Books

Books

Writer and director George Stevens Jr. releases memoir 'My Place In The Sun'

8:47am May 14, 2022

by Scott Simon

Scott Simon talks to writer and director George Stevens Jr. about his life, growing up in Hollywood, and even Elizabeth Taylor, in his memoir, "My Place In The Sun."

Read Dangerously, In the Margins, Write for Your Life (Dey Street Books, Europa Editions, Random House)

Books
Arts

Three female authors show us how writing can turn adversity into beauty

8:11am May 13, 2022

by Sharmila Mukherjee

In their latest works, Azar Nafisi, Elena Ferrante, and Anna Quindlen vigorously assert that reading and writing can pull us out of our mess. In their hands, reading and writing are worth celebrating.

Books

A new book argues that anxiety is good for you, even though it feels bad

5:08am May 13, 2022

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, but can it be useful? NPR's A Martinez talks to clinical psychologist and author Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, who calls anxiety a triumph of human evolution.

Many know how George Floyd died. A new biography centers on how he lived

4:59pm May 12, 2022

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa about their new book, His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice.

Books
Arts

'Nasty, Brutish, and Short' contends that all parents are raising little philosophers

2:35pm May 12, 2022

by Thúy Đinh

Author Scott Hershovitz sets out to prove that philosophy, like inquisitive, rowdy children, can offer illuminating insights — even when addressing complex subjects related to misbehavior.

Books
Arts

You can't 'Trust' this novel. And that's a very good thing

11:27am May 12, 2022

by Maureen Corrigan

Hernan Diaz's novel is constantly pulling a fast one on the reader. It opens with the saga of a Wall Street tycoon, but soon another narrative comes to upend the truth of everything that came before.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder continues the fight for voting rights

1:24pm May 11, 2022

by Terry Gross

Obama's attorney general says that when it comes to voting rights, the Supreme Court has increasingly become "an impediment to justice." Holder's new book is Our Unfinished March.

Queue Listen Now

Fly Girl and The Great Stewardess Rebellion. Cover images from W.W. Norton and Doubleday.

Books
Arts

'Fly Girl' and 'The Great Stewardess Rebellion' recount journeys toward empowerment

10:54am May 11, 2022

by Heller McAlpin

Novelist Ann Hood, whose Fly Girl paints a picture of her time as a flight attendant, was a beneficiary of the fight by the women profiled in Nell McShane Wulfhart's book to be treated professionally.

Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and The Olympians.

Books
Arts

Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan rips complaints about casting the TV series

5:29pm May 10, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, has issued a forceful response to criticisms of the decision to hire a person of color, Leah Jeffries, to play Annabeth Chase on TV.

Books

How Brooke Hayward's marriage to Dennis Hopper helped ignite the 1960s' art explosion

5:03pm May 10, 2022

Mark Rozzo talks about his latest book Everybody Thought We Were Crazy. It offers a look into the relationship between Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward and their impact on 1960s Los Angeles.