Books

Holy ground: Alan Moore standing on the site of his childhood home.

Books
Arts

In 'Jerusalem,' Nothing You've Ever Lost Is Truly Gone

7:49am September 18, 2016

by Petra Mayer

The house Alan Moore was born in was torn down in 1969 — along with most of the rest of his neighborhood. But in his new novel, Jerusalem, the legendary comics creator brings it all back to life.

Fall sports season is kicking off — and we've got some good reads to go with it.

Books
Arts

Off The Campaign Trail, Onto The Gridiron: 5 Sports Books For Fall

7:00am September 18, 2016

by Juan Vidal

If you're tired of political competition, there's always athletic competition. And if your team stinks, we can offer sympathy and a selection of the year's best books about sports to ease the sting.

'Shoeless Joe' Author William Patrick Kinsella Dies At 81

10:58am September 17, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The award-winning book was adapted into the beloved film Field of Dreams. The Canadian author is best known for his works about magic — and baseball.

Emma Donoghue's New Novel Follows "The Wonder" Of Starvation

9:13am September 17, 2016

The main character in Emma Donoghue's new novel "The Wonder" is a little Irish girl who refuses to eat. She says she's been kept alive by "manna from heaven." NPR's Scott Simon speaks to the author.

Books
Arts

Laia Jufresa Weaves Together Richness Through Common Grief In Debut Novel 'Umami'

8:53am September 17, 2016

Laia Jufresa's new novel Umami traces a group of neighbors, each getting over a private grief. Scott Simon asks Jufresa about the book and the woman who translated it from Spanish to English.

Books
Arts

'Commonwealth' Doesn't Need Big Drama To Draw Us In

7:00am September 17, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Ordinary family life provides all the tension and attraction in Ann Patchett's new book. The story of two families and a fateful party that upends both, it draws on Patchett's own life experiences.

Books
Arts

Writer Mat Johnson On 'Loving Day' And Life As A 'Black Boy' Who Looks White

2:08pm September 16, 2016

As a biracial child growing up in Philadelphia, Mat Johnson identified as black, but looked white. His latest novel is about a man returning to his childhood home. Originally broadcast June 29, 2015.

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Jose Vazquez holds a book he found during the D.C. Public Library's banned book scavenger hunt.

Books
Arts

In Banned Books Scavenger Hunt, The Prize Is Literary 'Smut'

8:14pm September 15, 2016

by Lynn Neary

The D.C. public library has hidden books throughout the city in stores, libraries and cafes. They're covered in black dust jackets with labels like FILTHY, TRASHY and PROFANE. Can you find all six?

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The 'Racial Cleansing' That Drove 1,100 Black Residents Out Of Forsyth County, Ga.

2:07pm September 15, 2016

In 1912, white mobs set fire to black churches and black-owned businesses. Eventually the entire black population of Forsyth County was driven out, says Blood at the Root author Patrick Phillips.

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Books
Arts

Language Is Home In 'When In French'

1:36pm September 15, 2016

by Heller McAlpin

When New Yorker writer and native North Carolinian Lauren Collins married a French man, she set herself to the task of learning French. Her new memoir is a meditation on language and identity.