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Lighter Than Air: An End-Of-Summer Comics Collection

7:03am September 06, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

Just in time for the long Labor Day weekend, we've got the perfect selection of comics to help you wring the last bits of sunlight out of summer: plenty of heroism and romance, but nothing too heavy.

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Jesse Eisenberg's New Book Gets Seriously Absurd (And A Little Serious)

6:36pm September 05, 2015

by NPR Staff

The actor and writer has a collection of funny short stories that also mine some emotional truths — from post-gender attempts at pick-ups to a lonely 9-year-old reviewing expensive restaurants.

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Salman Rushdie is the author of 12 novels, including Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses. Rushdie was once the subject of death threats; now, when asked if he can move about freely Rushdie responds: "You have to stop asking me. ... It's been like 1

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Salman Rushdie: These Days, 'Everyone Is Upset All The Time'

11:38am September 05, 2015

by NPR Staff

"Everything I write upsets somebody," Rushdie tells NPR's Scott Simon. His latest book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, sweeps the reader into a turbulent, magical, mythological world.

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'Harriet Chance' Explores Late-Life Reinvention

11:38am September 05, 2015

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Jonathan Evison about his new novel, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance, in which the title character finds herself on an Alaskan cruise with the ghost of her husband and a daughter she can't trust.

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'Dragon Heart' Is Epic Fantasy With A Gothic Air

7:03am September 05, 2015

by Jason Heller

Historical novelist Cecelia Holland ventures into fantasy with this tale of a mute princess and a dragon. Critic Jason Heller says the book has an intriguing and unexpected core of Gothic romance.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder.

'NeuroTribes' Examines The History — And Myths — Of The Autism Spectrum

4:35pm September 04, 2015

Steve Silberman talks about how Nazi extermination plans and a discredited scientific paper about childhood vaccines shaped our current understanding of autism.

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Author Jennifer Jordan at an apple farm in the Central coast of California circa 1976.

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Why Are We Drawn To Heirloom Fruits And Veggies? They're 'Edible Memory'

2:01pm September 04, 2015

by Eliza Barclay

Heirloom foods have grown in popularity, making their way into gardens, farms, farmers markets and restaurants. A sociologist says they offer a powerful emotional and physical connection to the past.

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'Sorcerer' Is A Delightful Romp With Deep, Solid Roots

3:40pm September 03, 2015

by Amal El-Mohtar

Zen Cho's new novel is a charming, character-driven romance, set in a magic-ridden Regency England — but there are serious questions of race and class underpinning the lighthearted action.

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A Compelling Plot Gives Way To Farce In Franzen's Purity

7:04pm September 02, 2015

by Roxane Gay

The new novel reveals sharp observations and a great, sprawling story. But critic Roxane Gay says the book gets bogged down with absurdly drawn characters and misfired critiques of modern life.

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'Twelve Kings' Launches A Bold New Fantasy World

5:25pm September 02, 2015

by Jason Heller

Twelve immortal, iron-fisted god-kings rule over the desert metropolis of Sharakhai. No one can stand against them, until the gladiator Çeda begins hunting for the truth behind her mother's death.