Books

Anne Carson's Poetry Collection 'Float' In Unconventional Medium To Suit The Message

8:36am October 22, 2016

Anne Carson's book of poems come in a clear plastic box where they 'float,' which is also the title of her new collection. NPR's Scott Simon talks with the poet about her work.

Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

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'Thrill Me' Gets Personal About Life And Writing

7:00am October 22, 2016

by Jason Heller

Writer Benjamin Percy has been on both sides of the divide between literary and genre fiction, and Thrill Me is both a meditation on the writing life and a passionate argument against that divide.

'Blackacre': A Collection Of Poems About 'Searching And Being Buffeted'

6:07pm October 20, 2016

by Tess Taylor

Tess Taylor reviews the poetry collection Blackacre by Monica Youn.

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In 'IQ,' A Sherlock For South Central

7:00am October 20, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Joe Ide's debut novel follows Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ around his Los Angeles neighborhood. IQ solves the crimes police won't touch — even when his clients can only pay him in chickens or tires.

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'Frazzled' Takes Hilarious Look At The Ups and Downs Of Middle School

8:44pm October 19, 2016

Author Booki Vivat takes a hilarious look at middle school in her debut novel, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom. The book is full of Vivat's incredible doodles of Abbie Wu who thinks, "Nothing good happens in the Middles." We'll find out if she's doomed.

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The Girl From Venice by Martin Cruz Smith (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

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A Fisherman And His Beautiful First Mate, On The Run In 'Girl From Venice'

7:00am October 19, 2016

by Bethanne Patrick

Martin Cruz Smith's new World War II thriller follows a Venetian fisherman who saves a Jewish girl from pursuing Nazis — a predictable scenario, but one that surprisingly never goes stale.

Mister Monkey by Francine Prose (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR)

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'Mister Monkey' Channels Disappointment In Many Voices

5:59pm October 18, 2016

by Heller McAlpin

Francine Prose takes a comparatively light comic turn in her new novel, about the disappointing lives of a group of people involved in an off-off-off-off-Broadway musical based on a children's book.

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Kidnapped, Then Forced Into The Sideshow: The True Story Of The Muse Brothers

1:27pm October 18, 2016

Journalist Beth Macy talks about George and Willie Muse, black albino brothers who were born in the Jim Crow South and were forced to become circus freaks. Her new book, Truevine, retells their story.

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Mary Oliver has received many honors for her poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize and The National Book Award.

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Mary Oliver Issues A Full-Throated Spiritual Autobiography In 'Upstream'

1:27pm October 18, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Oliver's latest collection of essays reflect the author's passion for nature and literature. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Upstream presents a portrait of a visionary poet — and a "tough old broad."

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Author Tim Wu says that much of the content on the Internet is created by businesses that are on a "quest for clicks."

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How Free Web Content Traps People In An Abyss Of Ads And Clickbait

4:02pm October 17, 2016

Author and law professor Tim Wu says much of the "free" content on the Web comes at a price to users, who are subjected to ads that are targeted specifically at them and increasingly hard to ignore.

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