Books

Books
Arts

Classic Literature Meets Modern Teen Drama In 'By The Book'

7:00am May 16, 2020

by Alethea Kontis

In Amanda Sellet's charming young adult romance, a teenage bookworm transfers to the local public high school and discovers that the literary classics she lives by aren't quite a match for real life.

What The 1918 Flu Pandemic Can Tell Us About The COVID-19 Crisis

2:06pm May 14, 2020

by Terry Gross

John Barry, author of the 2004 book, The Great Influenza, draws parallels between today's pandemic and the flu of 1918. In both cases, he says, "the outbreak was trivialized for a long time."

Queue Listen Now

Remembering Ian Whitcomb, An Eccentric Singer-Songwriter Who Became An Author

1:45pm May 14, 2020

by Terry Gross

Whitcomb, who died April 19, had the 1965 novelty hit, "You Turn Me On," but soon after devoted himself to writing books about early American popular music. Originally broadcast in 1988.

Queue Listen Now

Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, by Fang Fang

'Wuhan Diary' Brings Account Of China's Coronavirus Outbreak To English Speakers

12:01am May 14, 2020

by Emily Feng

Before COVID-19 engulfed the Chinese city of Wuhan, Fang Fang was already an award-winning novelist. But her chronicle of the lockdown of her hometown might be her most lasting work.

Doctor With Rare Disease And No Answers Decides To Find His Own Cure

2:02pm May 13, 2020

by Dave Davies

David Fajgenbaum was diagnosed with Castleman disease as a medical student. In Chasing My Cure, he recounts crowd-sourcing his own treatment with a global network of doctors, scientists and patients.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Here We Are': What Would Philip Roth Have Made Of All This?

2:02pm May 13, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

Benjamin Taylor, one of Roth's closest friends during the last decades of his life, has written a memoir that rekindles Roth's voice: brilliant, profane, and so very funny.

Queue Listen Now

Olivia Laing, author of Funny Weather, at the Barbican in London in February.

Books
Arts

'Funny Weather' Asks What Art Can Do In A Crisis

4:59am May 13, 2020

by Annalisa Quinn

At her best, Olivia Laing turns criticism into an elevated form of hospitality: Like a good party host, she introduces you to someone, tells you what she likes about them, then leaves you to it.

Books

Writer Thomas Pierce Suggests A Book To Read During The Pandemic

4:59pm May 12, 2020

American author Thomas Pierce shares how the coronavirus crisis has affected his writing and what he has been reading during the pandemic.

Queue Listen Now

Michael Arceneaux's previous book, I Can't Date Jesus, centered on his experiences growing up black, gay and Catholic in Texas.

Books
Arts

Saddled With Student Loans, Bestselling Author Worries, 'I Don't Want To Die Poor'

2:08pm May 12, 2020

by Terry Gross

Michael Arceneaux graduated from Howard University in 2007 with more than $100,000 of private student loan debt. He reflects on how that debt has shaped his life in a new book of essays.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

For May, 3 Romantic Getaways — To Normalcy

7:00am May 12, 2020

by Maya Rodale

As the lockdown stretches on, we bring you three books that offer an escape to a time when people could gather — and fall in love — in a shop, at a book club, or even in an office.