Books

'Picturing Children' Documents African-American Childhoods

5:01pm July 30, 2016

The National Museum of African American History and Culture's founding director Lonnie Bunch talks about a new book that features photos from the museum's collection. The museum opens in September.

Russian Hacking, Spies, Wikileaks: "Breaking Cover" Has A Lot In Common With The Week In Politics

9:19am July 30, 2016

Former M15 boss Dame Stella Rimington talks with Scott Simon about her new book, and her previous career in espionage.

Books
Arts

Dentist Protagonists In Literature

9:19am July 30, 2016

Last week on the show author Dave Eggers and Scott Simon agreed that they couldn't think of any protagonists in fiction who are dentists. This week we have a correction, and literary dentist readings.

Books
Arts

'I'm Supposed To Protect You From All This' Is Memoir Fraught With Mystery

8:44am July 30, 2016

by NPR Staff

Nadja Spiegelman — daughter of graphic novelist Art Spiegelman and New Yorker art editor Françoise Mouly — has written a memoir about her mother, her grandmother, and their flawed family memories.

Books
Arts

'Meat Cake Bible' Is Packed With Frills, Chills And ... Pez?

7:00am July 30, 2016

by Etelka Lehoczky

Graphic artist, fortuneteller, musician and mischief maker Dame Darcy published the comic Meat Cake from 1993 to 2008. This new compilation is packed full of all the things that obsessed her.

Lots of colleges have these reading programs; some are just for freshmen, and for others, the entire campus or local community joins in. The idea is that books will stir discussion — and unite a class or campus around a topic.

What College Freshmen Are Reading

6:31am July 30, 2016

by Elissa Nadworny

Book programs for freshmen — or a whole campus or community — are meant to spark discussion and unity. This year's picks at nine U.S. schools range from memoirs to political advice from 64 B.C.

Books
Arts

Indie Bookseller Recommends 3 Vacation Reads

4:53pm July 29, 2016

Nina Barrett, owner of Bookends and Beginnings in Evanston, Ill., recommends The Royal We by Heather Cox and Jessica Morgan, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld and The Violet Hour by Katie Roiphe.

Author Walter Mosley with his father, Leroy Mosley.

'Easy' Writer: Walter Mosley's Passion For Bringing Black LA Stories To Life

4:50pm July 29, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

In Charcoal Joe, Mosley brings his iconic private eye Easy Rawlins into the haze of the late '60s, extending a literary odyssey through the transformation of black Los Angeles.

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Remembering Tim LaHaye, Co-Author Of The Apocalyptic 'Left Behind' Series

1:51pm July 29, 2016

LaHaye, who died earlier this week, was a fundamentalist Christian and a longtime leader of the religious right. His Left Behind books sold more than 50 million copies. He spoke to Fresh Air in 2002.

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Books
Arts

Not A Feminist? Caitlin Moran Asks, Why Not?

1:51pm July 29, 2016

Moran says that most women who don't want to be called feminists don't understand the term. She writes about high heels, housework and abortion in How to Be a Woman. Originally broadcast Aug. 1, 2012.

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