Books

Books

'Survival Math' Is A Memoir About Growing Up Black In Oregon

11:53am March 07, 2019

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with author Mitchell Jackson about his second book, Survival Math, which details the calculations he made to survive as a young black man growing up in Portland, Ore.

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detail from cover of Instructions for a Funeral by David Means

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David Means, Defender Of The Short Story, On His 'Instructions For A Funeral'

5:40pm March 06, 2019

by Audie Cornish

The author has a new collection of short fiction, his fifth. In an interview, he says that his father's death got him thinking about parenthood — and what he might want at his own memorial.

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In Wildly Satirical 'Man-Eaters,' Teen Girls Turn Into Ferocious Panthers

7:00am March 06, 2019

by Etelka Lehoczky

In the world of writer Chelsea Cain and artist Kate Niemczyk, women are seen as dangerous animals. They bring that world to life with pages and pages of ephemera: fake ads, pamphlets, even a magazine.

Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls, by T Kira Madden

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'Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls' Is Compassionate, Without Being Apologetic

6:01am March 06, 2019

by Ilana Masad

In exposing the bad and ugly of girlhood alongside the good, T Kira Madden has succeeded in creating a mirror of larger concerns, even as her own story is achingly specific and personal.

The last Nobel Prize in Literature winner was Kazuo Ishiguro, who took the honor in 2017. The Swedish Academy will award two literary prizes in 2019, the Nobel Foundation says.

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Nobel Foundation Confirms It Will Award 2 Literature Prizes In 2019, With Changes

2:18pm March 05, 2019

by Bill Chappell

A year after the Swedish Academy faced a crisis, the body "no longer includes any members who are subject to conflict of interest or criminal investigations," the Nobel Foundation says.

'An American Summer' Looks At How Gun Violence 'Gets In People's Bones'

1:21pm March 05, 2019

by Terry Gross

Alex Kotlowitz discusses the people whose lives were changed or lost due to gun violence in Chicago one summer. He likens the trauma of living with gun violence to the PTSD some veterans experience.

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Albert Woodfox, who was in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary for more than 40 years, is seen here at a press conference on Nov. 15, 2016 in Paris.

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In 'Solitary,' Determination And Humanity Win Over Injustice

1:02pm March 05, 2019

by Gabino Iglesias

Albert Woodfox's timely account of his wrongful conviction and time in solitary confinement shows that some spirits are unbreakable; it should be required reading in an age of Black Lives Matter.

Survival Math: Notes On An All-American Family, by Mitchell S. Jackson

'Survival Math' Is A Spellbinding Narrative In Essays

12:46pm March 05, 2019

by Ericka Taylor

Author Mitchell S. Jackson trains his formidable linguistic skills on his turbulent youth growing up in a poor black community in Portland, Ore., one of the whitest cities in the country.

As Elite Campuses Diversify, A 'Bias Towards Privilege' Persists

11:24am March 05, 2019

by Elissa Nadworny

Many elite colleges have committed to enrolling more low-income students. But, a new book argues, their efforts at inclusivity still fall short.

A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself by William Boyle

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'A Friend Is A Gift' For Crime Novel Fans

7:00am March 05, 2019

by Gabino Iglesias

William Boyle's new novel follows mob widow Rena, her granddaughter and an ex-porn-star neighbor, on the run from a crazed mafia enforcer in — what else? — a 1962 Chevy Impala.