Book News & Features

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Join The Morning Edition Book Club: We're Reading 'Deep Down Dark'

6:44pm December 30, 2014

by NPR Staff

Welcome to the first meeting of NPR's new book club! We're reading Hector Tobar's account of 33 men who were trapped for 69 days in a Chilean mine. Send us your questions; we may read them on-air.

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Talk, Sing, Read, Write, Play: How Libraries Reach Kids Before They Can Read

12:17pm December 30, 2014

by Lynn Neary

This isn't your typical story time; public libraries are designing new programs to help parents and caregivers interact with toddlers in ways that will encourage future reading.

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Question: "Does the NYPL have a computer for the use of the public?" Answer: "No sir!"

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Before The Internet, Librarians Would 'Answer Everything' — And Still Do

4:28pm December 29, 2014

by NPR Staff

The New York Public Library recently came upon a box of questions posed to the library from the 1940s to the '80s — an era when humans consulted other humans for answers to their daily questions.

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Books
Arts

The Enduring Life Of Lit Mags: We'll Always Have (The) Paris (Review)

3:32pm December 29, 2014

by Juan Vidal

Magazines of all stripes are struggling to negotiate the digital age — but writer Juan Vidal finds hope for the future of reading in the pages of his favorite new literary magazines.

Books
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All The Writers You Love Probably Love Dorothy Dunnett

7:03am December 27, 2014

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Author Alaya Dawn Johnson describes the late historical novelist as the literary equivalent of the Velvet Underground: "Not many people bought the books, but everyone who did wrote a novel."

Books
Arts

For Wintry Weather, An Especially Cold And Snowy Tale

4:26pm December 26, 2014

by Edward Carey

This week we celebrated not only Christmas, but also the solstice — the shortest day of the year. In honor of this wintry weather, author Edward Carey recommends his favorite winter fairy tale.

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Books

Demand For Audio Books Keeps Penguin Random House Recording

7:00am December 25, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Audiobooks as we know them have been around for about 25 years. But the form really took off when MP3 players like the iPod came out.

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A Christmas pageant display in the Myer department store windows depicts Santa's elves in Melbourne, Australia.

Arts

Time For A Holiday Favorite: 'Santaland Diaries'

11:14am December 23, 2014

by David Sedaris

About this time every year, we present an encore broadcast of the life and times of Crumpet the Elf. Crumpet is the alter ego of writer David Sedaris, who once worked as a department store elf.

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Books
Arts

A Literate London Cabbie's Favorite Books For 2014

11:39am December 20, 2014

Every year, well-read London cabbie Will Grozier joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk books. In 2014, he recommends the writing of a fellow taxi driver, and a new take on World War I.

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3 Business Best-Sellers Show Inequality Is Now The Hot Topic

2:30pm December 19, 2014

by Marilyn Geewax

Many business books try to help you get rich quick. But three of 2014's biggest sellers focused on unfairness and inequality. Economists say expect more: Books on inequality are riding a huge wave.