Books

'Why Bob Dylan Matters' by Richard Thomas

A Classics Professor Explains 'Why Bob Dylan Matters'

2:21pm November 21, 2017

by Jason Heller

Harvard professor Richard F. Thomas teaches a popular class on the importance of Bob Dylan, and now he's turned it into a book, full of stories, personal history and the occasional comparison to Ovid.

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Arts

'Dawn Watch' Explores The Life And Legacy Of Joseph Conrad

2:17pm November 20, 2017

by John Powers

Maya Jasanoff weaves together biography, history, literature and her own travels in a new book about the globe-trotting author. Reviewer John Powers says Jasanoff's portrait of Conrad is terrific.

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'With Ash On Their Faces': The Story And Struggle Of The Yazidi

8:11am November 19, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asks Cathy Otten about With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State, her book about the history and personal stories of the religious minority.

In his new book, Dr. Aaron Carroll explains that there might be less evidence against some notoriously bad foods than we think.

'The Bad Food Bible' Says Your Eating Might Not Be So Sinful After All

7:44am November 19, 2017

by Greta Jochem

In his new book, Dr. Aaron Carroll explains that there might be less evidence against some notoriously bad foods than we think. In fact, maybe we should be eating some of them more often.

Books
Arts

In 'Body Music,' Love Is Sweet, Sexy And A Touch Sentimental

7:00am November 19, 2017

by Etelka Lehoczky

French graphic novelist Julie Maroh — author of Blue is the Warmest Color — is back with an earnestly sweet collection of vignettes about love, kept from being saccharine by her skill with faces.

Joe Biden Remembers His Son In His New Memoir

12:50am November 19, 2017

by Michel Martin

NPR's Michel Martin spoke with Biden this week about his new memoir, his family and the Anita Hill case.

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Kachka: The Word That Saved A Family During WWII And Inspired A Chef

12:18pm November 18, 2017

by Neda Ulaby

It took until adulthood for Bonnie Morales, the daughter of immigrant Russian Jews, to appreciate the food of her childhood. Now she owns a popular Oregon restaurant and has released a new cookbook.

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Author John Banville in Oxford, England.

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Arts

A Lady From 1881 Gets A New Portrait In 'Mrs. Osmond'

8:19am November 18, 2017

by Scott Simon

Man Booker Prize winner John Banville has written a sequel to Henry James' The Portrait Of A Lady. 'It was my initial foolhardiness and overweening pride that made me do it,' he says.

'Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News,' By Kevin Young

Books
Arts

'Bunk' Is Encyclopedic, Fascinating — And Frustrating

7:00am November 18, 2017

by Annalisa Quinn

Kevin Young's new book puts forth an instantly convincing pairing of race and hoaxing — both a "fake thing pretending to be real." But he loses readers' trust with knotty, overly aphoristic writing.

Reza Farazmand is the author of Comics for a Strange World.

Books
Arts

Cartoonist Reza Farazmand Walks Us Through Some Of His 'Comics For A Strange World'

12:00pm November 16, 2017

by Allen Peng

We asked the artist behind the popular webcomic Poorly Drawn Lines to share the thinking behind a few of the hilariously deadpan comics from his latest book.