Book Reviews

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Arts

'Sailor And Fiddler' Is A Lovely Coda To A Literary Career

6:04pm December 29, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Herman Wouk says his new memoir will be his last book — at 100, he says, he is at last free of a lifelong to-do list. Critic Michael Schaub says the book is surprisingly short, but packed with charm.

Books
Arts

Cook Your Own Adventure: 11 Cookbooks For Kitchen Dreamers

1:09pm December 16, 2015

by T. Susan Chang

This year's cookbooks point to big dreams, and a kind of comfort with concepts once considered the province of professional cooks.

John Powers, NPR Fresh Air's Pop Culture critic, shares his end of year list.

John Powers' List Of Books, CDs And DVDs He Wishes He Had Reviewed In 2015

2:30pm December 14, 2015

by John Powers

Every year, critic John Powers finds himself compiling a list of praiseworthy work he's read, watched or heard that he neglected to mention on the radio. This year, he's sharing his "Ghost List."

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Books
Arts

A Motley Crew On A Wild Pilgrimage In 'Sophia'

7:04am December 13, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Michael Bible's slim new novel follows a jaded, drunken priest and his chess-master sidekick on a cross country journey, along with a crowd of misfits and outliers who help give the book its charm.

Stack of books on the dark wood background.

Books
Arts

Maureen Corrigan's Best Books Of 2015: Short(ish) Books That Pack A Big Punch

6:18pm December 07, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

This year, short stories and fragmented intense memoirs — along with the incredible true story of a short-haired dog — dominate Maureen Corrigan's best books list.

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Books
Arts

'The Blizzard' May Leave You Cold

7:03am December 05, 2015

by Carmen Maria Machado

Vladimir Sorokin's surreal road trip novel follows a doctor rushing through a blizzard to deliver a vaccine to a zombie-plagued village — but that rich premise is let down by clunky, uneven prose.

Books
Arts

'Like Family' Rewards The Patient Reader

7:03am December 03, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Physicist-turned-author Paolo Giordano's new novel follows a couple adrift after their beloved housekeeper dies. Critic Heller McAlpin says the book is melancholy, but offers a subtle hope.

Books
Arts

Classic Sci-Fi Comic 'Eternaut' Fights The Power

9:28am December 02, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

What should science fiction look like? That's a question that absorbed the creators of The Eternaut, an iconic comic about an alien invasion, first serialized in a Buenos Aires newspaper in the 1950s.

Books
Arts

'Your Brother's Blood' Gives New Life To The Undead

7:04am December 01, 2015

by Jason Heller

Zombie stories are everywhere, but David Towsey's new book takes an unexpected turn — to a gritty, far-future world with echoes of the American West, full of undead who still have hearts and souls.

Books
Arts

Barcelona's Women Make 'The Whispering City' Shine

6:33am November 29, 2015

by Bethanne Patrick

Two academics from Germany, writing as Sara Moliner, have recreated a sepia-toned 1950s Barcelona in this new mystery novel. Critic Bethanne Patrick says City's strength is in its variety of women.