Books

Eventually, Big Thunder gives Little Thunder a name of his own: Lightning.

Books
Arts

Sherman Alexie On His New Kids' Book And The Angst Of Being A 'Jr.'

4:14pm May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Alexie says he always struggled with being named after his dad — so he decided to write a book about it. Thunder Boy Jr. is about a little boy who is eager to have his own name and be his own person.

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Susan Silverman says her Jewish faith helps her deal with life's uncertainties.

Books
Arts

Susan Silverman On Anxiety, Adoption And Making A Family In An Uncertain World

2:11pm May 23, 2016

In Casting Lots, the rabbi and mother of five explains how Judaism helped her come to terms with her anxiety. She says she and her sister, comic Sarah Silverman, are "two sides of the same coin."

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Jazz Books: Conversations in Jazz and Music in the Air

From Duke To The Dead, Ralph J. Gleason Loved It All

9:24am May 23, 2016

by Felix Contreras

Two new volumes of work by the legendary music writer Ralph J. Gleason are out this spring. Though he grew up during the Jazz Age, Gleason loved acts like Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead too.

Raymond Douglas speaks to NPR's Michel Martin about his book,On Being Raped.

On The Ever-Present Trauma Of Rape: 'You Are Not Alone. Don't Give Up'

5:07am May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

More than 30 years after he says he was raped by a priest, Raymond Douglas wrote about his trauma. He hopes it will help more male victims to speak up and authorities to better address the issue.

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Teaching The Intangibles: How To Ingrain 'Grit' In Students

5:08pm May 22, 2016

Author Paul Tough's book, Helping Children Succeed, lays out what he calls the tools for helping children succeed, particularly through attributes like perseverance and grit.

Dan Vyleta's new book Smoke imagines a world where vice is made visible, in the form of curling black Smoke.

Books
Arts

'Smoke' Author Dan Vyleta Keeps It Messy

10:00am May 22, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Dan Vyleta's new novel imagines a world where inner faults and sins are made visible by black smoke curling from bodies. He says his big, sprawling narratives were inspired by the works of Dickens.

Books
Arts

Joe Hill On 'Fireman,' Family And ... Fart Cookies?

8:54am May 22, 2016

by NPR Staff

Novelist Joe Hill's latest, The Fireman, is an apocalyptic plague tale about a pathogen that makes sufferers explode. He says his father Stephen King has had a great influence on his storytelling.

The first issue of Black Panther, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates (with art by Brian Stelfreeze) is the top-selling comic of 2016 so far.

Books
Arts

Now At Your Comic Shop: Ta-Nehisi Coates And Michael Chabon

8:54am May 22, 2016

by NPR Staff

Acclaimed authors — including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Chabon — have begun penning comic books, to great acclaim. Coates' first issue of Black Panther is the year's top-selling comic so far.

Wearing his prosthetic, goat-like legs (and a crash helmet, just in case), Thomas Thwaites interacts with an alpine goat.

What Does The Goat Man Say? Baa, Maa Or 'I'm Crazy'

7:00am May 22, 2016

by Marc Silver

Deep (and not-so-deep) thoughts from Thomas Thwaites, author of GoatMan: How I Took a Holiday from Being Human.

Books
Arts

'Letters To Kevin': What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

7:00am May 22, 2016

by Jason Heller

Stephen Dixon's new book is a loopy, madcap tale with a simple premise: A young man is trying to call an old friend. But he's foiled at every turn, by a series of events that get increasingly weird.