Book News & Features

Sophisticated ways of tracking reading habits give publishers hard data that reveals the kinds of books people want to read. But a veteran editor says numbers only go so far in telling the story.

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Publishers' Dilemma: Judge A Book By Its Data Or Trust The Editor's Gut?

4:32pm August 02, 2016

by Lynn Neary

Sophisticated ways of tracking reading habits give publishers hard data that reveals the kinds of books people want to read. But a veteran editor says numbers only go so far in telling the story.

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The Workings Of Nature: Naturalist Writing And Making Sense Of The World

10:00am August 02, 2016

by Genevieve Valentine

Humans have always been curious about the natural world; nature provides enough order to soothe and enough wildness to escape. We've got a roundup of great nature writing from all over the world.

Midnight Release Party Summons Muggles For Eighth Harry Potter Installment

8:55am July 31, 2016

by Petra Mayer

The latest book in J.K. Rowling's series, really a script for a play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," went on sale at midnight. We check in with fans who lined up, wands in hand, to get a copy.

Books

Walter Mosley On The Stories Of LA Told Through Easy Rawlins

5:16am July 28, 2016

In 1990, Walter Mosley first told the story of black postwar LA through Easy Rawlins, an Army vet turned private eye. It became Mosley's best-known series. He discusses Easy's creation and journey.

American author James Alan McPherson, photographed in 1984.

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Writer James Alan McPherson, Winner Of Pulitzer, MacArthur And Guggenheim, Dies At 72

8:08pm July 27, 2016

by Glen Weldon

McPherson, the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, has died at 72. His work explored the intersection of white and black lives with deftness, subtlety and wry humor.

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Can Serialized Fiction Convert Binge Watchers Into Binge Readers?

5:54pm July 26, 2016

by Lynn Neary

As TV dramas get better and better, publishers are getting into the game with serialized fiction. Some are even referring to what they publish as "episodes" and "seasons" rather than "books."

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Helen Gurley Brown in her office at Cosmopolitan magazine in the 1960s .The legendary editor, subject of two new biographies, knew sex sells – and food brings in ad money. She cannily combined them with features like "After Bed, What? (a light snack for

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Collards And Canoodling: How Helen Gurley Brown Promoted Premarital Cooking

10:37am July 26, 2016

by Nina Martyris

The legendary Cosmo editor, subject of two new biographies, knew sex sells – and food brings in ad money. She cannily combined them with features like "After Bed, What? (a light snack for an encore)."

Books
Arts

Gay Talese Stays Too Long At 'The Voyeur's Motel'

7:00am July 24, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Gay Talese conflates the journalist and the voyeur in his new book about a motel owner who spied on his guests. And he makes the readers voyeurs as well: We watch him watching the unwary motel guests.

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3 Books To Take On Your Summer Getaway

4:32pm July 22, 2016

by NPR Staff

Bookseller John Evans recommends three vacation reads: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan and Under the Big Black Sun by John Doe and Tom DeSavia.

Woman Marries Man Who Got Her Attention With Tweets

6:54am July 19, 2016

He handled social media for a book shop in London. She found his tweets amusing. On Sunday, Victoria and Jonathan O'Brien tied the knot. And now their marriage is trending.