Books

Books
Arts

For One Essayist, 'The Unspeakable' Isn't Off-Limits

10:20pm November 16, 2014

by NPR Staff

Meghan Daum's new collection looks at life in that awkward stage of adulthood that comes before you'd call yourself middle-aged. "Are we in the twilight of youth?" she asks. "That sounds not good."

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During a 1938 vacation to his hometown, Glenn Kurtz's grandfather filmed the townspeople of Nasielsk, a Jewish community in Poland, just before World War II.

Books
Arts

Family Film Offers Glimpse Of 'Three Minutes In Poland' Before Holocaust

12:25pm November 16, 2014

by NPR Staff

In 1938, Glenn Kurtz's grandfather went on vacation and filmed a few minutes of footage of his Polish hometown. Seventy years later, his grandson set out to find the people who appeared in that film.

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Arts

The King Of Housewives Dishes Pop Culture's Delightful Dirt

12:25pm November 16, 2014

Pop culture juggernaut Andy Cohen has written a new memoir, The Andy Cohen Diaries. He speaks to NPR's Rachel Martin about why celebrity fascinates him and how he went from journalism to reality TV.

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Books
Arts

Back To The Future — The Grim, Grimy, Chrome-Coated Future

7:03am November 16, 2014

by Jason Sheehan

Richard Kadrey's first novel, the cyberpunk cult classic Metrophage, has been reissued. Critic Jason Sheehan calls this tale of dystopian L.A. "a time capsule from the chrome-and-neon literary past."

Books
Arts

Shriver Finds Wisdom Among The Intellectually Disabled

10:21am November 15, 2014

Timothy Shriver's new memoir is a look at the inspirational people he met as chairman of the Special Olympics. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Shriver about his book, Fully Alive.

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Books
Arts

Spend Some Time 'Loitering,' And Feel Less Alone

7:03am November 15, 2014

by Annalisa Quinn

Charles D'Ambrosio's new essay collection wanders through topics journalistic and personal; reviewer Annalisa Quinn says it delivers a primal pleasure of reading: the feeling of being understood.

After Catalonia's Independence Vote, An 'Homage' To George Orwell

8:26pm November 14, 2014

by Rowan Ricardo Phillips

This week Spain's northeast region voted in favor of independence. But the results weren't recognized by the Spanish government. The situation reminds poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips of a favorite book.

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Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of November 13, 2014

6:03pm November 14, 2014

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of November 13, 2014

6:03pm November 14, 2014

In the latest installment of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series, a case reopens when a victim dies nine years after a shooting. The Burning Room debuts at No. 2.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of November 13, 2014

6:03pm November 14, 2014

Food Network host Ina Garten shares culinary tips in her newest cookbook Make It Ahead. It appears at No. 4.