Books

Ayana Mathis is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is her debut novel.

Books
Arts

Oprah's Second Pick: A First-Time Novelist

10:55am December 11, 2012

by Lynn Neary

Oprah Winfrey's second pick for her rebooted book club is The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by first-time novelist Ayana Mathis. It's a chronicle of the Great Migration of African-Americans leaving the rural South, following a family matriarch who leaves Georgia to start a new life in Philadelphia.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Lemony Snicket Dons A Trenchcoat

1:53pm December 10, 2012

In Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler satirizes pulp mysteries and uncovers the parallels between detective fiction and childhood. In both, he says, an outsider is trying to make his way in a mysteriously corrupt world.

Queue Listen Now

'Torn': Living As An Openly Gay Christian

12:50pm December 10, 2012

by NPR Staff

Justin Lee grew up in a Southern Baptist family. At age 18, he came out to his family and church, who had trouble accepting him as a gay man. Lee later started the Gay Christian Network to encourage a dialogue between gay Christians, their families and their churches. His new book is Torn.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

A Wintry Mix: Alan Cheuse Selects The Season's Best

11:50pm December 07, 2012

Critic Alan Cheuse maps out a winter wonderland of fiction and poetry — from ancient Greece to the near-future visions of Walter Mosley, a selection of the best books to give and receive this holiday season. Cheuse says these five books strike the perfect balance between lyricism and narrative.

Queue Listen Now

Books

'Gray' Has Random House Employees Seeing Green

7:36am December 07, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey, the best selling tale of kinky passion, has sold more than 60 million copies. Which is why Random House employees are now seeing green. The big announcement at the publisher's Christmas party: a $5,000 bonus for every employee — from editors to the mailroom.

Queue Listen Now

Though it is a capital offense to leave the country, more people attempt to flee North Korea each year.

Fleeing North Korea Through 'Asia's Underground Railroad'

3:21pm December 05, 2012

by NPR Staff

North Korea remains one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world. Each year, a brave few attempt an escape to freedom through China. In Escape from North Korea, writer Melanie Kirkpatrick tells the harrowing personal stories of North Korean defectors and their quest for freedom.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

PBS Remixes 'Reading Rainbow,' Delights Map And Book Nerds Everywhere

4:48pm December 04, 2012

by Linda Holmes

PBS remixes another of its iconic shows, and this time, it's all about books.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Inventing Wine': The History Of A Very Vintage Beverage

1:40pm December 04, 2012

In his new book, author and oenophile Paul Lukacs traces the 8,000-year history of our original alcoholic beverage — from ancient times, when wine was believed to be of divine origin, to the sauvignon blanc you find in your supermarket today.

Queue Listen Now

Colm Toibin's new novel, The Testament of Mary, imagines the life of the mother of Christ in her later years.

Books

A New 'Testament' Told From Mary's Point Of View

1:06pm December 03, 2012

In his new novel, The Testament of Mary, Irish author Colm Toibin imagines Mary's life 20 years after the crucifixion, as she wonders what she might have done differently to ease her son's suffering. "I felt that I was Mary," he says. "I was her consciousness, watching the thing happening."

Queue Listen Now

From Action Comics 14, Neil deGrasse Tyson greets Superman to help him with a problem.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Helps His New 'Bud' Superman Get A Glimpse Of Home

8:29am December 03, 2012

by Linda Holmes

The Hayden Planetarium director and pop-culture go-to science guy offered expert advice on how Superman could watch the destruction of Krypton.

Queue Listen Now