Arts & Life

Books
Arts

'Borderline' Is Urban Fantasy With A Cinematic Punch

5:44pm March 02, 2016

by Amal El-Mohtar

Mishell Baker's new fantasy novel follows filmmaker Millie Roper as she manages her mental and physical issues while hunting down a missing fairy nobleman — and trying to make a career in Hollywood.

Louie Anderson says he thought of his mom and sisters when selecting clothes for his character Christine Baskets on the FX series Baskets.

Arts

Comic Louie Anderson Modeled His 'Baskets' Role After His Own Mom

3:47pm March 02, 2016

Anderson delivers a standout comic performance as the mother of an embittered rodeo clown. He says, "I really loved playing this part for a big reason that my mom gets to come to life."

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Gary Shulze, 66, and Pat Frovarp, 75, sit in Once Upon A Crime, the Minneapolis bookstore they ran for 14 years. On when they first met: "Well, Gary was pretty doggone cute," says Frovarp. "There's no doubt about it."

Books
Arts

The Final Chapter Of A Tale Of Books, Love And Mystery In Minneapolis

7:14pm March 01, 2016

by NPR Staff

Gary Shulze and Pat Frovarp have run the beloved Once Upon A Crime bookstore for 14 years. They fell in love there, bought it together and married there. Now, they're retiring.

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According to the U.S. Census, single adult women now outnumber married adult women in America.

Single By Choice: Why Fewer American Women Are Married Than Ever Before

3:59pm March 01, 2016

Rebecca Traister, author of All the Single Ladies, says the declining marriage rates among adult women are less about the institution of marriage and more about the choices available to women today.

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Books
Arts

Provocative Book Explores The Connection Between Loneliness And Art

2:28pm March 01, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Olivia Laing surveys the landscape of urban alienation in her new book, a work that is part-memoir and part-criticism. Critic Maureen Corrigan says The Lonely City is "absolutely one of a kind."

Books
Arts

Sentenced To Death For Murder, A Woman Tells Her Story From 'Memory'

2:11pm March 01, 2016

by NPR Staff

In Petina Gappah's new novel, an albino Zimbabwean woman named Memory is charged with murdering her adoptive father. She narrates the tale from inside a maximum security prison in Harare.

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Books
Arts

'Lonely City' Is More Than A Cry For Connection

7:00am March 01, 2016

by Jason Heller

Writer Olivia Laing recalls her days as an expatriate Brit in New York in her new book, a meditation on modern life and loneliness. It's a lonely read, too, but full of heart-piercing wisdom.

Nancy Jo Sales interviewed more than 200 teenage girls about their social media and Internet habits while researching her book American Girls.

Books
Arts

Teen Girls And Social Media: A Story Of 'Secret Lives' And Misogyny

7:43pm February 29, 2016

Author Nancy Jo Sales says the Internet fosters a kind of sexism that is harmful to teen girls. Her new book is American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers.

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Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu celebrate their awards on stage at the 88th Oscars on Sunday.

Arts

A Big Night For 'Spotlight,' DiCaprio And Earned Discomfort

5:00pm February 29, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Sunday night's Oscars gave best picture to Spotlight, best actor to Leonardo DiCaprio and a lot of opportunities to host Chris Rock.

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Comedian Chris Rock hosting the Oscars on Sunday. Rock's razor-sharp monologue skewered sensibilities on all sides of the #OscarsSoWhite debate.

For Better Or Worse, Chris Rock Made The Oscars As Black As He Possibly Could

4:58pm February 29, 2016

by Eric Deggans

Despite the fact that no black actors were nominated in any high-profile categories, Academy Awards host Chris Rock kept race at the center of the event.