Books

Books
Arts

Black And Female In Jim Crow Era, A Reporter In 'Jam! On the Vine'

11:41am February 08, 2015

The new novel follows a black journalist in Kansas City in the aftermath of the Civil War. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with LaShonda Katrice Barnett about her book.

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Stories That Must Be Told In 'My Documents'

10:10am February 08, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra's new story collection shows off his exacting eye, comic timing and powers of description; critic Juan Vidal says the narratives flow like a glass of cool water.

Until about 30,000 years ago — around the same time these animals were drawn on the walls of France's Chauvet Cave — there were at least five other species of humans on the planet.

Books
Arts

We Went From Hunter-Gatherers To Space Explorers, But Are We Happier?

9:29pm February 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

In his book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari packs the history of humanity into 400 pages. "In some areas we've done amazingly well," the historian says. "In other areas we've done amazingly bad."

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Reforming Prisoners Through Poetry

9:29pm February 07, 2015

For the last 40 years, poet Richard Shelton has been helping prisoners in Arizona reclaim their humanity. NPR's Arun Rath talks with Shelton about his work.

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'Alphabetical' Tells The Story Behind Every Letter, A To Z

11:43am February 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. But how did they get there, and why do they look the way they do? Michael Rosen looks for answers in his new book Alphabetical.

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Books

From 'Game Of Thrones' Pitch Letter: No One Is Safe

11:19am February 07, 2015

A 22-year-old book proposal from George R.R. Martin to his publisher gives host Scott Simon a window into the early plotlines of the Game of Thrones fantasy series.

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Letters preserve a history that often doesn't show up in official accounts, says writer K. Tempest Bradford.

Books
Arts

For Black History Month, Letters To Reveal And Inspire

10:03am February 07, 2015

February is Black History Month — but it's also a month to celebrate the lost art of letter writing. K. Tempest Bradford examines the overlap, and recommends some good historical letter collections.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of February 5, 2015

4:03pm February 06, 2015

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of February 5, 2015

4:03pm February 06, 2015

In Jo Nesbo's The Son, heroin-addicted Sonny Lofthus breaks out of prison after learning the truth about his father's suicide. It appears at No. 11.

The Past, Present And Future Of High-Stakes Testing

3:14pm February 06, 2015

by Anya Kamenetz

Steve Inskeep talks with NPR Ed's Anya Kamenetz about her book, The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed with Standardized Testing — But You Don't Have to Be.

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