Arts & Life

Books
Arts

For A Taste Of Grimdark, Visit The 'Land Fit For Heroes'

3:01pm January 26, 2015

by Genevieve Valentine

Richard K. Morgan's epic sword-and-planet (and alien technology) Land Fit for Heroes series is a good introduction to grimdark, a subgenre that aims to show the gritty underside of fantasy fiction.

One of Megan Mayhew Bergman's short stories is based on the life of dancer and actress Butterfly McQueen.

Books
Arts

These 13 'Almost Famous Women' Stirred Up Trouble, Or Trouble Found Them

2:17pm January 26, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Megan Mayhew Bergman's stories about historical women are littered with bad-girl paraphernalia, like smashed-up motorcycles and morphine needles. In this collection, their lives are richly imagined.

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Books
Arts

'Ghettoside' Explores Why Murders Are Invisible In Los Angeles

1:17pm January 26, 2015

In her new book, journalist Jill Leovy studies the epidemic of unsolved murders in African-American neighborhoods and the relationships between police and victims' relatives, witnesses and suspects.

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Books
Arts

In 'Fatherland,' A Daughter Outlines Her Dad's Radicalization

12:12pm January 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

Falling in love with your handsome pen pal, moving overseas to marry him, then finding out he's part of a terrorist organization: That's the Bunjevac family story, told in a new graphic memoir.

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Esther Freud is the author of Hideous Kinky, The Sea House, and other novels.

Books
Arts

Two Outcasts Form An Artistic Bond In 'Mr. Mac And Me'

11:49am January 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

Painter's daughter Esther Freud weaves her own experiences into the story of a lonely little boy in a British seacoast town, who befriends the great Art Nouveau designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

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Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2012.

Books
Arts

Do You Have To Read 'Frog'? No, But You Might Want To

11:35am January 26, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Reviewer Jason Sheehan says Mo Yan's Frog is not without issues, but still offers a thoughtful tale of a dark era in modern Chinese history, touched with humor and occasional magic.

Books
Arts

In 'Dear Father,' A Poet Disrupts The 'Cycle Of Pain'

9:56am January 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

J. Ivy says his father grew up in pain and passed that pain on to the next generation. In his new book, he says that forgiveness is an ongoing act — and you must constantly remember to forgive again.

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Books
Arts

In Winter, Keeping Warm With Beloved Books

9:36am January 26, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Critic Juan Vidal says winter is a time for turning inward and warding off the chill with your favorite books, the ones you return to over and over again when the days get shorter and snow closes in.

One Saturday each month, the Pacific Science Center of Seattle opens early for people with autism spectrum disorders.

By Dimming Its Lights, Museum Opens Doors For Kids With Autism

8:18am January 26, 2015

by Jennifer Wing

Loud noises, bright lights and crowded spaces can be painful for children with autism. That often means missing out on museums. Some, like Seattle's Pacific Science Center, are addressing the problem.

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Antoine-Olivier Pilon plays 15-year-old Steve in Xavier Dolan's Mommy.

Arts

At Its Core, Warped Family Drama 'Mommy' Is 'A Story Of Love'

9:59am January 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

In his award-winning film, Xavier Dolan, 25, tackles the relationship between a single mom and her troubled son. He says, "I feel like I knew this kid. ... He's just the worst version of who I was."

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