Books

Books
Arts

A Dancer Is Unstrung By Grief In 'Isadora'

7:00am May 25, 2017

by Michael Schaub

The great American dancer Isadora Duncan led a tragic life, and her worst year — just after the deaths of her first two children in an accident, forms the core of Amelia Gray's powerful new novel.

Books
Arts

Searching For A Summer Escape? These 6 Books Will Carry You Away

2:55pm May 24, 2017

by Maureen Corrigan

Journeys, near and far, into the past and even into near space, are the subject of the novels, memoirs and narrative histories that make up book critic Maureen Corrigan's early summer reading list.

Queue Listen Now

The Power Of Music Is At The Heart Of 'Black Mad Wheel'

8:31am May 24, 2017

by Jason Heller

Detroit garage-rocker Josh Malerman's second novel follows a fictional 1950s rock bad recruited by the government to find the source of a mysterious, ominous sound emanating from the Namib Desert.

Our famous summer reader poll is back, and this year we're all about comics and graphic novels! Whether it's your childhood favorite or the webcomic you binged last week, we want to know about it.

Books
Arts

It's A Bird, It's A Plane ... It's Our Comics And Graphic Novels Reader Poll!

7:00am May 24, 2017

Our famous summer reader poll is back, and this year we're all about comics and graphic novels! Whether it's your childhood favorite or the webcomic you binged last week, we want to know about it.

'Smile Stealers' Recalls A Time When Dentists Routinely Reached For The Pliers

1:22pm May 23, 2017

Medical historian Richard Barnett traces the history of dentistry in his new book. He says that prior to the 18th century, the profession was often practiced by charlatans with "big muscles."

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Times' Book Review Editor Shares Her Love Of Reading In 'My Life With Bob'

1:22pm May 23, 2017

Pamela Paul of The New York Times talks about her own new book, which chronicles every book she's read since she was 17 years old. Even if a work isn't great, she refuses to brush it aside cavalierly.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Second Thoughts About A Second Marriage In 'Standard Deviation'

7:00am May 23, 2017

by Heller McAlpin

Katherine Heiny's first novel for adults is a warmhearted and funny — if overly long — portrait of a man who begins to doubt his chaotic, talkative second wife after 12 years of marriage.

Churchill, Orwell And The Fight Against Totalitarianism

1:30pm May 22, 2017

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Tom Ricks says the writings of Winston Churchill and George Orwell still resonate today. Ricks also discusses the generals serving in the Trump administration.

Queue Listen Now

Sports
Books

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Writes About His Friendship With Coach Wooden

7:13am May 21, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to writer and sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about his book, Coach Wooden and Me, about his 50-year relationship with his UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

The Education of Margot Sanchez book cover

Books
Arts

In 'Margot Sanchez,' A Teen Grows Up And Learns To Love The Bronx

7:13am May 21, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Instead of going to the beach with her prep school friends, Margot is stuck working at her father's supermarket in the Bronx. Lilliam Rivera says her YA novel was inspired by her own Bronx childhood.