Books

King Charles I was sentenced to death on Jan. 27, 1649, and executed three days later.

Books
Arts

King, Tyrant, Beheaded Traitor: The Many Trials Of Charles I

10:10am February 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

The British monarch ruled at a time of civil war — and was blamed for much of the bloodshed. In Killers of the King, Charles Spencer tells the story of the men who signed the king's death warrant.

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Arts

'Find Me' Gets Lost Along The Way

10:03am February 17, 2015

by Jason Heller

Reviewer Jason Heller says Laura Van Den Berg's first novel has a stellar setup — mysterious young woman, post-disease-apocalypse — but drifts listlessly, never quite living up to its premise.

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Arts

Black Slugs And 'Black Holes,' An Artful Portrait Of Depression

7:03am February 17, 2015

by Tasha Robinson

Jasmine Warga's debut young adult novel My Heart and Other Black Holes follows two teens who make a suicide pact, in a carefully layered character study that sometimes stumbles on the details.

Books
Arts

Philip Levine Reads 'What Work Is'

7:35pm February 16, 2015

Former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Philip Levine died on Saturday at the age of 87. In Levine's memory, we air his reading of the poem "What Work Is."

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Book Review: 'The Evening Chorus'

7:35pm February 16, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Alan Cheuse reviews The Evening Chorus by Helen Humphries.

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Ten Hearts For The Country — And Language — Of 'Ice Cream Star'

8:25am February 16, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Reviewer Jason Sheehan says Sandra Newman's debut novel may start some arguments — but readers would be better off just sitting down, opening the book and letting the beauty of her language sink in.

Philip Levine, Who Found Poetry On Detroit's Assembly Lines, Dies At 87

8:13am February 16, 2015

by Tom Vitale

In his six-decade career, Levine found grace and beauty in the lives of working people, especially the people and places of his youth. He was a United States poet laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner.

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Marco Rubio's second book is titled American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone.

God, Grits And American Dreams: It's Presidential Candidate Book Season

8:09am February 16, 2015

by Brian Naylor

The Iowa caucuses are a year away, which means it's time for presidential campaign books. Marco Rubio was in Iowa on Friday to hawk his new work.

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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt drinks a glass of wine at a fundraising dinner in 1938. FDR fancied himself quite the skilled mixologist; many of his colleagues disagreed.

'Party Like A President' Recalls Mixology, Mischief Inside Oval Office

7:57am February 16, 2015

by Samantha Raphelson

In his new book, author Brian Abrams chronicles the drinking habits and debauchery of former presidents.

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Books
Arts

'The Room' Offers An Escape From The Office — Or Does It?

12:49pm February 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Swedish actor and playwright Jonas Karlsson ventures into fiction with The Room, a surreal tale of a dour bureaucrat who finds a tiny secret room at his workplace, a room which may or may not be real.

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