Books

Books

Donovan X. Ramsey's book is a 'people's history' of the cocaine epidemic

8:01am July 09, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to author Donovan X. Ramsey about his new book, "When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era." It tells the story of the crack cocaine epidemic.

Books

A new short story collection showcases the diversity of the Black Muslim experience

4:59pm July 08, 2023

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with author Aaliyah Bilal about her new book Temple Folk, which tells the stories of dozens of Black Muslims over the course of several decades.

New Bedford Public Library Director Olivia Melo on Friday points to a stamp dating to 1882 when the New Bedford library system acquired the book.

An overdue library book makes a return trip to the shelves — 119 years later

10:05am July 08, 2023

by The Associated Press

There are overdue library books. Then there's An Elementary Treatise on Electricity, which was last checked out in Massachusetts in 1904. It finally made it back after being spotted in West Virginia.

A woman holds a picture of Victoria Amelina, as pallbearers carry the writer's coffin at the end of her funeral ceremony in Mykhaylo Gold Domes in Kyiv on July 4, 2023.

Opinion: Remembering Ukrainian poet Victoria Amelina

8:29am July 08, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon remembers Ukrainian writer and poet Victoria Amelina, who was among those killed in a Russian strike at a pizza restaurant last month.

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Books

Caitlin Shetterly on her novel 'Pete and Alice in Maine'

7:53am July 08, 2023

by Scott Simon

The new novel "Pete and Alice in Maine" explores what happens to a strained marriage during the early days of the pandemic. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Caitlin Shetterly about it.

Books

Jake Tapper on his 1970s thriller 'All the Demons Are Here'

7:53am July 08, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks to CNN anchor and author Jake Tapper about his new thriller, "All the Demons Are Here." It's a story set in 1970s America.

Books
Arts

You don't need a grill to grill, advises award-winning cookbook author

4:29pm July 06, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

James Whetlor, author of The DIY BBQ Cookbook, explains how to reject BBQ maximalism and build your own tandoori oven out of flowerpots, and grill on the holes of cinderblocks.

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Books
Arts

A complex immigrant family story lies beneath the breezy veneer of 'Sunshine Nails'

3:22pm July 06, 2023

by Ilana Masad

Mai Nguyen's debut novel centers on the family of Tuyet and Xuan Tran, Vietnamese refugees who settle in Toronto. It simmers with questions about work, class and generational divides.

Arts
Books

The creator of luxury brand Brother Vellies is fighting for justice in fashion

11:05am July 06, 2023

Shoes and accessories designed by Aurora James sell for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. In Wildflower, James details how hard it was to get here and the imbalanced economics of high fashion.

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Books

Designer Aurora James aims to right a wrong by taking on exclusion in fashion

5:05am July 06, 2023

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with fashion designer Aurora James about her memoir Wildflower. In it, she details her winding path in the cut-throat world of high fashion.