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'Balm' Looks At Civil War After The Battles, Outside The South

1:22pm June 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

In her new novel, Dolen Perkins-Valdez wanted to look beyond the traditional frame for Civil War stories. Her book is set in Chicago and opens as the nation is struggling to heal.

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In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume photo from multimedia

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A New Judy Blume Novel For Adults Is Always An 'Event'

10:10am June 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

In the Unlikely Event is beloved YA author Judy Blume's first novel for adults in 17 years — it's centered on a series of plane crashes that really happened in her home town in the early 1950s.

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In Debut Novel, Air Force Officer Questions How We Honor Our Veterans

6:21pm June 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

Jesse Goolsby, author of I'd Walk with My Friends If I Could Find Them, says it's not only a question of appreciation. "We just want a conversation about what our country asks of us," Goolsby says.

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Dante Guides A Husband Through Grief 'In A Dark Wood'

12:35pm June 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

Joseph Luzzi used Dante's epic poem "The Divine Comedy" to get him through the grief of his wife's sudden death. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Luzzi.

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Deep Connections Link The Stories In 'Louisa Meets Bear'

12:35pm June 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Lisa Gornick about her new collection of short stories, Louisa Meets Bear. The stories chart the way small decisions can ripple through seemingly unconnected lives.

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Biker Bars And Holy Rollers Smolder In 'Freedom's Child'

12:44pm June 06, 2015

by NPR Staff

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Jax Miller about her debut thriller, Freedom's Child. Miller found inspiration for the title character in her own battle with drug addiction.

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In 'History,' Money Makes The World Go 'Round

7:03am June 06, 2015

by Juan Vidal

Argentinian novelist Alan Pauls' latest kicks off as so many good stories do: With a dead body and a disappearing briefcase full of cash. Critic Juan Vidal calls Pauls a "master builder" of fiction.

The cover of The League Of Regrettable Superheroes.

Books
Arts

Floating Eyeballs, Trained Bees: History's Most Cringeworthy Crusaders

4:47pm June 05, 2015

by Glen Weldon

The new book The League Of Regrettable Superheroes lovingly recounts the deeply goofy world of weird crusaders that popped up and, just as quickly, disappeared.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of June 4, 2015

4:03pm June 05, 2015

The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of June 4, 2015

4:03pm June 05, 2015

Make Something Up, a compilation of 21 stories and one novella by Chuck Palahniuk, debuts at No. 12.