Books

Books

'Hillbilly Elegy' Recalls A Childhood Where Poverty Was 'The Family Tradition'

1:44pm August 17, 2016

J.D. Vance grew up in a Rust Belt town in Ohio, in a family from the hills of eastern Kentucky. His new memoir details the social isolation, poverty and addiction that afflict poor white communities.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

For The 'Oscars Of Romance,' Representation Matters

7:00am August 17, 2016

by Sonali Dev

The RITA awards are the Oscars of romance writing — but of more than 90 RITA finalists this year, only a handful featured heroes and heroines of color. We have a roundup of the ones that did.

Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole (Emily Bogle/NPR)

Books
Arts

Everything Is Fair Game In 'Known And Strange Things'

8:05pm August 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Teju Cole's new essay collection covers politics, poetry, music and even Snapchat. "I love to live things," he says — and he recommends Miles Davis as a cure for election season stress.

Queue Listen Now

In 'Uproot,' A DJ Traces Modern Music's Tangled Family Tree

6:37pm August 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Jace Clayton, best known for his work as DJ /rupture, speaks with NPR's Audie Cornish about his first book, Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Minnesota Bookseller Recommends 3 Summer Porch Reads

4:36pm August 16, 2016

Sue Zumberge of Subtext Books shares her favorite books for summer reading: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard and Wake Up, Island by Mary Casanova.

'Roaring Wind' Examines Extreme Weather, And The Power Of Air

1:40pm August 16, 2016

Biologist Bill Streever sailed from Texas to Guatemala while doing research for his new book, And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind. He says the wind was working against him "most of the time."

Queue Listen Now

Cover detail from A Square Meal, by Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe

Creamed, Canned And Frozen: How The Great Depression Revamped U.S. Diets

11:34am August 16, 2016

During the Depression, cheap, nutritious and filling food was prioritized — often at the expense of taste. Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe, authors of A Square Meal, discuss food trends of the time.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Marlys' Collection Dips Back Into Lynda Barry's Sweet, Squirmy World

7:00am August 16, 2016

by Etelka Lehoczky

Drawn & Quarterly has reissued a compilation of strips from Lynda Barry's Ernie Pook's Comeek, starring irrepressible eight-year-old Marlys Mullen. Barry's sweeping lines are instantly recognizable.

Trials of the Earth by Mary Mann Hamilton

Books
Arts

'Trials Of The Earth' Shows The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Pioneer Life

3:30pm August 15, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Born in Arkansas around 1866, Mary Mann Hamilton was one of the first women to homestead in the Mississippi Delta. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls her memoir a historical and literary treasure.

Queue Listen Now

The cover of The Sea Forager's Guide to the Northern California Coast.

Fishing And Foraging: How To Catch Your Seafood, Ethically

3:05pm August 15, 2016

by Alastair Bland

Fisherman Kirk Lombard's new book teaches people to fish and forage along the northern California coast, while urging them to harvest in moderation, follow regulations and respect sea creatures.