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Books
Arts

Will 'The Familiar' Kill The Novel? No, But It Comes Close

5:43am May 16, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Mark Z. Danielewski's epic 800-page tale of a girl and a cat wants to be the stepping stone to a new understanding of the novel — but critic Jason Sheehan says it's undone by too many parentheses.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of May 14, 2015

4:03pm May 15, 2015

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

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of May 14, 2015

4:03pm May 15, 2015

A birthday party is interrupted by a gruesome, public killing in James Patterson's 14th Deadly Sin. It debuts at No. 9.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of May 14, 2015

4:03pm May 15, 2015

Willie Nelson looks back on his life and career in It's a Long Story, which debuts at No. 11.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of May 14, 2015

4:03pm May 15, 2015

In The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd traces three decades in the lives of a slave and her reluctant owner. It appears at No. 3.

Books

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of May 14, 2015

4:03pm May 15, 2015

At No. 6, Cat Warren's What the Dog Knows looks at the abilities of working canines.

'Pope And Mussolini' Tells The 'Secret History' Of Fascism And The Church

9:49pm May 14, 2015

Historian David Kertzer says the Catholic Church lent strength and legitimacy to Mussolini's fascist regime. Kertzer recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his book. Originally broadcast Jan. 25, 2014.

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Arts

'Black Snow' Is A Lyrical Landscape Of Hope And Menace

1:31pm May 14, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Former Dublin newsman Paul Lynch's new novel follows an Irish farmer in 1945, struggling against adversity. Critic Alan Cheuse says Lynch's prose is so gorgeous, it makes him want to give up writing.

The Millionaire and the Bard promo photo option 1

Books
Arts

'Millionaire' Tracks One Man's Fruitful Obsession With The Bard Of Avon

12:47pm May 14, 2015

by Trey Graham

Andrea Mays' new book digs into the history of Washington, D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library, the legacy of oilman Henry Clay Folger — who, like William Shakespeare, found his greatest fame in death.

The cover of Burning Down George Orwell's House, by Andrew Ervin.

Books
Arts

Misadventures And Absurdist Charm Take Root In 'George Orwell's House'

11:31am May 14, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

In Andrew Ervin's comic novel, a disillusioned advertising executive rents the cottage once inhabited by dystopian author George Orwell. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the funny book has a serious core.

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