Books

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with author Anne Heltzel about her gothic horror novel, "Just Like Mother," where a young woman reunites with her cousin after escaping a cult.

An old story about the undead is getting a new life, of sorts: Bram Stoker's blood-thirsty vampire has found fresh victims with "Dracula Daily," delivered in small — ahem — digestible chunks.

Scott Simon talks with Candice Millard about 19th century British exploration and her new book, "River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile."

Scott Simon talks to writer and director George Stevens Jr. about his life, growing up in Hollywood, and even Elizabeth Taylor, in his memoir, "My Place In The Sun."

In their latest works, Azar Nafisi, Elena Ferrante, and Anna Quindlen vigorously assert that reading and writing can pull us out of our mess. In their hands, reading and writing are worth celebrating.

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, but can it be useful? NPR's A Martinez talks to clinical psychologist and author Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, who calls anxiety a triumph of human evolution.

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa about their new book, His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice.

Author Scott Hershovitz sets out to prove that philosophy, like inquisitive, rowdy children, can offer illuminating insights — even when addressing complex subjects related to misbehavior.

Hernan Diaz's novel is constantly pulling a fast one on the reader. It opens with the saga of a Wall Street tycoon, but soon another narrative comes to upend the truth of everything that came before.

Obama's attorney general says that when it comes to voting rights, the Supreme Court has increasingly become "an impediment to justice." Holder's new book is Our Unfinished March.

Novelist Ann Hood, whose Fly Girl paints a picture of her time as a flight attendant, was a beneficiary of the fight by the women profiled in Nell McShane Wulfhart's book to be treated professionally.

Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, has issued a forceful response to criticisms of the decision to hire a person of color, Leah Jeffries, to play Annabeth Chase on TV.