Books

Pilgrims leaving Canterbury, from text of the end of the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer.

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Arts

Longest Thou To Go On Summer Pilgrimage? Chaucer Hath Advice

10:19am June 22, 2015

by LeVostreGC

Our favorite medieval advice columnist returns, dispensing knowledge on everything from avoiding sunburn to glamping to road trip etiquette. And "slushy icye thinges," the best of all summer treats.

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Arts

Beyond The 'Sometimes Sentimental' Story Of Filipino Migrants

6:18pm June 21, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mia Alvar's new short story collection spans the globe — from Manila to New York to Manama, Bahrain — to offer a more complicated narrative of Filipino exiles, emigres and wanderers.

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Words Made Flesh: Literature And The Language Of Prayer

7:03am June 21, 2015

by Juan Vidal

No American writer has been able to pin down the intersection of faith, prayer and art like Flannery O'Connor. Critic Juan Vidal reflects on her Prayer Journal, and the faith that words can live.

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Arts

Survival Is Insufficient: 'Station Eleven' Preserves Art After The Apocalypse

10:40am June 20, 2015

by NPR Staff

In Emily St. John Mandel's novel, Station Eleven, a Shakespearean troupe clings to scraps of civilization after a deadly pandemic. Mandel and NPR's Scott Simon talk about art at the end of the world.

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Simon Armitage frowns with dignity after being awarded the Commander of the British Empire medal at Buckingham Palace in 2010. Though he began the nomination process for the Oxford post as an underdog, he emerged from the ensuing drama with the professors

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After Verses Turn To Versus, Poet Emerges With Renowned Oxford Post

5:47pm June 19, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

If you didn't know better, you might mistake the hubbub for American politics. But amid the fickle endorsements and dust-ups, poet Simon Armitage won election as the newest Oxford professor of poetry.

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Arts

Tell Us About Your Favorite Romances — It's The NPR Books Summer Of Love!

5:12pm June 19, 2015

by Petra Mayer

This year our famous summer reader poll is all about romance. Whether you like contemporary, historical, suspense or inspirational, we want to hear about your favorite Happily Ever Afters!

Napoleon Bonaparte flees the field of Waterloo, June 18, 1815.

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Arts

Don't Know Much About History? Read A Romance

5:12pm June 19, 2015

by Bobbi Dumas

Pick up a historical romance and you'll find more than a pleasant read. Often, you'll find a new connection to people, places and history-- for example, the Battle of Waterloo, 200 years ago today.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of June 18, 2015

4:03pm June 19, 2015

The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of June 18, 2015

4:03pm June 19, 2015

After her senator father cuts her off, Layla Beck takes a job with the New Deal's Federal Writer's Project in West Virginia. Annie Barrows' The Truth According to Us debuts at No. 12.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of June 18, 2015

4:03pm June 19, 2015

Neurologist Oliver Sacks recounts his life and career in On the Move, which appears at No. 11.