Books

Brahma Kumaris fill Will Hodgkinson's suburban living room on a Saturday in 1982.

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Arts

How Bad Risotto Led To A House 'Full Of Yogis': A Critic's Childhood Story

11:14am May 30, 2015

by NPR Staff

When Will Hodgkinson was a kid, his father, a journalist, was hit with a bad case of food poisoning. Over the long recovery period, he rethought his life — and decided to join the Brahma Kumaris.

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Bringing Tales Of WWII To American Radios And Bookshelves

11:14am May 30, 2015

Bill Shirer brought stories of war in Europe into American homes. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Ken Cuthbertson about his new book, A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American Century.

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Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of May 28, 2015

4:03pm May 29, 2015

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of May 28, 2015

4:03pm May 29, 2015

In Seveneves, Neal Stephenson tells a story of nations banding together when a catastrophic event turns Earth into a ticking time bomb. It debuts at No. 3.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of May 28, 2015

4:03pm May 29, 2015

Joseph J. Ellis' The Quartet explores the period between the American Revolution and the formation of the federal government. It debuts at No. 14.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of May 28, 2015

4:03pm May 29, 2015

In Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng explores the fallout of the drowning death of a Chinese-American family's favorite daughter. It appears at No. 5.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of May 28, 2015

4:03pm May 29, 2015

At No. 15, Ben Macintyre's A Spy Among Friends tells the story of a British Cold War counterintelligence agent who was secretly working for the enemy.

In 2014, BookCon responded to the We Need Diverse Books campaign by inviting it to form its own panel. Pictured here (from left): I.W. Gregorio, Mike Jung, Matt de la Pena, Grace Lin and Jacqueline Woodson.

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Arts

A Year Later, #WeNeedDiverseBooks Has Left Its Mark On BookCon

3:10pm May 29, 2015

by Lynn Neary

The Twitter campaign was born out of the controversy around the lack of diverse voices in the event's panels. This year, one organizer says, the first panel they booked was with that campaign.

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As Publishing Industry Courts China, Authors Speak Out Against Censorship

8:58am May 29, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Chinese writers and publishers are being celebrated this week at BookExpo America — the industry's largest trade event in North America. Free speech advocates are supporting silenced Chinese writers.

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A return to Pussy Galore's golden days: Honor Blackman, who played the character on screen in Goldfinger, poses with the original Bond, Sean Connery.

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Arts

'Trigger Mortis': New Bond Novel Brings Back Pussy Galore

5:37pm May 28, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

For author Anthony Horowitz, the book is a return to the "true" James Bond. This means an unpublished scene from Ian Fleming himself — and a long-delayed reunion with a franchise favorite.