in 1968 and formed a working relationship with him, as well as with Yoko Ono, that would span more than two decades. Cott was the last journalist to interview Lennon, just three days before the singer was killed.

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Tales Of Transformation Make 'Vampires In The Lemon Grove' A Stunner

7:54pm February 15, 2013

by Meg Wolitzer

Karen Russell's new collection of short stories has dead presidents reincarnated as horses, girls turning into silkworms, and vampires who quench their thirst for blood with lemons. Reviewer Meg Wolitzer says that in Russell's world we aren't fixed in space and time but can change at any moment.

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'Klansville, U.S.A.' Chronicles The Rise And Fall Of The KKK

5:30pm February 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Author and sociologist David Cunningham speaks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the origins of cross burnings and white hoods, and why North Carolina had more Klan members during the height of the civil rights movement than all other Southern states combined.

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