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A Witch's Brew Of Fear And Fantasy: America's Tiny Reign Of Terror

2:46pm October 26, 2015

by NPR Staff

Pulitizer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff's last book was a best-seller about Cleopatra. Now, the Massachusetts native is out with a history of a subject closer to home: the 1692 Salem witch trials.

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In 'Brothers,' A Pair Of Divergent Paths Split By Race

6:22pm October 25, 2015

Illustrator Barry Moser's new memoir, We Were Brothers, explores his relationship with his sibling Tommy. Tommy absorbed the racism passed down by their parents, while Barry left the family behind.

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This Weekend, Hoist A Pint With The 'Young Skins'

4:51pm October 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

Colin Barrett's debut collection deals with some dismal topics. But Tessa Hadley, who picked the book for our Weekend Reads series, praises the Irish writer's "lovely, high-flown, playful" writing.

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Eileen Myles Offers A Double Shot Of Punk Rock Poetry

10:03am October 25, 2015

by Craig Morgan Teicher

The veteran poet's beloved 1994 novel Chelsea Girls has been reissued alongside a new collection, I Must Be Living Twice. Myles' poems chronicle a life of art and sex in gritty 1970s New York City.

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'After Alice' Gets Lost In Wonderland, Sensible Bestie Comes To Her Rescue

9:58am October 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

Gregory Maguire, of Wicked fame, has written a kind of parallel narrative to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. This story focuses on Ada, a friend who knows Alice needs help getting home.

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Critic Juan Vidal says this copy of The Metamorphosis, a gift from his uncle, was a life-changing experience.

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Happy (?) Birthday, Gregor Samsa: 'The Metamorphosis' Turns 100

7:03am October 25, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Critic Juan Vidal says Kafka's classic tale of alienation — published 100 years ago this month — helped bring about a metamorphosis in his own life (though rather more positive than Gregor Samsa's).

"A photo of me once hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sixteen inches high."

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In 10,000 Snaps Of The Shutter, A 'Photographic Census' Of A City

7:13pm October 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Brandon Stanton left a life in finance for an entirely different quest: to snap the portraits of 10,000 people. The project eventually became Humans of New York, a blog and the basis for two books.

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CNN Anchor Talks 'Running Dangerously'

11:04am October 24, 2015

Tom Foreman, the CNN anchor and reporter, is training for Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. He takes a break from his run to chat with NPR's Scott Simon about his new book on running.

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Dame Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" isn't just the best-known James Bond theme: It's the standard by which all other Bond themes are measured.

From Shirley Bassey To Sam Smith, Bond Songs Remain A Pop Oddity

8:47am October 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Scott Simon speaks with the authors of a new book about the two dozen theme songs produced by the James Bond films, and what they say about the times in which they were written.

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A Dark And Stormy Night: Why We Love The Gothic

7:03am October 24, 2015

by Genevieve Valentine

Inspired by the new film Crimson Peak, critic Genevieve Valentine digs into our enduring love for stormy nights, eerie castles, romantically exotic monsters, swooning maidens and all things Gothic.