Book News & Features

Alan Cheuse was our guide to the best and worst of the written word for more than 30 years.

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Remembering Alan Cheuse, Our Longtime Literary Guide

5:40pm August 01, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

For some 30 years, Alan Cheuse was our guide to the best and worst of the written word. He passed away today at 75, after a car accident two weeks ago. NPR's Susan Stamberg has an appreciation.

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Alan Cheuse, Novelist And Longtime NPR Contributor, Dies At 75

5:10pm July 31, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

The author and critic died Friday of injuries sustained in a car accident. For years, he was the voice of NPR's literature commentary — and, for many, the "guide to a very exciting world."

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Women's Comics Are Surfing The Crowd

12:04pm July 30, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

It's no secret that women are getting more prominent in the world of comics. But some women are tired of waiting for mainstream attention: They're turning to crowdfunding to get their projects done.

The Man Booker Prize announced its longlist of 13 nominees Wednesday.

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'Booker Dozen' Stirs In A Hefty Batch Of American Authors

4:04pm July 29, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Thirteen novels are in the hunt for the Man Booker Prize, the U.K.'s biggest literary award. The Booker is open to Americans for only the second year, and this year's list pits rookies against titans.

Arts

Iconic Literary Road Trips, Mapped In Time For Summer

10:55am July 25, 2015

The website Atlas Obscura has mapped out a dozen famous road trips in American literature, from Mark Twain's stagecoach journey to F. Scott Fitzgerald's drive from Connecticut to Montgomery, Ala.

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Doctorow Wove Fact And Fiction To Imagine America As It Could Be

2:26pm July 23, 2015

by Lynn Neary

He didn't care for journalism's austerities, but borrowed liberally from history to craft his books. The late, great novelist was a gentleman who spun untruths, in order to better get at what's true.

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E.L. Doctorow, center, stands with other National Book Critics Circle award winners in March 2006 at a reception following the awards ceremony in New York. Doctorow's

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Novelist E.L. Doctorow, Author Of 'Billy Bathgate,' 'Ragtime,' Dies At 84

1:14am July 22, 2015

by Christopher Dean Hopkins

The writer was best known for his works of historical fiction set in the early 20th-century United States. His son told the New York Times that he died Tuesday of complications from lung cancer.

Arts

The Meaning Of A Hero Cast In Shadow, In Harper Lee's 'Go Set A Watchman'

2:31pm July 21, 2015

The release of Harper Lee's long-lost novel — and its portrait of once-crusading attorney Atticus Finch — has shaken devotees of "To Kill a Mockingbird." One poet argues that nuance should be welcome.

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A Lane cake is a layered sponge cake filled with a rich mixture of egg yolks, butter, sugar, raisins and whiskey and topped with boiled icing.

What Ever Happened To The Boozy Cake In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'?

8:45am July 19, 2015

by Meredith Bethune

In Harper Lee's classic first novel, Scout Finch's neighbor is known for her Lane cakes. But it's now hard to find this Southern layered sponge cake filled with raisins and whiskey anywhere.

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In Monroeville, Ala., The Shock And Disillusion Of 'Watchman'

10:33am July 18, 2015

by Kyle Gassiott

The critics have already weighed in on Go Set A Watchman. Now regular readers have had a chance to assess Harper Lee's new book. We hear reactions from Lee's home state of Alabama.

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