Books

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Arts

Poetic And Expansive, 'City On Fire' Ultimately Falls Short Of Its Reach

2:53pm October 20, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Garth Risk Hallberg's 900-page debut novel is an intricately-plotted story set in chaotic 1970s New York. Critic Maureen Corrigan says City On Fire has much to admire, even if its ending falls flat.

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Pamuk himself drew this illustration; he says at the time, all the buildings existed only in his imagination.

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Orhan Pamuk Takes A Fresh Look At His Beloved Istanbul In 'Strangeness'

2:35pm October 20, 2015

by Lynn Neary

The Nobel Prize laureate has written about his city before, but from the perspective of his affluent childhood. His new book captures Istanbul's growth and change through the eyes of a street peddler.

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Parables For Understanding A Nation's Racial 'Sin'

2:31pm October 20, 2015

Rev. Jim Wallis leads the Sojourners, a Christian social justice group. He's known for mixing faith with public life, urging candidates to discuss moral issues in ways that transcends divisions.

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Why The Battle Between E-Books And Print May Be Over

2:20pm October 20, 2015

by Lynn Neary

It's safe to say that e-books disrupted the publishing industry. But sales have leveled off and not entirely for the reasons some have reported.

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Rowling's Magic Needs No Spells In 'Career Of Evil'

2:14pm October 20, 2015

by Annalisa Quinn

In her third outing as crime novelist Robert Galbraith, J.K. Rowling hits her stride with a fluid, complex mystery. Reviewer Annalisa Quinn says she excels at depicting evil, ordinary or otherwise.

To Cure What Ails You, Bibliotherapists Prescribe Literature

6:24am October 20, 2015

There are all kinds of therapies to cure what ails you. But a new and intriguing approach is bibliotherapy, which dispenses a prescription of literature specifically tailored to a patient's unique circumstances. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with pioneering bibliotherapist Susan Elderkin.

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Manzano, shown above with Rosita — a bilingual Muppet from Mexico — recently announced that she will be retiring from Sesame Street after 44 years.

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In New Memoir, Maria Tells Us How She Got, How She Got To 'Sesame Street'

7:47pm October 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

Sonia Manzano has spent 44 years as one of the lucky residents of Sesame Street. In her memoir she describes how she sought comfort in TV during her own difficult childhood in the South Bronx.

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'Kids Love To Be Scared': Louis Sachar On Balancing Fun And Fear

7:45pm October 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

The award-winning author of Holes has just published a new novel for young readers, called Fuzzy Mud. It mixes middle-school social puzzles with a more sinister mystery: a rogue biotech threat.

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Kelly Carlin (center) says her parents, Brenda and George Carlin, could never be accused of hovering over their only child — she says her dad was "the ultimate laissez faire parent."

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The Dark Side Of Funny: Growing Up In George Carlin's Shadow

7:43pm October 19, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

In A Carlin Home Companion, Kelly Carlin reflects on life with her famous comedian (and drug addicted) father. "This book has always felt like unfinished business," she says.

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A survey from the Authors Guild reveals a 30 percent decline in author income since 2009.

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When It Comes To Book Sales, What Counts As Success Might Surprise You

7:43pm October 19, 2015

by Lynn Neary

A survey from the Authors Guild reveals a 30 percent decline in author income since 2009. "You used to be able to make an absolutely living wage as a writer," says Guild President Roxana Robinson.

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