Books

British author Bernardine Evaristo poses with her book Girl, Woman, Other. She would later win the 2019 Booker Prize for Fiction, an honor she shared with Margaret Atwood.

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The Booker Prize Is Shared By The 12 Black Brits In 'Girl, Woman, Other'

8:12am November 09, 2019

by Scott Simon

Bernardine Evaristo's new award-winning novel follows a dozen different characters, aged 19-93. "I wanted to put as many black British women into it as possible," the author says.

The Guinevere Deception, by Kiersten White

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'The Guinevere Deception' Casts A Surprising Spell

7:00am November 09, 2019

by Caitlyn Paxson

Kiersten White's retelling of the King Arthur story puts his queen Guinevere at the center — only she's not really Guinevere. She's a magic-wielding changeling, sent to court to protect the king.

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How The Fugitive Slave Act Paved The Way For The Civil War

1:56pm November 08, 2019

by Terry Gross

Author Andrew Delbanco says Northerners began to realize slavery wasn't just a Southern issue after the passage of the 1850 law. His book is The War Before The War. Originally broadcast Nov. 6, 2018.

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The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team, by Matthew Goodman

Scandal Brings Down A Remarkable College Basketball Team In 'The City Game'

7:45am November 08, 2019

by Michael Schaub

The '50 City College of New York Beavers were the only team to win the NIT and the NCAA tournaments. Matthew Goodman's book details how a point-shaving plot came to dominate the team's legacy.

Books

Watching (And Writing) The Watchmen

2:00pm November 07, 2019

A new HBO adaptation of the legendary comic is receiving rave reviews.

Saeed Jones has served as BuzzFeed's LGBT editor and culture editor, and is the author of Prelude to Bruise.

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'We're All Struggling': Writer Saeed Jones Reflects On Identity And Acceptance

12:54pm November 07, 2019

by Terry Gross

"It was perilous to be a black gay boy in America," Jones says of the fear and isolation he experienced growing up in Texas in the 1990s. His new memoir is How We Fight for Our Lives.

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The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti: IBM, the CIA, and the Cold War Conspiracy to Shut Down Production of the World's First Desktop Computer, by Meryle Secrest

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'The Mysterious Affair At Olivetti' Attempts To Find A Cold War Conspiracy

10:52am November 07, 2019

by Bradley Babendir

Biographer Meryle Secrest chases a theory that two key Olivetti computer visonaries' deaths did not happen as officially recorded. While a gripping read at times, there's not a lot of solid ground.

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'The Deep' Sings With Many Voices

7:00am November 07, 2019

by Jason Heller

Rivers Solomon's lyrical, wrenching new novella is based on a track from the experimental rap group clipping., about a peaceful undersea race descended from slaves thrown overboard in the Atlantic.

Detail of cover of Mobituaries by Mo Rocca

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In 'Mobituaries,' Mo Rocca Gives People The Second Send-Offs They Deserved

6:13pm November 06, 2019

by David Greene

The humorist has expanded his podcast series into a book of essays on the historical figures (and objects, like station wagons, and empires, like Prussia) that didn't get enough love the first time.

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Stan Lee attends the premiere of "Captain America: Civil War" at Dolby Theatre on April 12, 2016 in Hollywood, Calif.

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'A Marvelous Life' Holds Stan Lee High As The Man Who Made Superheroes Matter

3:27pm November 06, 2019

by Adam Frank

Danny Fingeroth spends some time unpacking Lee's long-running dispute with Jack Kirby and others over ownership, but mainly offers strong insights into the forces that drove Lee and Marvel to success.