Books

Books
Arts

'Escapology' Gets Weird Fast. And Did We Mention The Sharks?

1:35pm June 09, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Ren Warom's tale of AIs, genius hackers, corporate crime and the occasional sea creature uses familiar building blocks to create a wild, loud, corkscrewing story that builds to a bloody conclusion.

Books
Arts

'The Hatred Of Poetry' Feels Personal

7:00am June 09, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Novelist Ben Lerner takes on poetry in his new book, an academic dissection of the ways we love and hate that ancient art. But sometimes he seems like he's talking about his own thinly-veiled hatred.

Books

'Invention Of Russia' Chronicles The Fall Of The USSR To Today

5:04am June 09, 2016

Arkady Ostrovsky talks to Mary Louise Kelly about his new book, The Invention of Russia, which looks back on the 25 years from the fall of the Soviet Union to Putin's Russia today.

Books
Arts

'Infomocracy' Is A Sci-Fi Thriller With Election-Year Chills

4:15pm June 08, 2016

by Jason Heller

Malka Older's new book takes place at the end of the 21st century, in a future where the game of politics has become more streamlined — but infinitely more complex and terrifying.

They May Not Mean To But They Do by Cathleen Schine

Books
Arts

'They May Not Mean To' Is A Wry, Warm Look At The Indignities Of Aging

10:24am June 08, 2016

by Heller McAlpin

Cathleen Schine's new novel stars that literary rarity: a functional family. But matriarch Joy is struggling; her husband is ailing and her worried children don't like seeing their parents' decline.

In her new book, neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt tackles why traditional diets don't work for many people, and often leave the dieter worse off than before.

A Neuroscientist Tackles 'Why Diets Make Us Fat'

4:42pm June 07, 2016

by Jean Fain

Why don't traditional diets work for many people? Blame your brain, suggests Sandra Aamodt. Her new book delves into the science of why eating and weight have become such a sizable problem.

'The Fractured Republic' Explores How Nostalgia Led To Polarized Politics

4:41pm June 07, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Yuval Levin about his latest book, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America's Social Contract in the Age of Individualism. He argues both liberal and conservative Americans' nostalgia for the past has led to today's polarized national life.

Books
Arts

'Such A Magical Time': Harry Potter Fans Recall Growing Up Alongside Wizard

4:41pm June 07, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

A new play about Harry Potter, written by J.K. Rowling, begins previews this week with Harry as a grown up. Grown, too, is the "Potter Generation," the kids who were the first to read the books when they came out. Their experience — maturing alongside Harry — was unique.

Books
Arts

In 'Homegoing,' A Saga Of A Family United By Blood, Separated By Slavery

1:55pm June 07, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Yaa Gyasi's debut short story collection begins in 18th century Ghana, where the slave trade separates two half sisters. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Homegoing a strong work with versatile language.

Queue Listen Now

Revisiting The Tenure Of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, The 'Jewish Jefferson'

1:32pm June 07, 2016

One hundred years ago, Brandeis became the first Jewish justice on the Supreme Court. Author Jeffrey Rosen says that Brandeis was also the most far-seeing progressive justice of the 20th century.

Queue Listen Now