Books

Books
Arts

'The Seventh Bride' Faces Horror — And Still Gets The Biscuits Made

7:03am November 26, 2015

by Tasha Robinson

Ursula Vernon (writing as T. Kingfisher) delivers a fleet, stripped-down fairy tale with echoes of Bluebeard and Peter Beagle. Critic Tasha Robinson praises Vernon's tough-minded, distinctive women

All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.

Books

'All American Boys': A Young Adult Book About A Police Beating And A Hard Choice

9:45am November 25, 2015

by Karen Grigsby Bates

A new young adult book tells the story of a police beating from two perspectives: the black boy who was beaten, and a white boy who witnessed it.

Books
Arts

'Tales From The Loop' Doesn't Forget The Robots (Or The Dinosaurs)

7:03am November 25, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Illustrator Simon Stålenhag has put together a compilation of short stories to accompany his haunting, gorgeous paintings of an alternate Sweden full of aliens and strange technology. And dinosaurs.

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Arts

Philosopher At Play: The Twisty Epiphanies Of 'Memory Theater'

4:28pm November 24, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Simon Critchley, a British philosopher, has penned an offbeat essay — or is it an autobiographical novel? A memoir thick with fictions? Whatever it is, Memory Theater makes for a delightful read.

Ernest Hemingway's 'A Moveable Feast' Hits French Bestseller List After Paris Attacks

6:55pm November 23, 2015

by Lauren Frayer

Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast has hit the French bestseller list a half century after its publication, all because of a French granny. A 77-year-old Paris woman who lives near the Bataclan concert hall gave a TV interview that went viral. In the interview, she calls on her countrymen to read Hemingway's novel of living it up in the "City of Light."

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Baseball player Willie Mays, singer Barbra Streisand and politician Shirley Chisholm will all be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year.

Here Are The 2015 Medal Of Freedom Winners, In Their Own Voices

5:17pm November 23, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Athletes, artists and activists crowd the list of winners of the nation's highest civilian honor. Before they get their medals Tuesday, get to know them — in sight and sound.

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Sam Phillips, the founder of the label Sun Records, poses with Elvis Presley.

The Man And The Mistakes That 'Invented Rock 'n' Roll'

2:33pm November 23, 2015

In his new book, Sam Phillips, music writer Peter Guralnick profiles the founder of the Sun Records label. Guralnick says Phillips rejected perfection in favor of spontaneity and individuality.

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A cover detail of The Mare, by Mary Gaitskill.

Books
Arts

Gaitskill Spins A Swirling Tale Of Love, Delusion And Horses In 'The Mare'

2:30pm November 23, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Mary Gaitskill's new novel chronicles the complex relationship between a poor black girl from Brooklyn and her middle-aged white benefactors. Maureen Corrigan calls The Mare a "raw, beautiful story."

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Books
Arts

Putting It All On The Table: Author Recalls A Food-Obsessed Family

5:28pm November 22, 2015

NPR's Michel Martin talks with author Dawn Lerman about her book My Fat Dad, an exploration of the many ways food shapes our connection to family.

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Books
Arts

Taye Diggs' Child Served As Inspiration For 'Mixed Me'

5:07pm November 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

Walker, the young son of actors Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, inspired his father to write a book about a day in the life of a mixed-race child.