Books

Books
Arts

Too-Insidery 'Razzle' Sadly Doesn't Dazzle

10:03am October 04, 2015

by Trey Graham

Theater critic Michael Riedel dishes some juicy backstage anecdotes in his new book about Broadway's Shubert Organization, but fails to bring its deal-makers and their troubles to convincing life.

Books
Arts

Swordswoman, Opera Singer, Runaway: 'Goddess' Chronicles A Fabled Life

10:43am October 03, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Kelly Gardiner's new novel is a fictionalized version of the life of Julie d'Aubigny, a swashbuckling 17th-century fencer-turned-opera singer whose exploits often seem stranger than fiction.

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Books
Arts

The Mysteries Of Family, Captured In 'Invisible Ink'

7:03am October 03, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

Cartoonist Bill Griffith discovered as an adult that his mother had had a 16-year affair with another man, also a cartoonist. In Invisible Ink, he digs into the secrets surrounding his family.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of October 1, 2015

6:03pm October 02, 2015

The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of October 1, 2015

6:03pm October 02, 2015

Jan Karon's Come Rain or Come Shine debuts at No. 12.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of October 1, 2015

6:03pm October 02, 2015

Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic debuts at No. 2.

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NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of October 1, 2015

6:03pm October 02, 2015

Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You appears at No. 4.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of October 1, 2015

6:03pm October 02, 2015

Jen Sincero's You Are a Badass appears at No. 6.

The Great Bluff That Led To A 'Magical' Pill And A Sexual Revolution

4:02pm October 02, 2015

In the '50s, four people collaborated to create a pill that would allow women to enjoy sex. Jonathan Eig details the history in The Birth of the Pill. Originally broadcast Oct. 7, 2014.

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Books
Arts

'M Train' Is A Poetic Journey Through Life And Loss

3:12pm October 02, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Patti Smith's new memoir is a dreamy, elegiac recollection of loved ones gone too soon, energized by her interests and travels. It jumps in time, from her husband's death in 1994 to Hurricane Sandy.