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In Winter, Keeping Warm With Beloved Books

9:36am January 26, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Critic Juan Vidal says winter is a time for turning inward and warding off the chill with your favorite books, the ones you return to over and over again when the days get shorter and snow closes in.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a Republican presidential hopeful in the 2008 election. He writes that he wants his book God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy to introduce Americans to life in "flyover country."

Huckabee Serves Up 'God, Guns' And A Dose Of Controversy

10:41pm January 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee sees America as divided into "Bubble-ville" and "Bubba-ville," a cultural split he describes in his new book, Gods, Guns, Grits, and Gravy.

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'Driving The King' A Story Long In The Works

7:15pm January 24, 2015

Driving The King is a fictionalized account of the adventures of Nat King Cole and his bodyguard driver. Author Ravi Howard says the idea was planted long ago.

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'The Galaxy Game' Is Rich And Strong As A Shot Of Rum

4:24pm January 23, 2015

by Amal El-Mohtar

Karen Lord's new The Galaxy Game picks up where her previous novel, The Best of All Possible Worlds, left off — in a complicated galactic civilization trying to come to terms with a genocide.

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Arts

'Golden Son' Is Space Opera That Doesn't Forget The Opera

4:23pm January 23, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Pierce Brown's followup to last year's Romans-in-space epic Red Rising is bigger, louder, and bloodier than its predecessor. Reviewer Jason Sheehan says it isn't perfect — but it is hard to put down.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of January 22, 2015

4:03pm January 23, 2015

After obsessively observing a "perfect couple" every day on her commute, Rachel Watson sees something dark that forces her to get involved. Paula Hawkin's The Girl on the Train debuts at No. 2.

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In The World's 'Sixth Extinction,' Are Humans The Asteroid?

1:25pm January 23, 2015

Scientists think an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. In today's extinction, humans are the culprit. Originally broadcast Feb. 12, 2014.

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Franklin Foer recently wrote a cover story for The New Republic titled, "Amazon Must Be Stopped." He argued against Amazon at the latest Intelligence Squared U.S. debate — and won.

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Debate: Is Amazon The Reader's Friend?

4:01pm January 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

Two teams of editors and writers, including best-selling author Scott Turow, face off over Amazon's influence over the publishing industry, in the latest debate from Intelligence Squared U.S.

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Arts

Delicious Short Stories, Ripe On The Vine In 'Honeydew'

2:06pm January 22, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Reviewer Alan Cheuse has rapturous praise for Edith Pearlman's new story collection: "The first thing I wanted to do after finishing was, well, I wanted to go right back and start from the beginning."

Author Scott Blackwood based See How Small on a real incident, a multiple murder at an Austin, Texas, frozen yogurt shop in 1991.

Books
Arts

The Vastness Of Violent Loss In 'See How Small'

1:57pm January 22, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Scott Blackwood's new novel, based on a real murder case, follows a community rocked by the slaying of three teenage girls. Reviewer Michael Schaub calls it "brutal, necessary and near perfect."