Book News & Features

Bob Dylan Wins 2016 Nobel Prize In Literature

9:27am October 13, 2016

Dylan won "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," according to the citation by the Swedish Academy, the committee that annually decides the winner.

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'Small Great Things' Author Jodi Picoult Talks About Inspired The Novel

8:29am October 08, 2016

Jodi Picoult's new novel "Small Great Things" tells the story of an African American labor and delivery nurse and the racism surrounding her care of a white supremacist couple's newborn son. She tells NPR's Scott Simon what compelled her to write this story.

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These Are The 2016 National Book Award Finalists

10:31am October 06, 2016

by Colin Dwyer

Colson Whitehead, Jacqueline Woodson and Rita Dove are just three of the authors on the shortlists for the National Book Awards. The 20 books still in contention for the prizes were unveiled Thursday.

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Why It Took 'Forrest Gump' Author Nearly 20 Years To Write A New Novel

4:30pm October 03, 2016

by Tom Vitale

After Forrest Gump became a best-seller, Winston Groom says he ran out of good ideas for novels — until now. His new book, El Paso, is set during the Mexican Revolution.

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Elena Ferrante books are photographed at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., on April 8, 2016.

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For Literary World, Unmasking Elena Ferrante's Not A Scoop. It's A Disgrace

4:24pm October 03, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

An investigative journalist claims to have uncovered the true identity of a famously private novelist. Writers and readers alike have rejected the claims as an egregious, unnecessary intrusion.

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Magic In The Air: 3 Young Adult Fantasy Reads For Fall

7:00am October 01, 2016

by Caitlyn Paxson

You may be back in school, but your bookshelf doesn't have to reflect that — we've got three YA fantasy novels for fall starring three girls grappling with the impact of magic on their lives.

Rolf Lassgård, left, stars as a grouchy widower in A Man Called Ove, which opens Friday in U.S. theaters.

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A Swedish Curmudgeon Wins Hearts, On The Page, And Now On Screen

11:35am September 30, 2016

by Lynn Neary

Move over, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — a grumpy man may soon take your place as America's favorite fictional Swede. The film adaptation of the best-seller A Man Called Ove is now coming to the U.S.

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Curious George — who was originally named Fifi — turns 75 this year. Despite some dated themes (we're looking at you, Man with the Yellow Hat) George is now a multimillion-dollar franchise. Margaret Rey says she and her husband had no idea what Curiou

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Curious George Celebrates 75 Years Of Monkey Business

8:05am September 29, 2016

by Elizabeth Blair

George has had many close calls, but did you know he once outran the Nazis? Despite some dated themes (we're looking at you, Man with the Yellow Hat) George is now a multimillion-dollar franchise.

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Before 'Humans Of New York,' Terkel Showed Dignity In Everyday People In 'Working'

2:49pm September 26, 2016

by Radio Diaries

Iconic journalist Studs Terkel was creating a best-seller, when he interviewed people around the U.S. for his book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.

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"You can't have the modern American restaurant without Delmonico's," explains Yale historian Paul Freedman. The restaurant opened in 1837, setting the bar very high for fine dining. Above, a dinner in honor of an admiral held at Delmonico's in 1906.

Food For Thought: 10 Restaurants That Shaped America

4:30pm September 21, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

A Yale historian's new book explores America's changing tastes, and what they say about our culture — from class mobility to civil rights to women's changing status.