Book News & Features

Curious George has celebrated Christmas, welcomed Easter and marked the eight days of Hanukkah. And now, the iconic little monkey is curious about another world faith: Islam.

"The Louisville Lip" was famously as fast with his words as with his fists — years before the birth of hip hop, he was a battle rapper flipping similes and metaphors in a language all his own.

Straub's new book, Modern Lovers, is a tale of old friendships, secrets and family entanglements set in a part of Brooklyn writers often ignore: leafy, largely residential Ditmas Park.

This week, the NPR Books Time Machine is rewinding Elizabeth Hand's gritty, punk-inflected Cass Neary mystery series. "Scary Neary" is an aging rocker with addiction issues and a talent for trouble.

Dan Vyleta's new novel imagines a world where inner faults and sins are made visible by black smoke curling from bodies. He says his big, sprawling narratives were inspired by the works of Dickens.

Acclaimed authors — including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Chabon — have begun penning comic books, to great acclaim. Coates' first issue of Black Panther is the year's top-selling comic so far.

South Korean author Han Kang was awarded the prize for her dark novel The Vegetarian at a London ceremony on Monday. She shares the honor with translator Deborah Smith.

The Nebula Awards are some of the most prestigious prizes in science fiction and fantasy. This year, women authors swept the awards — and not for the first time.

Literature for kids hasn't always been focused on the magical and whimsical. We take a three-century tour through the history of children's books in the classroom.

The holiday commemorates a Mexican victory against French invaders, whose culinary imprint lingers. In her new cookbook, Jinich explores Mexico's evolving cuisine and its many immigrant influences.