Books

Lee (center) attends a Los Angeles Public Library Awards Dinner in her honor at The Richard J. Riordan Central Library Maguire Gardens in 2005.

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The Measure Of Harper Lee: A Life Shaped By A Towering Text

6:05pm February 19, 2016

The author, who died Friday at 89, lived for decades in the shadow of her iconic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Yet there was more to Lee than her characters, however beloved they may remain.

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Harper Lee in a courthouse near her hometown of Monroeville, Ala.

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Small Batch: 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

5:53pm February 19, 2016

by Linda Holmes

We talk with Barrie Hardymon of NPR's Weekend Edition about the book that was, for most of her life, Harper Lee's only published novel.

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Harper Lee's Depiction of 'Polarization In A Southern Town' Defines Legacy

4:59pm February 19, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Lizzie Skurnick, cultural critic of Harper Lee's books, about what she will be most remembered for.

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'How To Be A Tudor': Not As Stinky As You Think

12:20pm February 18, 2016

by Genevieve Valentine

Ruth Goodman — adviser to BBC productions like Wolf Hall — digs deep into the everyday life of Tudor England in her new book. Surprisingly, Elizabethan hygiene isn't as bad as you might think.

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Lies We Tell Ourselves Propel 'The Widow'

10:00am February 18, 2016

by Bethanne Patrick

Veteran reporter Fiona Barton brings a journalist's eye to her fiction debut, the story of a woman thrust into the spotlight after her husband — accused of a terrible crime — dies in an accident.

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'Furnace' Burns With Horror And Wonder

6:43pm February 17, 2016

by Jason Heller

Livia Llewellyn's new story collection is beautiful and hideous in the same breath, steeped in the traditions of H.P. Lovecraft. Critic Jason Heller calls it "bursting with blood and shadow and dust."

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In 'Doubter's Almanac,' Troubled Math Genius Tries To Solve The Unsolvable

6:25pm February 17, 2016

by NPR Staff

Author Ethan Canin says two odd talents contributed to his main character becoming a mathematician: He can always tell where he is on Earth and he can draw things perfectly.

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The Wilhelm Gustloff sank after being hit by Russian torpedoes on Jan. 30, 1945. More than 9,000 people died.

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More Died On This WWII Ship Than On The Titanic And Lusitania Combined

2:25pm February 17, 2016

by NPR Staff

On its final voyage, Germany's Wilhelm Gustloff carried soldiers and thousands of civilians, many of them children. Young adult author Ruta Sepetys revisits the ship's 1945 sinking in Salt to the Sea.

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Bibimbap is one of the best-known Korean dishes. According to chef Deuki Hong and writer Matt Rodbard, there really isn't a definitive recipe. "The name translates to 'mixed rice,' and, in practice, rice is the dish's only constant," the authors write in

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Welcome To 'Koreatown,' A Cookbook To Tempt American Taste Buds

2:18pm February 17, 2016

by Joel Rose

From LA to New York, Chef Deuki Hong and writer Matt Rodbard spent two years eating in Korean-American communities. Their new cookbook captures both well-known and obscure flavors of this cuisine.

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Polish nuns do most of the cooking at the Vatican. Here, they prepare sweets for the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Holy Ravioli! Cookbook Reveals The Vatican's Favorite Recipes

1:34pm February 17, 2016

by Tove Danovich

We all have comfort foods — even Pope Francis and the men who guard him. The Vatican Cookbook is a tour of life and food in the world's smallest country, as told by members of the Swiss Guard.