Books

Books
Arts

Absorbing Mystery Novel Offers A Glimpse Into Mormon Utah

6:03pm January 02, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The second mystery by Mette Ivie Harrison boasts details about contemporary Mormon life that most of us aren't privy to. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates says His Right Hand is is her "one that got away."

Jonathan Banks (left) and Bob Odenkirk star in the AMC series Better Call Saul, which tops David Bianculli's 2015 10-Best list.

Fresh Air Weekend: Our Critics Pick The Best TV, Books, Movies And Music Of 2015

1:25pm January 02, 2016

David Bianulli picks the best TV shows of the year. Short books dominate Maureen Corrigan's best book list. David Edelstein recommends the year's best films. Ken Tucker assesses the best music of '15.

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All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.

Books
Arts

Authors Of 'All American Boys' Talk About How Book Has Sparked Race Discussion

11:37am January 02, 2016

In All American Boys, a video of a policeman beating a black student goes viral. The book's authors, Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, talk about how their story is sparking conversations about race.

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Books
Arts

Charlie Hebdo, The Licensed Anarchist Clowns Of French Society

7:54am January 02, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Adam Gopnik, who wrote the foreword to Open Letter, a manifesto by Stephane Charbonnier, the editor of Charlie Hebdo who was killed when gunmen attacked the paper's offices.

Books
Arts

Harlan Ellison Returns With A 'Can'tankerous' New Collection

5:17am January 02, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

The sci-fi legend is America's national curmudgeon — and his rage, humor and a little sadness are all on display in a new collection of short pieces, interspersed with thoughts about his 2014 stroke.

Anne Frank's facsimile diaries, on display during a 2009 press conference at the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam.

'Mein Kampf' Enters Public Domain; Arguably, Anne Frank's Diary May, Too

7:48pm December 31, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

European rights to the two stark Holocaust artifacts may both expire on Friday. Reprints of Hitler's manifesto have been received warily; the legal case around Frank's diary is significantly murkier.

Books
Arts

With 'Sophia,' A Forgotten Suffragette Is Back In The Headlines

5:25pm December 31, 2015

by Petra Mayer

We get hundreds of books in the mail every week, and some always fall through the cracks. NPR's Petra Mayer singles out a biography of a Sikh princess turned suffragette for a second look.

Books
Arts

'Shame And Wonder' Is Light On Shame, Heavy On Wonder

3:39pm December 31, 2015

by Annalisa Quinn

David Searcy's essay collection finds the marvelous in everything from classic cars to Scrooge McDuck. Though it lacks some leavening humor, it's a lovely argument for approaching the world with awe.

Books
Arts

How Clementine Churchill Wielded Influence As Winston's Wife

9:36am December 31, 2015

by NPR Staff

Biographer Sonia Purnell says Clementine once remarked that she "would have loved to have been a statesman in her own right if only she had been born with trousers rather than petticoats."

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Books

'Fear And Clothing': A Travelogue Of America Through The Clothes We Wear

5:49am December 31, 2015

by Jackie Lyden

Author Cintra Wilson says she's a fashion outsider. She calls her book — Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling American Style — a psychological invasion of America's closets, including her own.