Books

Publisher Simon & Schuster drew strong criticism after signing conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos — seen here holding a press conference about the Pulse nightclub shootings.

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Arts

Free Speech Advocates, Publishers Wrestle With Questions Of Censorship

6:22pm January 12, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Simon and Schuster's book deal with controversial Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos drew strong criticism online, and sparked a debate on publishing's role in limiting the availability of ideas.

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Brief But Creepy, 'Fever Dream' Has A Poisonous Glow

7:00am January 12, 2017

by Lily Meyer

Samanta Schweblin's debut novel starts as a warped child's game, and evolves into a terrifyingly toxic eco-horror tale in the vein of short-but-creepy Latin American classics like Pedro Páramo.

Start the new year with a stack of book suggestions from librarian Nancy Pearl.

Books
Arts

Fulfill Your Reading Resolutions With 6 Books From Librarian Nancy Pearl

5:12am January 12, 2017

by Nancy Pearl

Every once in a while, NPR's go-to books guru sends host Steve Inskeep a big stack of books. They're generally "under-the-radar" reads — titles she thinks deserve a little more attention.

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Hall-Of-Fame Sportscaster Joe Buck Admits To Being A 'Lucky Bastard'

1:51pm January 11, 2017

Buck's new memoir details his experiences in sports and life, including his addiction to hair-plug transplants. When it comes to announcing, he says, "I don't have a rooting interest for either side."

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Books
Arts

Earthy 'Lotus' Is A Fascinating Flower

7:00am January 11, 2017

by Jean Zimmerman

Lijia Zhang's debut novel — about a young woman in China who fights her way out of the sex trade to become a teacher — is sensitively drawn, full of folk wisdom and concise, touching imagery.

Books
Arts

Immigration And Infertility Bring Two Mothers Together Over One 'Lucky Boy'

5:49pm January 10, 2017

by NPR Staff

Shanthi Sekaran's new novel tells the story of a Mexican woman who has entered the U.S. without papers and an Indian-American chef struggling to have a baby.

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Young people have always used language in new and different ways, and it has pretty much always driven older people crazy.

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Why It's Literally Not Wrong To Say 'Literally'

3:14pm January 10, 2017

by NPR Staff

Young people have always used language in new ways, and it has always driven older people crazy. But the linguist John McWhorter says all the LOLs are part of an inevitable evolution of language.

What Is Driving The 'Unbanking Of America'?

1:42pm January 10, 2017

Author Lisa Servon says a growing number of Americans are giving up on traditional banks and relying instead on alternatives, including prepaid debit cards, check-cashing centers and payday lenders.

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I Was Trying To Describe What It Feels Like

Books
Arts

'I Was Trying' Is Sneaky, Enigmatic, Obscure — And That's A Good Thing

7:00am January 10, 2017

by Michael Schaub

Noy Holland's new collection brings together several decades worth of difficult-to-describe stories — some only a few paragraphs long, and all of them hallucinatory and maddening in the best way.

Father Argues Against Radicalism In 'Letters to a Young Muslim'

4:38pm January 09, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to author Omar Saif Ghobash, who wrote the book, Letters to a Young Muslim.

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