Books

Monstress: Book One, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

Books
Arts

You've Heard 'Monstress' Is Great. But Just How Great Is It?

3:00pm July 09, 2019

by Etelka Lehoczky

Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's epic, gorgeous tale of a young woman with a monster inside her has won countless awards and been heaped with praise — but does it truly break new ground?

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks during a Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on July 30, 2017, in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 'For The Good Of The Game,' Bud Selig Tells Of The MLB Steroid Era

1:59pm July 09, 2019

by Scott Detrow

The baseball commissioner's charming, informative memoir is about the best you can hope to read from a powerful professional sports insider — even if Selig is too defensive on steroids.

Books
Arts

Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins?

1:25pm July 09, 2019

by Maureen Corrigan

Alexi Zentner's new novel follows a high school football star's efforts to separate himself from his racist family. It's an unsparing story about race, class and the limits of individual possibility.

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Rulings On Gerrymandering And The Census Could Define The Political Future

1:25pm July 09, 2019

by Terry Gross

Mother Jones journalist Ari Berman says recent Supreme Court decisions on redistricting and the 2020 census citizenship question will help determine which party is in power in the next decade.

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'The Vagabonds' Details The Publicity-Encouraged Road Trips Of Edison And Ford

12:26pm July 09, 2019

by Camila Domonoske

Jeff Guinn weaves in a portrait of America's burgeoning love affair with the automobile. But his book rests heavy on the men's positive attributes, while shying away from their "unfortunate flaws."

detail from the cover of The Book of Collateral Damage by Sinan Antoon

In 'The Book Of Collateral Damage,' An Accounting Of What Baghdad Lost

5:05am July 09, 2019

by Steve Inskeep

The novelist and poet Sinan Antoon, raised in Iraq and now living in New York, returned home following the 2003 U.S. occupation. That experience inspired his new work of fiction.

"I consider myself one who creates clothes, and fashions clothes, and uses it as a vehicle to fashion young minds," says clothier Dapper Dan.

Books
Arts

Dapper Dan, Telling Stories In Leather, Fur And Logos

7:55pm July 08, 2019

by Audie Cornish

The legendary hip-hop designer is now partnering with the big fashion labels who originally shut him down for bootlegging their logos. He's got a new memoir out, called Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem.

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Travis Rieder, author of In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle With Opioids, says none of the doctors who prescribed opioids for his waves of "fiery" or "electrical" pain taught him how to safely taper his use of the drugs when he wanted to quit.

Motorcycle Crash Shows Bioethicist The Dark Side Of Quitting Opioids Alone

4:50pm July 08, 2019

by Terry Gross

When medical bioethicist Travis Rieder tried to taper off pain medication after a roadway accident, he was disappointed by his doctors' reaction: "Everybody had a reason to send me to somebody else."

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Books
Arts

Debut Book Tells Of The Real-Life Longings And Frustrations Of 'Three Women'

2:53pm July 08, 2019

by Kate Tuttle

Lisa Taddeo's first book is a work of deep observation, long conversations, and a kind of journalistic alchemy. She spent years with her subjects — and the investment pays off.

Books
Arts

In 'Very Nice,' Even The Dog Is Unfaithful

12:58pm July 08, 2019

by Heller McAlpin

Marcy Dermansky's new novel is a tart lemonade of a summer read, full of outspoken characters, libidinous activity — much of it unwise — around a swimming pool, and a beautiful standard poodle.