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'The Cartel' Is A True Crime Adventure With A Killer Protagonist

9:01am June 24, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

With the "pace and feel of an exploded documentary," says review Alan Cheuse, Don Winslow recounts a 10-year odyssey of revenge set in Mexico against the stark history of the drug wars.

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'Death' Uncovers The Secret History Of Mr. Pickwick

7:03am June 24, 2015

by Jean Zimmerman

Stephen Jarvis's debut novel explores the creation of Charles Dickens' classic serial, back when he was an unknown writer going by the name of "Boz," and the real star was illustrator Robert Seymour.

Cover art of The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud.

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Algerian Writer Kamel Daoud Stands Camus' 'The Stranger' On Its Head

7:19pm June 23, 2015

by John Powers

In his first novel, The Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud retells The Stranger from an Arab perspective. John Powers says Daoud's retelling will forever change the way you read the Camus classic.

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Noah Charney is an art historian and writer, and the founder and president of The Association for Research into Crimes against Art, a non-profit research group devoted to issues of art crime.

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Could The Masterpiece Be A Fake? Profit, Revenge And 'The Art Of Forgery'

2:24pm June 23, 2015

The art world is "fertile ground for criminals," says art scholar Noah Charney. In his new book, The Art of Forgery, he traces a tradition of fakes and forgeries that dates back to the Renaissance.

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After Years Of Blackouts, A Writer Remembers What She 'Drank To Forget'

1:34pm June 23, 2015

by NPR Staff

Sarah Hepola's memoir Blackout is filled with stories that are both funny and tragic — about how she'd drink to excess, and then try to piece it all together the following day.

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Carnivals, Curses And Mermaids Fall Slightly Flat In 'Speculation'

7:03am June 23, 2015

by Jason Heller

Erika Swyler's generous yet somewhat disappointing debut follows a young man and a mysterious book — but despite rich language and observations, it suffers from going in too many directions at once.

Apatow (who dressed up as Harpo Marx for Halloween in 1975) was one of the youngest kids in his grade. "When you're little, that year is impactful," he says. "You are smaller, you are behind in every possible way."

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Judd Apatow: A Comedy-Obsessed Kid Becomes 'Champion Of The Goofball'

1:07am June 23, 2015

When Apatow was a teen he landed interviews with an impressive roster of comics for his high school radio show. Sick in the Head is a collection of those conversations, and more recent ones as well.

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From Civilian To Spy: How An Average Guy Helped Bust A Russian Agent

7:39pm June 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

You'd think spying on the Russians would require some training, but Naveed Jamali had none. "Probably some Magnum P.I. episodes and a few movies here and there," he says. "That was about it."

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Summer Of Love: Meet Our Expert Panelists!

1:20pm June 22, 2015

by Petra Mayer

While our intern plugs away at tallying the 18,000 nominations that came in for the summer reader romance poll, we thought we'd introduce you to the expert panelists who'll help shape the final list.

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This Weekend, 'Caminar' Navigates Horrors With Poetry

10:26am June 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

In this installment of our Weekend Reads series, author Meg Medina selects Skila Brown's novel in poems Caminar, which follows a young boy who survives the slaughter of his village in Guatemala.

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