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In 'Distant Marvels,' A Witness To Revolutions Tells Cuba's Story

11:01am April 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Chantel Acevedo's latest novel opens in 1963 and focuses on octogenarian Maria Sirena, part of a Cuban generation that lived through both the war of independence from Spain and the Cuban Revolution.

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A Dark, Funny — And Vietnamese — Look At The Vietnam War

9:04pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Viet Thanh Nguyen grew up in America with war movies like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, which offer accounts of the war focusing on Americans. His new novel, The Sympathizer, follows a Vietnamese spy.

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Mulgrew starred as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first woman to command a Federation Starship, in Star Trek: Voyager.

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'Born With Teeth,' Actress Kate Mulgrew On A Life Lived With Abandon

7:22pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mulgrew played Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and is a formidable kitchen manager on Orange Is the New Black. But her personal story is more dramatic than any she's ever played on screen.

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How Jim Grimsley Shed His 'Racist' Skin

12:33pm April 11, 2015

In 1966, Jim Grimsley's North Carolina school was integrated. NPR's Tamara Keith talks to Grimsley and one of his first black classmates, Donnie Meadows, about Grimsley's book, How I Shed My Skin.

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Autobiographical 'Indian' Probes A Painful Past

7:03am April 11, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Jón Gnarr, the punk rocker turned mayor of Rekjavík, paints a beautiful but disturbing portrait of a misfit childhood in his new novel. Critic Michael Schaub calls it hypnotic and heartbreaking.

Books

In 'William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace,' Jar Jar Binks Plays the Fool

7:30pm April 10, 2015

Jar Jar Binks is one of the most reviled Star Wars characters. But in the hands of Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First.

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Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of April 9, 2015

4:03pm April 10, 2015

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of April 9, 2015

4:03pm April 10, 2015

A young American married couple goes in search of the Loch Ness monster after they're disgraced at a high society event. Sara Gruen's At the Water's Edge debuts at No. 5.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of April 9, 2015

4:03pm April 10, 2015

In her new book Between You & Me, The New Yorker's long-time copy editor Mary Norris delves in to the world of grammar, editing and pencil sharpeners. It debuts at No. 8.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of April 9, 2015

4:03pm April 10, 2015

Appearing at No. 14, David Baldacci's The Escape follows John Puller as he joins a manhunt for his own brother.