Books

Harper Lee's friend Michael Brown took this picture of the author in October 1957, the same month she signed with publisher J.B. Lippincott.

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Arts

How Harper Lee Went From Wannabe Writer To The Jane Austen Of Alabama

2:34pm July 13, 2015

by Joel Rose

Lee once said she wanted to be the chronicler of "small-town, middle-class Southern life." Even without her highly anticipated second novel, Go Set a Watchman, many fans would say she succeeded.

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In Palestine, A Child Of Violence Becomes A Music Educator

8:29am July 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Children of the Stone tells the story of a rock-throwing Palestinian teen's journey to found a music school. NPR's Lynn Neary speaks with Ramzi Aburedwan and author Sandy Tolan.

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One of screenwriter Nicole Perlman's next projects is a comic based on Gamora, the green-skinned killer played by Zoe Saldana in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy.

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She Was Groot: After A Galactic Hit, Marvel Screenwriter Tackles Comics

8:29am July 12, 2015

by Petra Mayer

Nicole Perlman was the first woman to get a writing credit on a Marvel Studios movie, last year's Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, she's taking on a more earthly challenge: Writing her first comic book.

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Patricia Marx is also the author of two novels, Starting from Happy and Him Her Him Again the End of Him.

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Fearing Her Mind's Decline, Patricia Marx Scrambles To Get 'Less Stupid'

9:35pm July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The first woman to write for The Harvard Lampoon, now a New Yorker staffer, Marx still felt like she was getting forgetful with age. So, she put her head to work, doing every brain game she could.

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Winning Is For Losers: The Great Stories Of The Guys Who Finish Last

10:38am July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Max Leonard says that, when it comes to the Tour de France, the riders in the back often have far more interesting stories than the riders in the front. His new book is called Lanterne Rouge.

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In 'New World,' Former British Poet Laureate Returns To 'Treasure Island'

10:38am July 11, 2015

Andrew Motion's new book was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. NPR's Wade Goodwyn speaks with Motion about his novel The New World.

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'The Way Things Were' Is A Detailed Epic of Modern India

7:03am July 11, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

This beautifully conceived story of an exiled princeling and his Manhattan-educated son also manages to include sprawling Sanskrit epics, knotty family dynamics and the recent history of India.

Books
Arts

Prolific Crime Novelist Turns Talents To Dissecting 'Forensics'

1:37am July 11, 2015

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with crime novelist Val McDermid about her new book, Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime.

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Rich Housewives Go Under The Microscope In 'Primates Of Park Avenue'

1:23am July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

In her new book, social researcher Wednesday Martin examines the sometimes puzzling culture of motherhood in that most exotic of locales — Manhattan's Upper East Side.

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Harper Lee's 'Go Set A Watchman' Surprises In 1st Chapter

8:22pm July 10, 2015

The first chapter of Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman was published Friday in the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian newspaper, in advance of the book's release next week. NPR shares a reading from the opening of the book that features familiar characters and a new one.

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