Books

Books
Arts

3 nonfiction translations to read this spring

12:06pm March 24, 2022

by Lily Meyer

It's been rare for non-academic nonfiction to be translated into English — but that's beginning to change. These three books may be academic in the depth of their inquiries — but not in style.

Madeleine Albright's teaching continues — through these books

11:23am March 24, 2022

by Meghan Collins Sullivan

The first female secretary of state's legacy lives on — not only in the history she made but also in teachings and reflections. Here are some of the books she leaves for us, and future generations.

A doctor chronicles life in a Chicago ER during the first year of the pandemic

1:16pm March 23, 2022

by Dave Davies

Though he fully expected to be infected with COVID, Dr. Thomas Fisher says he was committed to providing medical care to the Black community on Chicago's South Side. His new book is The Emergency.

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A photo of Anne Frank stands on a replica of the writing desk she once used in her family's former apartment in Amsterdam, during an event to mark what would have been Anne Frank's 90th birthday, in Amsterdam in June 2019.

A Dutch publisher is pulling an investigative book on who betrayed Anne Frank

8:45am March 23, 2022

by The Associated Press

A cold case team published what it called the "most likely scenario" of who betrayed the Jewish teen and her family. But a group of Dutch historians wrote an in-depth criticism of that work.

Books
Arts

In the future of 'Here Lies,' the mourning can't bury their dead

6:26am March 23, 2022

by Kristen Martin

Olivia Clare Friedman's Here Lies provides a poignant portrait of the way grief can bring people together, uniting even strangers through a common pain and commitment to keep memories alive.

Author Anne Tyler on writing her 24th novel and why she writes about families

5:12pm March 22, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with writer Anne Tyler about her 24th novel French Braid. Set in Baltimore, the book tracks one family, the Garretts, across decades and generations

After a stroke blinded one eye, Frank Bruni focused on the future

12:39pm March 22, 2022

by Terry Gross

The New York Times columnist says the stroke forced him to make a decision: He could focus on what had been lost or on what remained. He chose the latter. Bruni's new memoir is The Beauty of Dusk.

Books

Banned books are finding a new home at a tiny library on an island

6:24am March 22, 2022

Residents of Matinicus, off the coast of Maine, are pushing back on book banning efforts sweeping the country. They're stocking their library's shelves with books being censored elsewhere.

For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons

2:02pm March 21, 2022

by Terry Gross

The MacArthur "genius" grant winner talks about what he learned from his piano teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. Denk's new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine.

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Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books, including The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison and Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, that have been the subject of complaints from parents in Salt Lake City

Book bans and the threat of censorship rev up political activism in the suburbs

9:53am March 21, 2022

by Odette Yousef

A conservative campaign to ban certain books from schools is prompting other parents to push back. The issue is often framed as the latest "culture war" battle, but some see democracy itself at stake.