Books

Books
Arts

Brilliant 'Central Station' Is Rich With Detail And Mystery

5:17pm May 12, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Lavie Tidhar's new novel follows a motley crew of spacemen, castaways, data vampires and magical children in a beautifully realized far-future Tel Aviv. It's short, lush and close to a masterpiece.

In Daniel Clowes' Patience, a man turns to time travel after his true love is murdered.

Books
Arts

Cartoonist Daniel Clowes On Time Travel And Giving Readers Their Money's Worth

2:32pm May 12, 2016

At 55, Clowes is one of the most influential artists in the independent comics world. His latest book, Patience, uses time travel to look at the ways random events can set a life on a new path.

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Junot Diaz's new book is titled This Is How You Lose Her.

Guest DJ Junot Diaz: 'It Takes Guts To Be Alive'

1:19pm May 12, 2016

by Jasmine Garsd

An encore presentation of an all-encompassing conversation with award-winning author Junot Diaz. Diaz also picks an exciting assortment of bachata and urban merengue to play on the show.

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Louise Erdrich is the author of 15 novels, including The Plague of Doves and The Round House. She is the owner of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, Minn.

Books
Arts

After Tragedy, 2 Families Find Their Own Justice In Louise Erdrich's 'LaRose'

6:04pm May 11, 2016

by NPR Staff

When an Ojibwe hunter accidentally kills his friend's child, he sends his own son to live with the grieving family. Erdrich says tribal family ties are "extremely close" and "much more fluid."

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Books
Arts

Shadows Under Water In 'Everything Is Teeth'

7:00am May 11, 2016

by Jean Zimmerman

Novelist Evie Wyld departs from straight-ahead fiction in her new graphic novel about a young girl describing childhood summers in Australia — and her dark fascination with the sharks in the water.

Cover detail of Heat & Light, by Jennifer Haigh.

Books
Arts

A Dying Coal Town Falls Into 'Fracking Frenzy' In 'Heat & Light'

6:55pm May 10, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Jennifer Haigh's new novel explores the fallout of the natural gas boom in a small Pennsylvania town. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Heat & Light an "exquisitely designed, semi-satirical social novel."

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Kate Tempest has written music, plays, poetry and novels.

'There Was More I Wanted To Say': Kate Tempest Turns Hit Album Into A Novel

6:05pm May 10, 2016

by NPR Staff

The rapper's debut album, Everybody Down, followed Becky and Harry, two Londoners struggling with love, work and drugs. Now her new book, The Bricks That Built The Houses, takes a look at their pasts.

Books
Arts

Science, Fiction And Philosophy Collide In Astonishing 'Lightning'

5:51pm May 10, 2016

by Jason Heller

Ada Palmer's dizzying debut novel is dense and complex, packed with philosophy and visions of what life might be like in the year 2424: Radically different, yet based on Enlightenment ideals.

Books
Arts

Friend Or Fiend? 'Pit Bull' Explores The History Of America's Most Feared Dog

1:37pm May 10, 2016

Author Bronwen Dickey says the idea of pit bulls as predators is based on myth and misinformation. In the early Hollywood era, Dickey says, the dogs were often chosen to appear in comedies.

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Kindergarten students read before class starts at Walker-Jones Education Campus in Washington, D.C.

Through The Looking Glass: How Children's Books Have Grown Up

12:53pm May 10, 2016

by Byrd Pinkerton

Literature for kids hasn't always been focused on the magical and whimsical. We take a three-century tour through the history of children's books in the classroom.