Books

Jason Reynolds: How Can We Connect With Kids Through The Written Word?

8:38am September 17, 2021

Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.

Queue Listen Now

Despite ALS Challenges, Ex-NFL Player Tim Green Releases Another Book

6:11am September 17, 2021

by Tom Goldman

Former NFL player and NPR commentator Tim Green has been battling ALS since 2018. While his physical condition deteriorates, his mind remains sharp. He's written a new novel called: Final Season.

Books
Arts

This Thoughtful, Profound Thriller Centers On Identity And Its Many Layers

5:00am September 16, 2021

by Swapna Krishna

Amanda Jayatissa's My Sweet Girl is a twisty psychological thriller — but also a nuanced examination of identity as its Sri Lankan American heroine struggles with a murder that may not have happened.

Books
Arts

Here Are The Longlist Nominees For This Year's National Book Awards

3:15pm September 15, 2021

by Petra Mayer

The longlist nominees for this year's National Book Awards are being announced over the course of the next few days — we'll have them all right here in a continuously updated post.

Colson Whitehead was awarded Pulitzer Prizes for his last two novels, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys.

Books
Arts

Colson Whitehead Returns To His Home Turf With 'Harlem Shuffle'

1:31pm September 15, 2021

by Terry Gross

Whitehead says his latest novel was inspired by his love of heist movies. The story centers on a furniture store owner who has a side hustle trafficking in stolen goods.

Cover of In the Country of Others and author Leila Slimani.

Walking Through "The Country Of Others"

1:07pm September 15, 2021

by Leah Donnella

In her new novel, In the Country of Others, Leila Slimani explores what it means to be an outsider. Her characters fight to establish their own identities while their country, Morocco, does the same.

Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest, by Fernando Cervantes

Atrocities Of 'Conquistadores' Take Shape In New History By Mexican-Born Author

6:58am September 15, 2021

by Jim Zarroli

Historian Fernando Cervantes marshals an enormous array of primary and secondary sources to tell the story of the decades that followed Christopher Columbus' arrival to the New World.

'Peril' Details Secret Actions Carried Out During The Last Days Of Trump's Presidency

6:25am September 15, 2021

NPR's A Martínez speaks with Washington Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker about the details of a new book on former President Trump by Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

News Brief: Newsom Survives Recall, New Book About Trump, Pandemic Burnout

6:11am September 15, 2021

California's governor survives a recall election. A new book details concerns during the final days of the Trump administration. And, health care workers' burnout could be affecting patient care.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Colson Whitehead's Latest Gives Readers A Half-Crook You'll Wholly Love

5:00am September 15, 2021

by Denny S. Bryce

The versatile novelist moves away from the heavier themes that won him a brace of Pulitzer Prizes in Harlem Shuffle, a heist caper starring a mostly-upright furniture salesman with a criminal streak.