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In 'Holy Lands,' A Tale Of Family Drama And Pig Farming In Israel

7:04am January 19, 2019

by Scott Simon

The epistolary novel from author Amanda Sthers, newly available in English and now adapted into a feature film, is a story of reconciliation (and raising swine among Jews).

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'Mala Vida' Never Quite Gets Up To Speed

7:00am January 19, 2019

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Marc Fernandez' noir has fascinating elements — a crusading journalist, a trans detective, and the tragic real-life snatching of thousands of babies in Franco-era Spain — but ultimately falls flat.

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Memoirist Retraces Her Journey From Survivalist Childhood To Cambridge Ph.D.

1:24pm January 18, 2019

by Dave Davies

Growing up, Tara Westover had no birth certificate, never saw a doctor and didn't go to school. She writes about her transition into the mainstream in Educated. Originally broadcast Feb. 20, 2018.

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Poet Mary Oliver speaks at the 2010 Women's Conference in California.

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Beloved Poet Mary Oliver, Who Believed Poetry 'Mustn't Be Fancy,' Dies At 83

4:29pm January 17, 2019

by Lynn Neary

Oliver wasn't always appreciated by critics, but she was still one of the country's most popular poets. In 2012, she told NPR, "Poetry, to be understood, must be clear."

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How Ted Kennedy's '80 Challenge To President Carter 'Broke The Democratic Party'

1:31pm January 17, 2019

by Dave Davies

Journalist Jon Ward talks about the chaos that led Kennedy to challenge Carter for the Democratic nomination — and the long-lasting damage it did to the party. Ward's new book is Camelot's End.

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In Why We Fight, Josh Rosenblatt writes of his quest to gain greater self-knowledge through MMA fighting.

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In 'Why We Fight,' One Man Searches For Self-Knowledge Through Mixed Martial Arts

12:53pm January 17, 2019

by Nicholas Cannariato

Josh Rosenblatt's personal meditation on fighting and selfhood is replete with engaging literary and historical excursions — giving the idea of fighting a dignity it might be harder to grant without.

You Know You Want This, by Kristin Roupenian

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'You Know You Want This' Takes Risks On Every Level

10:00am January 17, 2019

by Lily Meyer

Kristin Roupenian went viral with her New Yorker short story "Cat Person." And that story is in her new collection, but she goes much further, with genre switches, shock endings, even a fairy tale.

Last Night in Nuuk, by Niviaq Korneliussen.

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Youthful Angst Is Fresh And Compelling In 'Last Night In Nuuk'

7:00am January 17, 2019

by Michael Schaub

Niviaq Korneliussen's new novel follows five people in Greenland's capital Nuuk; it's a heartbreaking yet hopeful look at young, queer life in one of the most isolated places in the world.

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Reyna Grande on Her Latest Memoir, 'A Dream Called Home'

5:01am January 17, 2019

Bestselling author, Reyna Grande, tells Maria Hinojosa about her latest memoir, "A Dream Called Home."

Marianne Power set out to live one year of her life according to the advice of self-help books. She tells the story in her new book Help Me!

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Arts

Feel The Fear — And Read It Anyway: 'Help Me!' Documents A Year Of Self-Help Books

5:48pm January 16, 2019

by Mary Louise Kelly

Marianne Power decided to read one self-help book a month, for a year — and follow the advice in each, to the letter. She says it became a much more intense undertaking than she'd anticipated.

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