Books

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Arts

A 'Post-Post-Colonial' Take On The Violent Birth Of Modern Jamaica

2:22pm October 06, 2014

by NPR Staff

Marlon James' latest novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is not brief, and it contains many more than seven deaths. It's a portrait of Jamaica in the '70s, when gang warfare and reggae reigned.

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Haruki Murakami's latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, was released in English in 2014.

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Book News: Murakami Drops A New Story, Just As Nobel Week Begins

7:13am October 06, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

In "Scheherazade," he tells the tale of a captive listener — in more ways than one. Also: A big week to come includes the Nobel Prize announcement, "Super Thursday" and several notable books.

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Arts

This 'Book Of Witches' Casts A Fascinating, Sobering Spell

9:33pm October 05, 2014

by Genevieve Valentine

A new Penguin compendium of documents relating to three centuries of witch trials lays the blame on fractured communities and cruel governments — and draws unsettling parallels to current events.

John Lanchester has previously written works of both fiction and nonfiction, including Capital and I.O.U.

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Deciphering The 'Priestly Mumbo-Jumbo' Of The Financial World

1:51pm October 05, 2014

by NPR Staff

If you're mystified by terms like "Libor," "stagflation" and "Grexit," you should pick up John Lanchester's new book, How To Speak Money, which aims to untangle the tortured language of finance.

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Jane Smiley's previous books includeÂ The Man Who Invented the Computer,Â Ten Days in the HillsÂ andÂ Private Life.

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For Her First Trilogy, Jane Smiley Returns To Iowa, 'Where The Roots Are'

1:51pm October 05, 2014

by Lynn Neary

Smiley used to live in Iowa and says something about the place still pulls on her imagination. Her new book, Some Luck, begins on a family farm in 1920.

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'Outpost': Stories Of Diplomacy In The World's Most Harrowing Places

1:51pm October 05, 2014

Former Ambassador Christopher Hill has written his memoir, Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks to Hill about his tenure as a diplomat in Iraq.

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Professor Laurence Steinberg, of Temple University, says adolescence should be conceived of as lasting from puberty to the early 20s.

Q&A: Plumbing The Mysteries Of The Teenage Brain

9:46pm October 04, 2014

by Anya Kamenetz

In Age of Opportunity, psychologist Larry Steinberg applies neuroscience to risk-taking, peer influence, the boredom of high school and other adolescent conundrums.

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One Military Family, Two Lost Sons: One To Combat, One To Suicide

8:51pm October 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

In The Invisible Front, journalist Yochi Dreazen tells the story of the Grahams, a close-knit family that lost two sons in the span of a year and then took up the fight against military suicide.

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Horror Of Horrors: Is H.P. Lovecraft's Legacy Tainted?

6:42pm October 04, 2014

by NPR Staff

Lovecraft, the author who famously invented Cthulhu, was also known for his highly racist opinions. This has created some controversy around the World Fantasy Award statue that bears his likeness.

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Behind The Sunglasses: The Lives Of Secret Service Agents

8:11pm October 03, 2014

by Ben Dolnick

This week, following a series of security lapses, the Secret Service director resigned. For a look at the agency beyond the scandal, author Ben Dolnick recommends the novel Big If by Mark Costello.

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