In 'Obviously,' Comedian Muses About Growing Up In A Small Kentucky Town
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with comedian Akilah Hughes about a collection of short essays in her new book, Obviously.
Books
Edward Snowden Speaks Out: 'I Haven't And I Won't' Cooperate With Russia
In 2013, Snowden showed journalists thousands of top-secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in Russia ever since. His new book is Permanent Record.
'This Is Not Propaganda' And The Post-Truth World
We explore one author's quest for truth in an increasingly fake world.
'Coventry' Touches On Gender, Self-Definition In Taking Control Of One's Narrative
In her first essay collection, Rachel Cusk writes like someone who has been burned and has reacted not with self-censorship but with a doubling-down on clarity.
In 'Doxology,' The Comedy Is Never Quite In Tune
Nell Zink is a very funny writer, but the comedy never quite works in her new novel, which follows two aging punks and their daughter, from the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the '80s to D.C. today.
Book: 'Juliet Takes A Breath'
Gabby Rivera discusses her new novel for high schoolers, Juliet Takes a Breath.
Racial Tensions Complicate The Search For A Missing Child In 'Heaven, My Home'
Attica Locke's new novel centers on a black Texas ranger's effort to find the vanished son of a white supremacist. Heaven, My Home offers an unsettling American spin on a complicated crime story.
In 'Savage Gods,' An Author Finds That Pondering Being Leads To An Inability To Write
Paul Kingsnorth moved to a small farm in Ireland to be closer to the land and to reconnect with the essence of being. Instead of contentment, he found that it was tough to find meaning in writing.
Lecturer At The University Of Cambridge Makes Literary Dream Discovery
Annotations on a 17th century copy of Shakespeare's plays were discovered to be written by English poet John Milton. James Scott-Warren of the University of Cambridge explains what the notes reveal.
'They Will Have To Die Now' Recounts Retaking Of Mosul From The Islamic State
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with journalist James Verini about his book They Will Have To Die Now, a vivid story of the battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State in 2016.