Books

The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Books
Arts

Art Attack! The 'Plain Janes' Deliver A Shot Of Creative Optimism

7:00am January 12, 2020

by Etelka Lehoczky

Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg's beloved young adult comic returns with a collection of old and new stories — and this time, our art-loving heroines are a little more grown up.

Books

Author Meng Jin On 'Little Gods'

8:26am January 11, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Meng Jin about her debut novel Little Gods, about a 17-year-old whose journey to China reveals the life of her mother, a former physicist who died in America.

Books
Arts

Living An Everyday Life Amidst The Disruptors In 'Uncanny Valley'

8:26am January 11, 2020

by Scott Simon

Anna Wiener's new memoir chronicles the time she spent working in Silicon Valley tech startups. She says industry narratives tend to be about genius and innovation — not ordinary employees.

Books
Arts

Brash, Bizarre 'Oligarchy' Is An Unflinching Look At Troubled Young Women

7:00am January 11, 2020

by Michael Schaub

Scarlett Thomas' novel, set among wealthy girls at a British boarding school, is an audacious examination of disordered eating and social competition that turns dark when one of the girls drowns.

"I think we've been tricked into believing that we have to constantly consume, and I think challenging the way we consume is important," Noname says.

On Jan. 11, Rapper Noname Wants You To Register For A Library Card

3:53pm January 10, 2020

The independent artist started a book club with the intention of promoting works by authors of color; now she's encouraging community engagement, too.

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Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif says copies of the Urdu translation of his irreverent novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, were seized from his publisher's office this week. The book was published in English in 2008 to wide international acclaim and was tr

Pakistani Author Comes Under Fire For Satirical Novel After Urdu Edition Is Published

10:43am January 10, 2020

Copies of a new Urdu edition of Mohammed Hanif's 2008 novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, were seized Monday. Rights groups say it's another sign that freedom of expression is threatened in Pakistan.

Books

Romance Writers Of America Leadership Resigns

4:36pm January 09, 2020

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The president and executive director of Romance Writers of America stepped down Thursday. The powerful trade organization has been roiled by weeks of controversy over treatment of writers of color.

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Books
Arts

'Creatures' Examines The Heartbreak Of Being Human

10:00am January 09, 2020

by Michael Schaub

Crissy Van Meter's debut novel is so assured, it's hard to believe it's a debut. It's the story of a young woman dealing with her mother and her difficult family history on the eve of her wedding.

Books
Arts

'The Gimmicks' Has Heart, But A Few Too Many Gimmicks

7:00am January 09, 2020

by Lily Meyer

Chris McCormick's new novel layers the glitz and artifice of pro wrestling over a wrenching tale of two Armenian cousins whose involvement with a militant Armenian liberation group goes badly awry.

President Trump delivers remarks at the beginning of a 2017 meeting with his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Andrea Bernstein's new book, American Oligarchs, argues that both the Trump and Kushner families have benefited from the intersectio

'American Oligarchs' Reveals How Trump, Kushner Families Learned To Work The System

6:44pm January 08, 2020

by Terry Gross

Author Andrea Bernstein says Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have benefited from family connections — and the influence of money in politics.

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