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In Harper Lee's Return, First Chapter Swings From Homecoming To Heartbreak

3:19pm July 10, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

The opening chapter of Go Set A Watchman, Lee's first novel in 55 years, is out. Reactions ran from joy to shock — as readers coped with a plot twist and lingering doubts on the timing of its release.

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The Man Behind Wonder Woman Was Inspired By Both Suffragists And Centerfolds

3:09pm July 10, 2015

Wonder Woman's creator had a few secrets of his own. Historian Jill Lepore describes William Moulton Marstothe's unusual life in The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Originally broadcast Oct. 27, 2014.

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Daniel Silva On 'Double-Edged Sword' Of Writing An Israeli Spy Protagonist

2:09pm July 10, 2015

by NPR Staff

"Israel is extremely unpopular in the world right now," Silva says, and he doesn't always share his characters' opinions. The English Spy is Silva's 15th novel starring operative Gabriel Allon.

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Before distilleries used glass bottles, many of them offered liquor stores branded ceramic jugs that could be filled and sold to customers. This pair of George Dickel jugs was used around 1900. From The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum.

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From Medicine To Modern Revival: A History Of American Whiskey, In Labels

11:57am July 09, 2015

by Tove Danovich

During Prohibition, booze was banned, but "medicinal" spirits weren't, a loophole whiskey makers exploited. That's just one of the tidbits a new book tracing the history of whiskey labels reveals.

Namwali Serpell, this year's winner of the Caine Prize.

Caine Prize Winner: Literature Is Not A Competitive Sport

4:50pm July 08, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Namwali Serpell promised to split the award's winnings with her fellow nominees. For the Zambian writer, it's one step toward changing the structure of the prestigious prize for African authors.

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Examining The War On Mexican Drug Cartels, Through Film And Fiction

11:35am July 08, 2015

by John Powers

Two new works of art — the documentary film Cartel Land and the novel The Cartel — shine a light on the seemingly endless drug war in Mexico. John Powers says both works are bleak, but gripping.

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'Speak' Asks Hard Questions About Communication And Technology

10:03am July 08, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Louisa Hall's novel fits several wildly disparate storylines — a young Puritan girl, a disgraced inventor, a computer programmer — into an unforgettable meditation on what it means to be human.

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In 'The Love She Left Behind,' Mourning Is No Gimmick

7:03am July 08, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Amanda Coe's new novel about adult siblings forced to come together at their absentee mother's funeral is surprisingly free of melodrama.

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'Aurora' Journeys In A New Direction

3:08pm July 07, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Veteran sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson returns with a tale of that classic genre trope, the generation ship. Critic Alan Cheuse says this story of spacefaring colonists goes to unexpected places.

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'Unnoticeables' Is A Raunchy Ride Through Punk, Horror And Pop Culture

1:29pm July 07, 2015

by Jason Heller

Robert Brockway's day job is helping to run Cracked.com, and he brings that site's irreverent wit to this lightweight but satisfying tale of a waitress and a punk rocker battling eldritch horrors.