Books

Books
Arts

A Fire Sparks Rivalry And Suspicion In 'The Art Of Secrets'

11:30am April 26, 2014

The Art of Secrets is the young-adult story of an investigation centered on a suspected hate crime in Chicago. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the book's author, high school librarian James Klise.

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Justice Stevens: Six Little Ways To Change The Constitution

11:30am April 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

In a new book, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says we should rewrite the Second Amendment, abolish the death penalty and restrict political campaign spending.

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A Biography Of Your Cubicle: How This Became The Modern Workplace

11:33am April 25, 2014

by Rosecrans Baldwin

The office has long been seen as a symbol of boredom: It's a killer of spirits, a destroyer of spontaneity. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says a new book brings out its entertaining side.

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Richard Blanco reads his poem "One Today" during President Obama's second inaugural, on Jan. 21.

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Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco: 'I Finally Felt Like I Was Home'

2:40pm April 24, 2014

Blanco, who read his poem "One Today" at Obama's second inauguration, is the first immigrant, Latino and openly gay poet chosen to read at an inauguration.

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In her new book, Forcing the Spring, investigative reporter Jo Becker goes behind the scenes in the fight for marriage equality. Above, Eric Breese of Rochester, N.Y., joins hundreds of others to rally outside the Supreme Court during oral arguments in a

'Forcing The Spring' Tells One Chapter In Story Of Marriage Equality

2:42pm April 23, 2014

The strategy of going to the Supreme Court to challenge Proposition 8 was controversial within the gay-rights movement. Now, Jo Becker's new book is proving to be controversial as well.

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detail from cover of ballad of a small player

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Arts

The Tawdry Ballad Of A Man, A Casino And A Game Of Chance

7:26pm April 21, 2014

by Tash Aw

The Ballad of a Small Player is set in the murky underworld of Macau's casinos. Reviewer Tash Aw calls the novel a masterful and thrilling collision of old Asia and 21st century glamour.

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Writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize in 1982, died Thursday at 87.

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A Love Letter To Literature: Reading Gabo In 'The Paris Review'

7:13pm April 18, 2014

by Gustavo Arellano

Gabriel Garcia Marquez died Thursday. It would be hard to overstate the importance of his novels, but author Gustavo Arellano recommends getting to know him in a different medium.

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Colombia Mourns Death Of Favorite Son: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

11:10am April 18, 2014

by Juan Forero

Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, died on Thursday. He made Colombia synonymous with literature, particularly the dreamlike, whimsical story-telling known as magical realism.

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Admirers ask Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- seated alongside his wife, Mercedes Barcha -- to sign books in Santa Marta, Colombia, in 2007.

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Writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Who Gave Voice To Latin America, Dies

8:06pm April 17, 2014

by Mandalit del Barco

The master of magic realism was the region's best-known writer. His novels were filled with miraculous events and characters; love and madness; wars, dreams and death. He died Thursday at 87.

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'Bintel Brief' And 'Hellfighters': American Stories, Powerfully Illustrated

4:57pm April 17, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two graphic novels — one about a Yiddish advice column in the early 1900s and another about a regiment of African-American soldiers who fought during World War I.

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