Books

John Powers, NPR Fresh Air's Pop Culture critic, shares his end of year list.

John Powers' List Of Books, CDs And DVDs He Wishes He Had Reviewed In 2015

2:30pm December 14, 2015

by John Powers

Every year, critic John Powers finds himself compiling a list of praiseworthy work he's read, watched or heard that he neglected to mention on the radio. This year, he's sharing his "Ghost List."

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in The Martian, Matt Damon stars as an astronaut stranded on Mars who must use real-world science to survive his science fictional dilemma.

No Warp Drives, No Transporters: Science Fiction Authors Get Real

12:02pm December 14, 2015

by Steve Paulson

Some of the biggest names in science fiction right now — like The Martian author Andy Weir — are writing what's called hard sci-fi, based on real-world science and a vision of hope for the future.

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Books
Arts

Picture This: Frederick Douglass Was The Most Photographed Man Of His Time

5:24pm December 13, 2015

The abolitionist wanted to ensure a more accurate depiction of black Americans during the tumultuous years before the Civil War, Harvard's John Stauffer writes in Picturing Frederick Douglass.

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Arts

Why And When Men Grow Beards

7:51am December 13, 2015

NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to author Christopher Oldstone-Moore about his history of the beard, Of Beards and Men.

Books
Arts

A Motley Crew On A Wild Pilgrimage In 'Sophia'

7:04am December 13, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Michael Bible's slim new novel follows a jaded, drunken priest and his chess-master sidekick on a cross country journey, along with a crowd of misfits and outliers who help give the book its charm.

Books
Arts

Pictures Worth 1,084,170 Words: The 'Harry Potter' Series, Illustrated

5:26pm December 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

The prospect of illustrating all seven volumes filled artist Jim Kay with "terrible panic" — but he left his comfort zone and did it anyway. Here's how he brought the boy wizard's adventures to life.

The Relic Master, by Christopher Buckley.

Books
Arts

Monty Python Meets Ocean's 11 In 'The Relic Master'

9:05am December 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Christopher Buckley's new novel is the story of a 16th-century relic hunter and his buddy Albrecht Dürer, who end up in trouble after trying to forge a holy shroud to sell to an unsuspecting nobleman.

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Books
Arts

Which Books Should You Give This Season

7:47am December 12, 2015

London taxi driver Will Grozier is an avid reader. He joins NPR's Scott Simon with a list of his holiday reading picks — some new, some old, and some taxi-themed.

Steve Carell plays Mark Baum and Ryan Gosling plays Jared Vennett in The Big Short. Director Adam McKay says, "One of my favorite moments in the movie is where you see ... Mark Baum make a large chunk of money and feel absolutely disgusted by it."

Books
Arts

On The Money: How 'The Big Short' And Its Jerk Heroes Explain Finance

7:21pm December 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

How do you make a subject as dense as the subprime mortgage crisis into a compelling movie? That's the challenge Adam McKay took on when he decided to turn Michael Lewis' book into a film.

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Claire Vaye Watkins' new novel is Gold Fame Citrus.

Books
Arts

Whom Do You Write For? 'Pandering' Essay Sparks A Conversation

5:21pm December 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Novelist Claire Vaye Watkins recently published an essay called "On Pandering," about realizing she was writing to appeal to white men. She and author Marlon James discuss responses to the piece.

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