Books

Books
Arts

'City Of Clowns' Is A Dreamlike Tale Of Family And Tragedy

10:15am November 04, 2015

by Jason Heller

Author Daniel Alarcón's new graphic novel is adapted from a short story about a young Peruvian journalist who discovers strange links between his father and the impoverished street clowns of Lima.

Music Destroys And Music Heals In 'Modern Girl'

7:03am November 04, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Riot grrrl legend Carrie Brownstein's excellent new memoir takes readers from her difficult childhood to the rise and fall (and rise again) of her band Sleater-Kinney, which she says saved her life.

Sports
Books

In 'I Feel Like Going On,' Ray Lewis Doesn't Apologize For Hard Hits

6:33am November 04, 2015

Former Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Lewis has written a book called, I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game, and Glory. David Greene talks to him about the physical aspect of football.

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Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)

5 Best-Selling Female Writers You May Not Have Heard Of

9:14pm November 03, 2015

by Linton Weeks

Many extremely popular writers of the 19th century are now pretty much forgotten — and gone with the wind.

From a scapegoat for the "sapping" of the "white race," to a symbol of modern engineering, to a target of the counterculture movement: White bread's been a social lightning rod time and again.

Books
Arts

The History Of American White Bread Is Anything But Bland

3:33pm November 03, 2015

by Ted Burnham

From a scapegoat for the "sapping" of the "white race," to a symbol of modern engineering, to a target of the counterculture movement: White bread's been a social lightning rod time and again.

Tracey Stewart poses with Tweed and Gidget at Farm Sanctuary's Watkins Glen, N.Y., location. Stewart is the founder of the online magazine, Moomah.

Books
Arts

For Tracey Stewart, Life After The 'Daily Show' Is All About The Animals

3:29pm November 03, 2015

When they ran out of room for rescue animals in their home, Tracey Stewart and her husband, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart, bought a farm. Her new book is Do Unto Animals.

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Cover image of Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise.

Books
Arts

'Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise' Educates But Doesn't Entertain Its Readers

1:55pm November 03, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Oscar Hijuelos' posthumously published novel chronicles the friendship between Mark Twain and explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Maureen Corrigan says the book lacks the magic of Hijuelos' best work.

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Author John Irving says his new book was inspired by photos of young circus performers in India and Mexico.

Books
Arts

John Irving Always Knows Where He's Going

12:43pm November 03, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Irving's latest novel is Avenue of Mysteries. He tells NPR's Lynn Neary that he thinks about each book for a long time — and he doesn't start writing until he knows what the ending will be.

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Stephen Park in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of East of Eden.

Stephen Park On Playing A Code-Switching Character In Steinbeck's 'East Of Eden'

10:47am November 03, 2015

by Amy Yee

Park plays Lee, a Chinese servant with an interesting approach to getting by in America, in a new theatrical adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic.

Books
Arts

'White Road' Maps The History Of Porcelain

10:03am November 03, 2015

by Jean Zimmerman

While readers may not share Edmund de Waal's obsession with the precious clay (at one point, he crafts an exhibition of 2,455 white-glazed porcelain vessels), his writing makes the subject seductive.