Books

Books
Arts

20 new books hitting shelves this summer that our critics can't wait to read

10:12am May 21, 2024

by Meghan Collins Sullivan

We asked our book critics what titles they are most looking forward to this summer. Their picks range from memoirs to sci-fi and fantasy to translations, love stories and everything in between.

Spider in the Well, written and illustrated by Jess Hannigan

Books
Arts

Hold on to your wishes — there's a 'Spider in the Well'

8:56am May 19, 2024

There's trouble in the town of Bad Göodsburg! A wishing well has stopped working! NPR's Tamara Keith talks with Jess Hannigan about her new children's book, "Spider in the Well."

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Books

'A Fatal Inheritance' follows a family's struggle with cancer across generations

8:44am May 18, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Larry Ingrassia, former managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, about his latest book, "A Fatal Inheritance," which details his family's struggle with cancer.

Books

Peter S. Beagle on his new novel, the hero's journey, and why villains talk so much

8:02am May 18, 2024

by Scott Simon

A reluctant hero's quest, a can-do princess, and an evil wizard who just can not shut up: NPR's Scott Simon talks with Peter S. Beagle about his new novel, "I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons."

A new book celebrates author Kazuo Ishiguro and singer Stacey Kent's collaboration

6:09pm May 16, 2024

Author Kazuo Ishiguro and jazz singer Stacey Kent turned a friendship into a songwriting collaboration. Sixteen lyrics have been compiled in a new book The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain.

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Another Word for Love, by Carvell Wallace

Books
Arts

Writer Carvell Wallace on past pain and forgiveness: Letting go is 'always available'

1:42pm May 16, 2024

by Tonya Mosley

Wallace is known for his celebrity profiles, but his new memoir, Another Word For Love, is about his own life, growing up unhoused, Black and queer, and getting his start as a writer at the age of 40.

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Books
Arts

'Whale Fall' centers the push-and-pull between dreams and responsibilities

8:20am May 16, 2024

by Kristen Martin

Elizabeth O'Connor's spare and bracing debut novel provides a stark reckoning with what it means to be seen from the outside, both as a person and as a people.

Covers of Pages of Mourning and The Cemetery of Untold Stories

Books
Arts

Two new novels investigate what makes magic, what is real and imagined

6:00am May 15, 2024

by Marcela Davison Avilés

Both of these novels, Pages of Mourning and The Cemetery of Untold Stories, from an emerging writer and a long-celebrated one, respectively, walk an open road of remembering love, grief, and fate.

Books

Novelist Claire Messud excavated her family history. A fictional book is our reward

6:26pm May 14, 2024

Novelist Claire Messud comes from a family of writers. Her latest novel is inspired by her grandfather's handwritten book. In it, she excavates generations of family history through fiction.

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Serj Tankian, singer for System of a Down

System of a Down's Serj Tankian on his memoir, why a new album hasn't come since 2005

4:46pm May 14, 2024

System of a Down singer Serj Tankian covers fleeing the Lebanese Civil War as a child, advocating for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and why his band hasn't made a new album since 2005.

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