Book News & Features

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'I Take You' Is Madcap Marital Mayhem

2:00pm May 04, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Eliza Kennedy's snappy new novel follows Lily Wilder, a high-powered litigator conflicted about her upcoming wedding because she's having too much fun with sex, booze and work to settle down.

Every spring, local residents have staged a play based on To Kill a Mockingbird in this courthouse in Monroeville, Ala.

A Town Divided Over The Next Chapter Of An Iconic Harper Lee Book

12:13pm May 04, 2015

by Debbie Elliott

There's plenty of speculation about whether the octogenarian author really intended to release the manuscript, discovered by her lawyer last year.

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The e-book's original cover image was used without permission, according to a lawsuit filed against Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple.

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Arts

An Ohio Couple Would Like To Forget 'A Gronking To Remember'

6:46pm May 02, 2015

by Becky Sullivan

A lawsuit alleges that the popular erotica e-book — which centers on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski — used an engagement photo on its cover without permission.

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It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel like reading a book.

Books
Arts

Does Post-Apocalyptic Literature Have A (Non-Dystopian) Future?

7:03am May 02, 2015

by Jason Heller

Store shelves and libraries are packed with post-apocalyptic, dystopian novels right now. Critic Jason Heller has some suggestions to help you wade through the floods. And the fires. And the fallout.

A 'Guantanamo Diary' From A Prisoner Still On The Inside

2:51pm May 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

In the first memoir from a prisoner still being held at Guantanamo, Mohamedou Ould Slahi tells how he went from his native Mauritania to joining al-Qaida in Afghanistan to the U.S. prison in Cuba.

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Books
Arts

When It Comes To Furry Muses, Cats Are For Brevity And Dogs Are For Books

10:42am May 01, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

The Internet is the undisputed territory of cats, and dog books are more popular than their feline counterparts. Francesco Marciuliano plays to both animals' strengths in his best-selling collections.

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President Obama announced an initiative to give e-books to low-income students while visiting the Anacostia Library in Washington on Thursday.

The Plan To Give E-Books To Poor Kids

8:19pm April 30, 2015

by Cory Turner

Today, President Obama announced a massive effort with major publishers to make thousands of e-book titles free for low-income kids.

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This pair of Charlie Hebdo covers from 2012 pokes fun at the magazine's "irresponsible" approach to humor.

Dozens Of Writers Join Protest Of Free Speech Award For 'Charlie Hebdo'

4:13pm April 30, 2015

by Petra Mayer

Nearly 150 writers have now signed an open letter that condemns the attacks on the French satirical magazine, but questions whether it deserves a free speech prize for its willingness to offend.

Before William Faulkner became a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, he published some unsuccessful poetry.

Books
Arts

William Faulkner Makes Us Wonder: What's So Great About Poetry, Anyhow?

10:03am April 30, 2015

by Juan Vidal

William Faulkner — one of the great American novelists — thought of himself as a failed poet. Which made our critic Juan Vidal wonder: What is it about poetry that makes us hold it above other arts?

Cartoonist Art Spiegelman attends the French Institute Alliance Francaise's "After Charlie: What's Next for Art, Satire and Censorship" at Florence Gould Hall on Feb. 19 in New York City.

Graphic Novel About Holocaust 'Maus' Banned In Russia For Its Cover

12:17pm April 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with author and illustrator Art Spiegelman about how his book Maus, the very antithesis of Nazi propaganda, was purged from Moscow stores because of a swastika on the cover.

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