Books

Amber Scorah writes about exiting the Jehovah's Witnesses in Leaving the Witness.

'Leaving The Witness': The End Of The World As She Knew It, Upon Losing Her Religion

2:02pm June 05, 2019

by Rachel Martin

Amber Scorah was a Jehovah's Witness and a missionary in China when she began to harbor doubts about the apocalypse. Disavowed by nearly everyone she knew, her memoir is a tale of starting over.

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The War For Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, by Jamil Zaki

'A War For Kindness' Favors The Practical Over Polemical

10:21am June 05, 2019

by Nicholas Cannariato

If you want a clarion call to action, Jamil Zaki's new book might not be it. But if you want a wide-ranging practical guide to making the world better, then you're in luck.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

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Arts

'On Earth' Is Gorgeous All The Way Through

10:00am June 05, 2019

by Heller McAlpin

Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a painful but extraordinary coming-of-age story, about a young Vietnamese American writer whose fractured family was torn by their experiences during the Vietnam War.

Books
Arts

In 'City Of Girls,' The Breezy, Bold Best Days Of Our Lives

7:00am June 05, 2019

by Jean Zimmerman

Elizabeth Gilbert's new novel is set in the New York theater community of the 1940s — an effervescent golden age for the women who congregate at the offbeat Lily Playhouse.

R. Kelly leaves the Leighton Courthouse in Chicago, Ill., on May 7, 2019, following a hearing in relation to the sex abuse allegations made against him.

Reporter Who Broke R. Kelly Story: Abuse Was In 'Full View Of The World'

6:00am June 05, 2019

by Terry Gross

Jim DeRogatis recounts his 19-year investigation into the singer in a new book, Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. "It all happened as everybody watched and nobody did anything," he says.

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Cover of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

Books
Arts

An Immigrant Yearns For Connection In 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous'

2:45pm June 04, 2019

by Maureen Corrigan

Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong's words are mighty, teasing and overpowering in his autobiographical novel, written as a letter from a son to his illiterate mother.

Books
Arts

'Patsy' Discovers Her Dreams Don't Match Reality

10:02am June 04, 2019

by Michael Schaub

Nicole Dennis-Benn packs a lot of uncomfortable truths into this novel about a Jamaican woman who emigrates to New York looking for an old love and a new life, leaving her mother and daughter behind.

Singer R. Kelly, arriving in Cook County court for a hearing on sexual abuse charges in May.

In 'Soulless,' A Journalist Takes On R. Kelly And The Business That Made Him A Star

8:07am June 04, 2019

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

For nearly two decades, Jim DeRogatis has been searching for justice on behalf of the women who have accused the R&B singer of sexual and physical abuse. His new book is an account of those years.

Fall, or Dodge in Hell, by Neal Stephenson

Books
Arts

Sometimes Fascinating, Sometimes Excruciating, 'Fall' Hums With Energy

7:00am June 04, 2019

by Jason Sheehan

Neal Stephenson's massive new novel mashes up characters readers will recognize from several previous reads, and sends them on a ride that's by turns maddening, overstuffed and revolutionary.

Underland: A Deep Time Journey, by Robert Macfarlane

'Underland' Connects Us To Dazzling Worlds Beneath Our Feet

3:16pm June 03, 2019

by Barbara J. King

The beauty of Robert Macfarlane's writing, and of the natural world it describes, is immense. His words also act as a warning, ensuring a recognition of human harms to the environment.