Chang-Rae Lee's new novel — about a college kid from New Jersey who ends up following a Chinese immigrant entrepreneur on a business trip — is part, travelogue, coming-of-age tale and thriller.
Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob boss in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. Shorto writes about the family havoc that resulted from his grandfather's operation in his new memoir, Smalltime.
We here at NPR have a proprietary interest in the new novel from former KUOW producer Rachel Lynn Solomon: It's a sparky enemies-to-lovers romance set at a public radio station.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Michelle Duster about her new biography of her great grandmother, Ida B. Wells, Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells.
Ellen and Ben Harper both grew up in the Folk Music Center in Claremont Calif., which Ellen's parents founded in 1958. They join Fresh Air to discuss Ellen's new memoir, Always a Song.
NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Te-Ping Chen about her short story collection: Land of Big Numbers. It features people in China trying to live their lives in the shadow of an overpowering state.
Hawke's latest novel is called A Bright Ray of Darkness. It's about a famous young actor in a crumbling marriage who immerses himself in a Broadway production of Shakespeare's Henry IV.