Books

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'Writers & Lovers' Captures The Cost Of Following A Dream That May Not Pay Off

1:22pm March 11, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

Lily King's new novel centers on a woman who's spent six years working on her own novel. It's a story of ambition — and what happens when the markers of adult achievement are slow to materialize.

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'MBS' Traces The Rise Of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman

1:21pm March 11, 2020

by Dave Davies

New York Times reporter Ben Hubbard says Saudi Arabia's leader is full of contradictions: He ended a ban on women driving, but his agents also carried out the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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'New Waves' Asks: How Can We Form True Friendships In An Online World?

10:36am March 11, 2020

by Ari Shapiro

In journalist Kevin Nguyen's first novel, characters build relationships with each other online that translate to the real world — with mixed results.

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Books

Half-Eaten Cookie Found In Old Manuscript At Cambridge University

7:08am March 11, 2020

A librarian opened up a rare book from the 16th century and found a chocolate chip cookie. The library says that it's happy to provide bookmarks, and tweeted: "Please don't use baked goods."

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My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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Arts

'My Dark Vanessa' Looks Back At The Devastation Of A Predatory Affair

7:01am March 11, 2020

by Heller McAlpin

Kate Elizabeth Russell's new novel centers on a woman coming to terms with a relationship she had with a predatory teacher when she was 15. It's overworked and overlong, but still packs a punch.

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Exclusive 1st Read: 'The City We Became,' By N.K. Jemisin

7:00am March 10, 2020

by Petra Mayer

N.K. Jemisin's new novel kicks off a trilogy of stories about a world in which great cities can be born into human avatars, who must battle eldritch horrors to defend themselves and their people.

It's Not A History Lesson. New Book Tackles Racist Ideas

6:33am March 10, 2020

by Elissa Nadworny

Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi team up to investigate the history of racist ideas through a narrative aimed at young adult readers. It's called: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You.

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"You can't be a novelist, you can't be a creative person, if you are so cynical about the world that everything you say and write is negative," says novelist James McBride. He won the 2013 National Book Award for his novel The Good Lord Bird.

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'Emphasize The Positive': James McBride On The Kindness That Shaped Him

2:07pm March 09, 2020

by Terry Gross

McBride's novel, Deacon King Kong, takes place in 1969, in a Brooklyn housing project similar to the one he grew up in. "In this book and in this community, people generally love each other," he says.

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Books

Pulitzer Prize-Winning N. Scott Momaday Talks About His New Collection Of Poetry

9:39am March 08, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to native American poet N. Scott Momaday about his new collection, The Death of Sitting Bear.

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Arts

'The Mirror And The Light' Author Says Trilogy Is: 'The Central Project Of My Life'

8:43am March 08, 2020

The Mirror and the Light is beloved writer Hilary Mantel's last novel in her acclaimed series about Thomas Cromwell.

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