Weekend Edition's Scott Simon Will Take A Leave Of Absence
Scott Simon announces a leave of absence to collaborate on a book with Tony Bennett.
Books
Profane And Pornographic, Irvine Welsh's Latest Plumbs A New Kind Of Emptiness
A Decent Ride brings back many of Welsh's beloved characters with their ribald humor and Scottish vernacular, but now they must address a new challenge: aging.
Confronting Loss While Scaling 'The High Mountains Of Portugal'
Yann Martel, author of The Life of Pi, conjures up three stories grounded in grief and magical realism in his latest novel.
Chris Offutt Reveals A Family Secret In 'My Father, The Pornographer'
Offutt's late father went from running a small insurance agency to writing more than 400 books, mostly pornography. Originally broadcast March 2, 2015.
In Baby's 'First Bite,' A Chance To Shape A Child's Taste
Bee Wilson's new book, First Bite, examines how genetics, culture, memory and early feeding patterns influence the palate. She says babies are most open to new flavors between ages 4 and 7 months.
Scouring Brazil For A Celebrated Novelist
When a renowned Brazilian writer mysteriously vanishes in Idra Novey's novel Ways to Disappear, her children and an American translator work to uncover the reason behind the writer's disappearance.
Is Amazon Planning Hundreds Of Bookstores? Analysts Doubt It
A mall real estate executive let slip that Amazon plans to build up to 400 walk-in stores. Analysts were skeptical, and now the executive says his comment wasn't intended to represent Amazon's plans.
The Hong Kong Bookseller Who's Keeping 'Banned' Books On His Shelves
Five people in Hong Kong's book industry have disappeared. All were linked to books forbidden in mainland China. Paul Tang says he has no plans to remove works critical of the Chinese leadership.
A Writer Straddles Jerusalem's Two Worlds In 'Native'
With wit and subtle anecdote, Sayed Kashua explores the meaning of identity, prejudice and everyday life as an Arab-Israeli newspaper writer living in Jerusalem.
Author Yann Martel On 'That Deeply Unreasonable Phenomenon' Of Faith
Martel's new book, The High Mountains of Portugal, shares some themes with his 2001 novel, Life of Pi: Both feature animals (in this case, a chimpanzee) and both struggle with questions of faith.