Books

Books
Arts

There's No Wrong Place To Start Reading Pratchett

4:15pm March 16, 2015

by Tasha Robinson

Terry Pratchett wrote so many books that it can be hard to know where to begin, especially with the lengthy Discworld series. Critic Tasha Robinson says there's really no wrong place to dive in.

Barney Frank's Journey From Closeted To An Openly Gay Member Of Congress

3:49pm March 16, 2015

In his new memoir, Frank describes how early in politics he feared people would "draw inferences" if he supported gay rights. But his drive to fight discrimination was stronger.

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Heavy smoke rises following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition aircraft in Kobani, Syria, during fighting between Syrian Kurds and the militants of the self-declared Islamic State in October 2014.

'State Of Terror': Where ISIS Came From And How To Fight It

12:34pm March 16, 2015

by NPR Staff

In their new book, terrorism experts Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger say that the "projection of strength" has led to the rapid expansion of the self-declared Islamic State.

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Arts

A Mystery 'Bullet' Reveals Long-Kept Family Secrets

11:03am March 15, 2015

The hero of Mary Louise Kelly's novel, The Bullet, discovers she has a bullet in her neck but doesn't know how it got there. Kelly tells NPR's Rachel Martin she was inspired by a true story.

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'Windows' That Transform The World: Jane Hirshfield On Poetry

9:23pm March 14, 2015

by NPR Staff

In a "window moment," the poet says, a work shifts and expands: "By glancing for a moment at something else, the field of the poem becomes larger. What's in the room with the poem is bigger."

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Murder City Earns Its Name In 'Blood Runs Green'

5:20pm March 14, 2015

by NPR Staff

Before Beulah Annan or Leopold and Loeb, another murder became a Chicago sensation. Scott Simon speaks with Gillian O'Brien, author of Blood Runs Green: The Murder that Transfixed Gilded Age Chicago.

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'Persona' Is A Dangerous Dance Of Diplomacy And Celebrity

7:03am March 14, 2015

by Amal El-Mohtar

Genevieve Valentine's new novel is set in a world where diplomats are the equivalent of Hollywood stars, glamorous Faces manipulated by behind-the-scenes handlers and stalked by eager paparazzi.

Cinderella and her fairy godmother in the 1950 Disney cartoon.

Books
Arts

A Girl, A Shoe, A Prince: The Endlessly Evolving Cinderella

11:47pm March 13, 2015

by Linda Holmes

We take a stroll through just a little of the cultural history of Cinderella, the shoe-wearing, prince-finding, stepmother-vexing heroine who's been around for hundreds of years — at least.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of March 12, 2015

5:03pm March 13, 2015

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of March 12, 2015

5:03pm March 13, 2015

Axl and Beatrice embark on a search for their long lost son in Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant. It debuts at No. 3.