Books

Dr. Abraham Nussbaum argues for medicine to reconnect with its past: Caring for patients should be a calling, not a job, he says.

Doctor Yearns For Return To Time When Physicians Were 'Artisans'

2:20pm May 24, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Dr. Abraham Nussbaum, author of a book examining the drive toward standardized quality measures and checklists, says he fears medicine is becoming just another job and not the calling it should be.

The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race by Anthony Christian Ocampo

Filipino Americans: Blending Cultures, Redefining Race

10:28am May 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

In his book The Latinos of Asia, Anthony Christian Ocampo explores how Filipino-Americans challenge traditional ideas about race and national identity.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Smoke' Is A Gloriously Murky Vision Of The Past

7:00am May 24, 2016

by Jason Heller

Dan Vyleta's new novel imagines an alternate Victorian England where ill deeds (and even ill thoughts) are made visible by vile black Smoke; it's a marker not just of personal worth but also class.

Eventually, Big Thunder gives Little Thunder a name of his own: Lightning.

Books
Arts

Sherman Alexie On His New Kids' Book And The Angst Of Being A 'Jr.'

4:14pm May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Alexie says he always struggled with being named after his dad — so he decided to write a book about it. Thunder Boy Jr. is about a little boy who is eager to have his own name and be his own person.

Queue Listen Now

Susan Silverman says her Jewish faith helps her deal with life's uncertainties.

Books
Arts

Susan Silverman On Anxiety, Adoption And Making A Family In An Uncertain World

2:11pm May 23, 2016

In Casting Lots, the rabbi and mother of five explains how Judaism helped her come to terms with her anxiety. She says she and her sister, comic Sarah Silverman, are "two sides of the same coin."

Queue Listen Now

Jazz Books: Conversations in Jazz and Music in the Air

From Duke To The Dead, Ralph J. Gleason Loved It All

9:24am May 23, 2016

by Felix Contreras

Two new volumes of work by the legendary music writer Ralph J. Gleason are out this spring. Though he grew up during the Jazz Age, Gleason loved acts like Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead too.

Raymond Douglas speaks to NPR's Michel Martin about his book,On Being Raped.

On The Ever-Present Trauma Of Rape: 'You Are Not Alone. Don't Give Up'

5:07am May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

More than 30 years after he says he was raped by a priest, Raymond Douglas wrote about his trauma. He hopes it will help more male victims to speak up and authorities to better address the issue.

Queue Listen Now

Teaching The Intangibles: How To Ingrain 'Grit' In Students

5:08pm May 22, 2016

Author Paul Tough's book, Helping Children Succeed, lays out what he calls the tools for helping children succeed, particularly through attributes like perseverance and grit.

Dan Vyleta's new book Smoke imagines a world where vice is made visible, in the form of curling black Smoke.

Books
Arts

'Smoke' Author Dan Vyleta Keeps It Messy

10:00am May 22, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Dan Vyleta's new novel imagines a world where inner faults and sins are made visible by black smoke curling from bodies. He says his big, sprawling narratives were inspired by the works of Dickens.

Books
Arts

Joe Hill On 'Fireman,' Family And ... Fart Cookies?

8:54am May 22, 2016

by NPR Staff

Novelist Joe Hill's latest, The Fireman, is an apocalyptic plague tale about a pathogen that makes sufferers explode. He says his father Stephen King has had a great influence on his storytelling.