Books

Books

Nobel Literature Judge Disparages Western Writers - Again

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Lynn Neary

The Nobel Prize for literature is announced Thursday. This year, as the usual speculation about who might win heated up, a Nobel judge, known for his outspokenness, stirred up a little controversy.

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Books

French Novelist Patrick Modiano Wins Literature Nobel

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Lynn Neary

The Swedish Academy lauded Modiano "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation."

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The history of how the birth control pill was developed in the 1950s is recounted in Jonathan Eig's new book The Birth of the Pill.

The Great Bluff That Led To A 'Magical' Pill And A Sexual Revolution

4:20pm October 08, 2014

In the '50s, four people collaborated to create a pill so women could enjoy sex. They fibbed about their motivations and skirted the law. Jonathan Eig details the history in The Birth of the Pill.

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Dr. Albert Johnston passed in order to practice medicine. After living as leading citizens in Keene, N.H., the Johnstons revealed their true racial identity, and became national news.

'A Chosen Exile': Black People Passing In White America

2:24pm October 08, 2014

by Karen Grigsby Bates

From the time of slavery, some light-skinned African-Americans escaped racism by passing as white. The new book, A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life, explores what they lost.

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Books
Arts

In Cronenberg's 'Consumed,' An Appetite For Sex, Death And The Latest Gear

2:24pm October 08, 2014

by Jason Sheehan

Director David Cronenberg's debut novel is about two journalists chasing after sensational stories. This book is admirable in its unflinching gaze and beautiful in its depiction of a twisted reality.

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Marilynne Robinson won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel Gilead.

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Arts

In 'Lila,' A Nomad Finds Solace And Love In The Arms Of A Preacher

12:22pm October 08, 2014

by Lynn Neary

Marilynne Robinson's fourth novel is a prequel to 2004's Gilead: That book told the Rev. John Ames' family story and this book tells the story of his wife.

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Walter Isaacson is the CEO of the Aspen Institute and has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time magazine.

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Arts

How The Cold War And George Orwell Helped Make The Internet What It Is

11:42am October 08, 2014

In The Innovators, Walter Isaacson explains that Pentagon officials wanted a system the Russians couldn't attack, and 1984 made the public wary of new technology's Big Brother potential.

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Arts

'Florence Gordon' Isn't Friend Material, But You'll Appreciate Her

11:41am October 08, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Brian Morton's novel features a 75-year-old woman — an icon of the Second Wave Women's Movement — who's a self-described "difficult woman." It's a witty, nuanced and ultimately moving novel.

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American folk pop singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, seen in April 1965.

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Arts

Book News: Bob Dylan's Lyrics Get Their Own Book — And It's Massive

7:20am October 08, 2014

by Colin Dwyer

The 1,034-page collection sets out to annotate, illustrate and track the changes of Dylan's myriad songs. Also, after a decade on trial, Superman won't be reaching the Supreme Court.

Books
Arts

A Hairy, Sardonic Fable In 'The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil'

7:03am October 08, 2014

by Glen Weldon

Stephen Collins' debut graphic novel depicts a bland, comfortable, conformist world turned upside down by one man's sudden growth of a bristly, twisty, unstoppably anarchic beard.