Author Interviews

Author Mark Ribowsky describes Otis Redding as "bigger than the music he sang, because of how he sang and interpreted it during the most traumatic, metamorphic decade in history."

'Like An Avalanche': Otis Redding's Unstoppable Crossover

6:07pm May 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

"He had an underground kind of appeal that built on itself," says author Mark Ribowsky, whose book Dreams to Remember traces Redding's unlikely pivot into national stardom.

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Brahma Kumaris fill Will Hodgkinson's suburban living room on a Saturday in 1982.

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Arts

How Bad Risotto Led To A House 'Full Of Yogis': A Critic's Childhood Story

11:14am May 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

When Will Hodgkinson was a kid, his father, a journalist, was hit with a bad case of food poisoning. Over the long recovery period, he rethought his life — and decided to join the Brahma Kumaris.

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Arts

Bringing Tales Of WWII To American Radios And Bookshelves

11:14am May 30, 2015

Bill Shirer brought stories of war in Europe into American homes. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Ken Cuthbertson about his new book, A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American Century.

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A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson is May's Morning Edition book club selection. We'll talk with Atkinson on June 16. Read along with us, and send us your questions and comments about the book. (Book guide by Veronica Erb/NPR)

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Join The 'Morning Edition' Book Club As We Read 'A God In Ruins'

10:52am May 28, 2015

by NPR Staff

Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, who selected the book, tells NPR's David Greene that Kate Atkinson is "one of those writers that really can make you weep on one page and laugh on the next."

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For Actress Maria Bello, Family May Be Complicated, But 'Love Is Love'

5:25pm May 27, 2015

In her memoir Whatever ... Love is Love, Bello describes the evolution of her "modern family," which includes her romantic partner (a woman), her adolescent son and her son's father.

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Cover art from Do No Harm, by Dr. Henry Marsh.

A Neurosurgeon Reflects On The 'Awe And Mystery' Of The Brain

4:59pm May 27, 2015

In his memoir Do No Harm, Henry Marsh confesses to the uncertainties he's dealt with as a surgeon, revisits his triumphs and failures and reflects on the enigmas of the brain and consciousness.

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Myles Johnson and Kendrick Daye are raising money on Kickstarter to publish their children's book Large Fears.

Lovely Illustrations From The Story Of A Black Boy Who Dreams Of Going To Mars

5:48pm May 26, 2015

by Maanvi Singh

The authors — who are black and queer — didn't see a lot of kids like them in children's books growing up. They wanted to help change that.

Books
Arts

Post-Ron Swanson, Nick Offerman Has The 'Gumption' To Be Himself

10:46am May 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

"I've never accused myself of being manly," Offerman says, noting his real-life persona is different from his Parks and Recreation character. His book is a set of essays about people who inspire him.

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Mat Johnson is the author of Pym, Drop, Hunting in Harlem and The Great Negro Plot as well as several graphic novels including Incognegro, Dark Rain and Right State.

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Novelist Mat Johnson Explores The 'Optical Illusion' Of Being Biracial

9:34am May 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

Johnson, the son of an African-American mother and an Irish-American father, has just written Loving Day, a funny, sometimes absurd look at what it means to grow up mixed heritage in the U.S.

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Arts

This Weekend, Navigate The Changing World Of 'Vikram Lall'

11:15am May 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

M.G. Vassanji's book, The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, wrestles with questions of identity in a story about a young Indian boy coming of age in 1950s Kenya, a time of great political unrest.

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