Books

Books
Arts

Want a good, therapeutic cry? Pick up 'You've Reached Sam'

5:00am November 09, 2021

by Alethea Kontis

The heartbreak starts right away in Dustin Thao's debut novel: 17-year-old Julie's boyfriend Sam is killed in a car crash — but then she calls his phone, just to hear his voice again. And he answers.

Books
Arts

Louise Erdrich's disquieting new novel will keep you on your toes

7:00am November 08, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Set in a haunted Minneapolis bookshop over the course of one very momentous year, The Sentence is an ambitious novel, featuring a sinister ghost, a country in tumult and Erdrich's own shifting style.

Rep. Ruben Gallego talks new book exploring how the U.S. treats its veterans

5:01pm November 07, 2021

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Congressman Ruben Gallego about his upcoming book They Called Us "Lucky": The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War's Hardest Hit Unit.

How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days, by K.M. Jackson

Books
Arts

Take a rom-com road trip in 'How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days'

5:00am November 07, 2021

by Denny S. Bryce

K.M. Jackson's laugh-out-loud new romance follows a Keanu Reeves superfan who's heard her celeb crush is getting *gasp* married — and she has to stop him! But will she find real love along the way?

Books

Former British poet laureate Andrew Motion presents 'The Folio Book Of War Poetry'

2:56pm November 06, 2021

Scott Simon speaks with former British poet laureate Andrew Motion about the Folio Society's new anthology, The Folio Book Of War Poetry, a collection ranging from Ancient Greece to the Cold War.

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Books

In 'Blue Skinned Gods,' Kalki is the incarnation of Vishnu but doubts his power

8:54am November 06, 2021

In India, a boy with blue skin and worshipped as a god. Scott Simon speaks with SJ Sindu about her new book, "Blue Skinned Gods."

The Waiting, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translated by Janet Hong

Books
Arts

'The Waiting' is an unflinching portrayal of the separations caused by war

5:00am November 06, 2021

by THÚY ĐINH

Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's harrowing new graphic novel was inspired by her own family history — Gendry-Kim was an adult when she discovered that she had a long-lost aunt possibly trapped in North Korea.

Books

McWhorter's new book, 'Woke Racism,' attacks leading thinkers on race

6:38am November 05, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with linguist John McWhorter about his latest book: Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.

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From Warsaw with Love: Polish Spies, the CIA, and the Forging of an Unlikely Alliance, by John Pomfret

Spies on opposite sides of the Cold War unite in 'From Warsaw With Love'

11:16am November 04, 2021

by Viveca Novak

Reporter John Pomfret interviewed government officials and intelligence operatives and mined declassified files in Poland to write his fascinating story of the Polish-U.S. intelligence relationship.

Books
Arts

The stories in 'Five Tuesdays in Winter' prove Lily King is a star at any length

9:29am November 04, 2021

by Heller McAlpin

Lily King's first story collection demonstrates her range, pulling you in and making you wonder where she's going, whether it's a brutal encounter between former roommates or a sudden act of kindness.