Books

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Be More Than A Bookstore: A Brick-And-Mortar Shop's Key To Success

1:35pm August 15, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Barnes & Noble is experimenting with food, Amazon is replicating its online business and an indie shop aims to be part of the community. Ultimately, they all want to sell more books.

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'Hail To The Chin': B-List Actor Bruce Campbell Returns With A Memoir Of Middle Age

11:30am August 15, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Campbell's second collection of rants and ruminations is just as enjoyably smarmy as his first, though the actor's ruthlessly sardonic outlook has mellowed.

Books
Arts

'Home Fire' Puts A Topical Spin On Ancient Greek Tragedy

10:00am August 15, 2017

by Michael Schaub

Kamila Shamsie's new book — beautifully written and paced — updates the ancient story of Antigone to tell an explosive story of two families tangled together by love, grief and religious radicalism.

In her book The Virginia State Colony For Epileptics And Feebleminded, poet Molly McCully Brown explores themes of disability, eugenics and faith.

Poet Imagines Life Inside A 1910 Institution That Eugenics Built

3:27pm August 14, 2017

by Terry Gross

Molly McCully Brown, who has cerebral palsy, says that if she'd been born in a different era, she might have been sent to the "Virginia State Colony," an early landmark of the U.S. eugenics movement.

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Young children can better apply lessons from storybooks when they have realistic characters, according to new research.

In Children's Storybooks, Realism Has Advantages

11:47am August 14, 2017

by Tania Lombrozo

Young children have an easier time exporting what they learn from a fictional storybook to the real world when the storybook is realistic, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

Ghost of The Innocent Man: A True Story of Trial and Redemption By Benjamin Rachlin

Books
Arts

'Ghost Of The Innocent Man' Chronicles Justice Too Long Delayed

7:00am August 13, 2017

by Martha Toll

Benjamin Rachlin's crisply-written new book tells the story of Willie Grimes, who spent 24 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit — and the tortuous legal struggle that eventually freed him.

Books

YA Books Are Targeted In Intense Social Media Callouts, Rosenfield Says

7:55am August 12, 2017

A young adult novel is fiercely criticized on Twitter and accused of being racist by those who haven't read it. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Kat Rosenfield, who covered the story for Vulture.

Liliane Bettencourt and François-Marie Banier attend a cosmetics industry event in 1992.

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Arts

'The Bettencourt Affair': Extravagant Friendship Or Cruel Swindle?

7:44am August 12, 2017

by Scott Simon

Cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt lavished money and gifts on her friend, photographer François-Marie Banier. Then, her daughter sparked a decade of scandal by accusing Banier of abusing her.

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L'Oreal's Dark Roots Are On Display In 'The Bettencourt Affair'

7:00am August 12, 2017

by Nina Martyris

A former Paris bureau chief for Time, Tom Sancton is the perfect chronicler of l'affaire Bettencourt — the juicy swirl of scandal, bribery and dark doings that fascinated France for a decade.

Books
Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Recommending The Best Of Stephen King

6:00am August 11, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

We didn't like the new Dark Tower movie, so we opted instead to discuss King's vast and rewarding career. And, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week.