Pack These Pages: Three Must-Reads For Summer
Harriet Logan, owner of Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights, Ohio, recommends a graphic novel about trash, a George Eliot classic and a children's book about a bear pianist.
Books
'A Hundred Thousand Worlds' Might Be A Few Too Many
Bob Proehl's sprawling novel follows actor Valerie and her son Alex on an epic road trip, punctuated by stops at comic conventions. It's a charming but messy debut that crams in too many ideas.
'They May Not Mean To, But They Do' Is A Sparkling, Sad Family Affair
Cathleen Schine's new novel explores how one character's physical and mental decline ripples out to affect his whole family. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls it a mix of "fun and bad behavior."
'The Big Sheep' Plays Hardboiled Sci-Fi To The Hilt
It's not hard to parse the two main influences on Robert Kroese's new novel, The Big Sheep: Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler. But Kroese's knack for humor helps elevate their gonzo grimness.
'The Innocent Have Nothing To Fear' Echoes Real-Life Republican Race
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Stuart Stevens, a former strategist for Mitt Romney, whose new novel, The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear, tells the story of a neck-and-neck Republican primary campaign that ends up at a brokered convention.
In 'Hustling Hitler,' A Jewish Vaudevillian Scams The Third Reich
It seems everyone has one: the eccentric relative much gossiped about. For Walter Shapiro, it's his great-uncle, Freeman Bernstein. The vaudeville manager, boxing promoter, card shark and stock swindler managed to scam the Third Reich. Shapiro writes about this in his new book, Hustling Hitler.
'Nobody Is Immune': Bracing For Zika's First Summer In The U.S.
Author Donald. G. McNeil Jr. predicts that 2016 will be the worst year for Zika transmission in the U.S. "After this year, a fair number of people will be immune, and ... immunity will grow," he says.
'Icon' Keeps The Shutters Clicking And The Danger Growing
We first met diplomat Suyana Sapaki in Persona; she was a C-lister in a world where statecraft and celebrity are interchangeable. But now she's on the rise — and the stakes are getting higher, too.
Human Or Machine: Can You Tell Who Wrote These Poems?
Can a computer write a sonnet that's indistinguishable from what a person can produce? A contest at Dartmouth attempted to find out. With our online quiz, you too can give it a try.
Broadway Chanteuse Barbara Cook: 'My First Memories Are Of Singing'
After starring in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, Cook struggled with addiction, then staged a successful second career as a cabaret singer. Her new memoir is Then and Now.