Books

Books

Monster-Maker Rick Baker On 'Metamorphosis'

5:48am October 30, 2019

by Mandalit del Barco

Monster-maker Rick Baker has won seven Academy Awards for his work in films like An American Werewolf in London and Men in Black. Metamorphosis is a new two-volume book that chronicles his work.

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Books

In New Memoir 'Ordinary Girls,' Jaquira Díaz Searches For Home

5:33pm October 29, 2019

by Steve Inskeep

Jaquira Díaz grew up in a public housing project in Puerto Rico; her father was a drug dealer and her mother was diagnosed as schizophrenic. As a child, she says, "I thought everyone lived like this."

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Books

New Barnes & Noble CEO Started His Career As An Independent Bookseller

5:16pm October 29, 2019

by Lynn Neary

James Daunt, the new CEO of Barnes & Noble, began his career as an independent bookseller. He plans to use what he learned then to rejuvenate the country's biggest bookstore chain.

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Kevin Wilson's previous books include The Family Fang, Perfect Little World and Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine.

For Author Kevin Wilson, Writing Offers A Brief Reprieve From Tourette's

4:28pm October 29, 2019

by Terry Gross

For Wilson, Tourette's syndrome means living with intrusive thoughts that flash disturbing images without warning. His novel, Nothing to See Here, was inspired by visions of spontaneous combustion.

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Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, by Anne Nelson

'Shadow Network' Offers A Lesson On The American Right's Mastery Of Politics

10:30am October 29, 2019

by Michael Schaub

Anne Nelson links "the manpower and media of the Christian right," "finances of Western plutocrats," and "strategy of right-wing Republican political operatives" via the Council for National Policy.

Books

Author Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne Discusses Her Novel 'Holding On To Nothing'

4:54pm October 28, 2019

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with debut novelist Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne about her new book, Holding on to Nothing.

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Prince performs during the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show in Miami, Fla.

Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' Says His Co-Writer

4:24pm October 28, 2019

by Terry Gross

The musician left behind an unfinished memoir when he died in 2016. Dan Piepenbring, his co-writer, recalls the moment he knew he could make The Beautiful Ones happen — even in Prince's absence.

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The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna, by Mira Ptacin

Blending Memoir And Reporting, 'The In-Betweens' Exposes An Otherworldly Community

12:28pm October 28, 2019

by Genevieve Valentine

Mira Ptacin spends time at Camp Etna and finds herself believing, at least, in the ideals of Spiritualism — emphasizing kindness, the importance of intuition, and the power of the unseen.

Books
Arts

When In Doubt, Pretend To Be Todd Parr

10:16am October 28, 2019

by Juanita Giles

For October, our kids' books columnist Juanita Giles praises picture book author Todd Parr and his insight into the emotional needs of children who are dealing with loss, change — and other children.

It Would Be Night in Caracas, by Karina Sainz Borgo

Books
Arts

'It Would Be Night In Caracas' Mourns A Mother And A Country

10:16am October 28, 2019

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Karina Sainz Borgo's novel follows a woman dealing with the death of her mother while trying to escape the violence and scarcity gripping Venezuela — an anarchy the book presents in shocking detail.