Books

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

9:43am May 09, 2021

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Article III of the Constitution gives Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments — but doesn't cover what to do if they become incapacitated. For Abrams, that was the spark for an exciting story.

Books

Ian Manuel Discusses Incarceration At A Young Age In New Memoir

8:05am May 08, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Ian Manuel about his new memoir, My Time Will Come, about his incarceration at the age of 14 and eventual release in 2016.

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Books

Stacey Swann's New Book Is A Classic Greek Tale, Set In Texas

8:05am May 08, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to author Stacey Swann about her debut novel, Olympus Texas.

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, by Chanel Cleeton

Books
Arts

'The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba' Steps Out Of The Headlines And Onto The Page

7:00am May 08, 2021

by Denny S. Bryce

The Spanish-American war serves as the backdrop for Chanel Cleeton's new novel, which follows a real-life rebel named Evangelina Cisneros, who attracted a lot of attention from American newspapers.

Books
Arts

Compassion Is The True Test Of A Person In 'Second Place'

5:00am May 08, 2021

by Heller McAlpin

Rachel Cusk follows her acclaimed Outline trilogy with this story about a woman whose lifelong obsession with a truculent painter is tested when he comes to stay at a cottage on her property.

Everybody: A Book about Freedom, Olivia Laing

Books
Arts

'Everybody' Examines The Idea That Bodies Can Confine Or Free

5:00am May 06, 2021

by Annalisa Quinn

Olivia Laing weaves the history of people and ideas in with her own life, bringing readers on a fleet, gracious tour of bodily distress and joy that takes in Malcolm X, the Marquis de Sade and others.

Things We Lost to the Water, by Eric Nguyen

Books
Arts

'Things We Lost To The Water' Is A Literal And Allegorical Look At Dislocation

5:00am May 06, 2021

by Thúy Đinh

Eric Nguyen's debut novel plays off a Vietnamese word that means both country and water, examining all the ways those two things affect a family of Vietnamese refugees who resettle in New Orleans.

Alison Bechdel Takes On Exercise Trends In 'The Secret to Superhuman Strength'

1:24pm May 05, 2021

by Terry Gross

Bechdel's new graphic memoir is about her lifelong obsession with exercise. She says she has a "predisposition of being extremely self-conscious and very caught up in my head" — and exercise helps.

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Books
Arts

A Daughter Rediscovers Her Deceased Father's Life In 'Negative Space'

5:00am May 05, 2021

by Gabino Iglesias

Lilly Dancyger's memories, coupled with her father's art and conversations with his friends, create a map she uses to navigate her past, her childhood and growing up, and her father's life and legacy.

Suzanne Simard is a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia. Her own medical journey inspired her research into, among other things, the way yew trees communicate chemically with neighboring trees for their mutual defense.

Trees Talk To Each Other. 'Mother Tree' Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too

1:17am May 05, 2021

by Dave Davies

Ecologist Suzanne Simard says trees are "social creatures" that communicate with each other in remarkable ways — including warning each other of danger and sharing nutrients at critical times.

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