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'I Ate A Lot Of Apples': Tracy Chevalier On Writing Her 'Orchard' Novel

9:30am March 12, 2016

by NPR Staff

The author's latest book, At the Edge of the Orchard, follows a pioneer family growing apple trees in Ohio. Chevalier says she got the idea after hearing the real story of Johnny Appleseed.

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Bravery Among The Ruins In 'Noonday'

7:00am March 12, 2016

by Jean Zimmerman

Pat Barker's latest novel completes the trilogy she began with Life Class. Her first foray into the World War II era is rich with evocative language, though it occasionally verges on soap opera.

Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Isaac Newton, Gandhi, Pythagoras, Balzac, Marie Curie — scanning history's greatest minds, we find many were inspired by certain food or drink, repulsed by others, or had some very peculiar dining habits.

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Gastronomy Of Genius: History's Great Minds And The Foods That Fueled Them

8:14pm March 11, 2016

by Eric Weiner

From Pythagoras to Balzac, Darwin to Marie Curie, many a genius was inspired by certain edibles, repulsed by others — or had some very peculiar dining habits.

Bartender Sunny Balzano (left) transformed a longshoremen's bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn into a local institution. He's pictured above with Tim Sultan, who recounts Balzano's story in Sunny's Nights.

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Longtime Brooklyn Bartender Who Inspired 'Sunny's Nights' Has Died

5:39pm March 11, 2016

by Joel Rose

Sunny Balzano was the genial and eccentric proprietor of a beloved bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He died Thursday at 81, just weeks after the publication of a new book about his life and times.

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Remembering 'Great Santini' Author Pat Conroy

1:28pm March 11, 2016

Conroy, who died last week, was the author of several books, two of which — The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides — were made into feature films. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1987, 1995 and 2002.

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Tales Of Sex, Corruption And 'Peacekeeping' In A Fictional Haiti

7:00am March 11, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

Mischa Berlinski's novel is about a failed Florida policeman trying to make a new life in Haiti. Critic Jason Sheehan says the book explores "the gray middles of everything."

Publishing Heavyweights Petition White House, Congress To End Cuba Book Embargo

8:24pm March 10, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The petition, which comes just before President Obama's historic visit to the island nation, says the embargo is "harmful to book culture" and "counter to American ideals of free expression."

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Wild Energy Flows Free In A Feminist Comics Anthology

10:32am March 10, 2016

by Etelka Lehoczky

The Complete Wimmen's Comix collects two decades of the groundbreaking all-women series. Critic Etelka Lehoczky calls it a "frenetic, anarchic, occasionally kamikaze production."

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'Bullies', A Story Of Friendship, Booze And Brawls In An Oakland Biker Bar

1:30pm March 09, 2016

Alex Abramovich was in his 30s when he looked up a guy who had bullied him in grade school. In his new memoir, Abramovich writes about reconnecting with Trevor, now the head of a motorcycle club.

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'What Is Not Yours' Is Flawless

9:41am March 09, 2016

by Michael Schaub

Helen Oyeyemi's new story collection has all the sly humor, gorgeous writing and magical characterization as her novels. Critic Michael Schaub calls it a dreamy, spellbinding masterpiece.