Books

Books

Imagining The Present As The Future Of The 1950s

7:58am February 19, 2017

Elan Mastai grew up fascinated by the 1950s sci-fi books. He talks with Lulu Garcia-Navarro about his novel All Our Wrong Todays that imagines a world with jet packs and flying cars.

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

In 'Things We Lost,' Argentina's Haunted History Gets A Supernatural Twist

7:58am February 19, 2017

by NPR Staff

The country's military dictatorship ended decades ago, but author Mariana Enriquez says there's still "a ghostly quality to everyday life" there.

#FontSunday brings people interested in typography from across the world together.

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Arts

Looking Past Words: Twitter Movement Helps People Notice Typefaces

7:49am February 19, 2017

by Cecilia Mazanec

Each week, the Design Museum in London announces a theme for #FontSunday, and enthusiasts search for interesting examples to share on Twitter.

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Arts

'Shining City' Is Packed With Timely Thrills

7:24am February 18, 2017

by NPR Staff

Tom Rosenstiel — head of the American Press Institute — has written a novel about a political fixer who gets the biggest job of his career: Sanitizing a controversial Supreme Court nominee.

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Arts

Letting Go Is The Hardest Thing For 'Lincoln In The Bardo'

7:00am February 18, 2017

by Jason Sheehan

George Saunders — master of the short story — debuts as a novelist with this strange, haunting (and haunted) tale of President Lincoln as he grieves the death of his young son Willie.

In 2016, people of color were the protagonists in 22 percent of children's literature.

Authors And Illustrators Of Color Accounted For 22 Percent Of Children's Books

8:08pm February 17, 2017

by Leah Donnella

In 2016, people of color wrote or illustrated fewer than a quarter of new children's books. Here's why that matters.

An early draft of Card III in Hermann Rorschach's psychological test.

How Hermann Rorschach's 'Inkblots' Took On A Life Of Their Own

6:46pm February 17, 2017

by NPR Staff

These days, you're more likely to come across the concept of a Rorschach test in a cultural context than a clinical one. In a new book, author Damion Searls traces the history of the famous inkblots.

Queue Listen Now

Dick Bruna at the opening of his 2005 exhibit of Miffy creations in the Hague. Bruna's iconic white rabbit proved to be popular worldwide.

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Arts

Dick Bruna, Artist And Author Of The Intricately Simple Miffy, Dies At 89

5:07pm February 17, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The Dutch illustrator and children's book author wrote over 120 books and sold some 85 million copies worldwide. But no character earned him greater acclaim than a simple white rabbit.

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Arts

Book Review: '300 Arguments,' Sarah Manguso

4:35pm February 16, 2017

Poetry reviewer Tess Taylor declares Sarah Manguso's new book, 300 Arguments, is poetry, not essays — or is it?

Could this dapper gentleman be Marcel Proust? If it is, as a Canadian professor believes, it would mark the first time the great French author was found in film footage.

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Arts

WATCH: Is This Proust? Scholars Say They've Finally Found Author On Film

3:16pm February 16, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The French novelist Marcel Proust is regularly listed among the greatest writers of the 20th century. But how did the man move? A professor says the answer is on a wedding film over 110 years old.