Books

Detail from the book cover of Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani.

Books
Arts

'School For Good And Evil' Is A Kids' Fantasy Series For The Fake News Era

5:44pm September 18, 2017

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

"Good and evil — they mix in the world," says author Soman Chainani. "Both sides claim to be good, both sides claim to be telling the truth." His latest in the series is called Quests for Glory.

Dinner at the Center of the Earth, by Nathan Englander

Books
Arts

Spies, Betrayal, And Some Really Good Food In 'Dinner At The Center Of The Earth'

10:00am September 17, 2017

by Lizzie Skurnick

Nathan Englander's latest tells the fraught history of Israel and Palestine with quotidian details that make the story feel not historically accurate, but historically intimate.

Books
Arts

Move Over Millennials, Here Comes iGen ... Or Maybe Not

9:51am September 17, 2017

by Annalisa Quinn

A new book worries that growing up with smartphones and the internet has been harmful to a generation of kids. Critic Annalisa Quinn says intergenerational carping is a long, and unhelpful tradition.

Books

'Little House On The Prairie' Author Is 150

7:59am September 17, 2017

by Barrie Hardymon

It is the 150th year of Laura Ingalls Wilder's birth — and a good time to check back on one of our favorite childhood series.

Books

Brooklyn Is Magical In 'Shadowhouse Fall'

7:59am September 17, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Daniel José Older about his new book, Shadowhouse Fall.

The Hughes Glomar Explorer was custom-built to secretly house a sunken Soviet submarine.

Books
Arts

'The Taking Of K-129': How The CIA Stole A Sunken Soviet Sub Off The Ocean Floor

6:08pm September 16, 2017

by Michel Martin

Author Josh Dean describes how the CIA worked to secretly resurface a sub that the Soviet Union considered lost. Their cover story involved eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.

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British writer Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990), in December 1971.

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Arts

Roald Dahl's Widow Says Charlie From 'The Chocolate Factory' Was Originally Black

5:44pm September 16, 2017

by Chris Benderev

Dahl's widow revealed the surprising scoop on the BBC earlier this week.

Katy Tur is now an anchor for MSNBC and a reporter for NBC News.

Reporter Katy Tur Shares Her 'Front-Row' View Of The Trump Campaign

2:13pm September 16, 2017

by Terry Gross

Tur was at a rally in South Carolina when Trump called her name and pointed at her from the podium. Then, she says, "The entire place turns and they roar as one ... like a giant, unchained animal."

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Books
Arts

In 'Shadowhouse Fall,' Magical Threats Map Real-World Peril

11:15am September 16, 2017

by Amal El-Mohtar

Daniel José Older's new novel continues the adventures of magician Sierra Santiago and her tight-knit band of friends and family as they battle not just unfriendly sorcery but everyday discrimination.

The Far Away Brothers, by Lauren Markham

Books
Arts

These 'Far Away Brothers' Remake Themselves In America

10:01am September 16, 2017

by Lily Meyer

Lauren Markham's careful, empathetic new book follows twin brothers from El Salvador, who flee gang violence to make a new life for themselves in a country that's increasingly harsh to immigrants.