Books

Books
Arts

Light And Dark, Characters Shine In 'Blanca & Roja'

7:00am October 10, 2018

by Caitlyn Paxson

Anna-Marie McLemore braids old bits of myth about swans and cursed sisters into a new, more inward-looking story that lets readers see just how hard it is to be a character in a fairy tale.

Books

Children's Picture Book 'Quiet' Celebrates Enjoying The Moment

6:55am October 10, 2018

Rachel Martin talks to Tomie dePaola about his new children's book, Quiet. He lives in the countryside and while dining at a local restaurant, he was particularly struck by a family he noticed there.

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Books

Stephen Carter's Book Tells How His Grandmother Helped Convict A Mob Boss

6:10am October 10, 2018

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talks to Stephen Carter about his book Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster.

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New Collection Showcases Leonard Cohen Was 'Preoccupied With Brokenness'

10:20am October 09, 2018

by Terry Gross

Musician and writer Leonard Cohen died in 2016, leaving behind many unpublished poems and lyrics. His son Adam Cohen discusses The Flame, a collection of some of Leonard's final works.

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'Presidents Of War' Sounds The Alarm About Presidential Power

10:00am October 09, 2018

by Terri Bimes

In his new book, Michael Beschloss focuses on the lead up to war. But a more pressing danger and indictment of presidential power may be the interventions not authorized by Congress.

Books

'Words We Don't Say' Still Hit Hard

7:00am October 09, 2018

by Alethea Kontis

K.J. Reilly creates an indelible character in 17-year-old Joel Higgins, with his phone full of unsent text messages to his crush, his principal and his dead friend, and his profane, vulnerable voice.

Books

How A 19th Century Chemist Took On The Food Industry With A Grisly Experiment

5:35pm October 08, 2018

by Ari Shapiro

Deborah Blum's book, The Poison Squad, tells how Harvey Washington Wiley and his band of chemists crusaded to remove toxins, such as arsenic and borax, from food. How? By testing them on volunteers.

Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa

Books
Arts

'Once And Forever' Turns Familiar Fairy-Tale Ideas Upside Down

10:00am October 08, 2018

by Genevieve Valentine

Kenji Miyazawa is a beloved author in Japan; this book — a reissue of a 1993 story collection — balances chaos and kindness, natural and supernatural to build a world in which anything might happen.

A semi-desert steppe after a storm, between Trelew and Las Chapas, Patagonia, Argentina.

'False Calm' Acts As A Record Of Real Life In Patagonia

7:01am October 08, 2018

by lily meyer

Argentine writer María Sonia Cristoff wants to be honest: She won't shape her subjects' narratives or take control another person's story. This is both the book's great strength and great weakness.

Books
Arts

'Our Fathers Were Like Ghosts:' Questions For Juan Vidal, Author Of 'Rap Dad'

7:00am October 08, 2018

by Petra Mayer

Writer, critic and musician Juan Vidal grew up largely fatherless, falling in and out of trouble — but he found fellowship, poetry, and eventually guidance in the words of his favorite rappers.