Books

Nigerian Schoolgirls' Abduction Told In 'Beneath The Tamarind Tree'

6:13am July 08, 2019

NPR's Noel King talks to former CNN journalist Isha Sesay about her book: Beneath the Tamarind Tree — A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram.

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A man reads a book on his e-book reader device. In July, Microsoft will be deleting its e-book library and ceasing all e-book sales.

Books

Microsoft Closes The Book On Its E-Library, Erasing All User Content

10:26pm July 07, 2019

The move comes as a result of Digital Rights Management, an approach that allows companies to prevent piracy. Every purchased book will disappear this month.

Books

'The Way Through the Woods': Mourning Author Finds Comfort In Mushrooms

5:07pm July 07, 2019

Litt Woon Long and her husband had a running joke about taking a mushrooming class. When he died, she went for it. NPR's Michel Martin talks to Long about her book, The Way Through the Woods.

Books
Arts

For July, 4 Romances That'll Keep You Laughing

10:00am July 07, 2019

by Maya Rodale

Few things go together better than romance and comedy — so in honor of this year's Summer Reader Poll, all about funny books, we've got four romances that will bring a smile to your face.

Books

What Happens When Your Mom Writes Romance Novels

8:09am July 07, 2019

Pamela Mingle started writing romance novels later in life, leading daughter Katie to realize some misconceptions she had about the genre.

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Books

Jack Fairweather On The 'Secret Mission To Destroy Auschwitz'

8:09am July 07, 2019

Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Jack Fairweather about his new book, The Volunteer, which chronicles a Polish man who volunteered to go to Auschwitz in order to start a resistance movement there.

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Luthier Freeman Vines sits with his hand-carved guitars in the tobacco field by his house, 2015.

Capturing The Undersung Blues People Of The Rural South

8:09am July 07, 2019

by Debbie Elliott

Tim Duffy started Music Maker Relief Foundation to support blues musicians lost to time and poverty. He's also photographed their portraits for a new book, compilation album and museum exhibition.

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Books
Arts

New Novel Asks: What Would You Do To Get Your Kid Into 'The Gifted School'?

3:28pm July 06, 2019

by Renee Montagne

The school is fictional but the anxiety is real — the plot bears striking resemblance to actual college admissions scandals. "There's a sense that parents will stop at nothing," says Bruce Holsinger.

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Books

'Slaughterhouse-Five' At 50

8:04am July 06, 2019

Fifty years ago Kurt Vonnegut published his anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five. NPR's Renee Montagne revisits an earlier conversation she had with the author about the book.

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Books
Arts

These 'Wanderers' Are Heading For The End Of The World

7:00am July 06, 2019

by Gabino Iglesias

Chuck Wendig's massive new novel imagines a plague of sleepwalkers — unresponsive people endlessly walking to an unknown destination as a fearful, hate-ridden country tears itself apart around them.