The Story Of Sand In 'The World In A Grain'
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with author Vince Beiser about his new book, The World in a Grain. The book tells the story of sand and the crucial role it plays in our lives.
Books
In 'Orchid And The Wasp,' An Unapologetic Heroine Who's No Gentle Flower
Caoilinn Hughes's new novel introduces a young Irish woman named Gael Foess, who is both exploitative and highly effective. The author says her protagonist is unlikable on purpose.
Reading Horror Can Arm Us Against A Horrifying World
Why read horror stories when the real world is scary enough on its own? Because horror does more than scare us — it teaches us how to live with being scared, and how to fight back against evil.
Barack And Joe Solve A Murder Mystery
The new noir novel Hope Never Dies rekindles a presidential buddy-cop bromance in order to unravel a suspicious death in Delaware. It is, to be clear, 100 percent fan fiction.
A Rearranging World In 'The Third Hotel'
Clare, recently widowed, goes to a movie and sees her husband. Is he real? Or does she just think he's real? NPR's Scott Simon talks to Laura van den Berg about her latest novel, The Third Hotel.
'This Body' Is Packed With Personality — Maybe Too Much
Edgar Cantero's madcap new novel stars a brother-and-sister pair of private eyes with wildly differing personalities — who just happen to share the same body. (There's an explanation. Sort of.)
'Every Full Moon We Can Howl At Is A Victory,' Says Emil Ferris
Ferris' graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters won three Eisners, the highest award in mainstream comics, and it celebrates the things that make us all monsters — because monsters are cool.
Amazon Pulls Some Nazi-Themed, Offensive Items After Criticism, But Many Remain
Amazon says it removed several items featuring racist symbols from its store after a letter from Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison. But it's still easy to find white supremacist materials on the site.
Yabbadabba-What? These Aren't The Flintstones You Remember
When you say The Flintstones, most people think of the old Hanna Barbera cartoons. But a new comic book adaptation keeps the humor, and tackles some heavy themes like capitalism and human frailty.
In The Sticky-Sweet 'Christopher Robin,' Pooh Happens
A grown-up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) returns to his childhood chums in the Hundred Acre Wood in Marc Forster's rote but charmingly animated children's film.