Books

Books
Arts

Mother And Daughter Come Together At The Card Table In 'The Bridge Ladies'

4:20pm April 28, 2016

by Maureen Corrigan

Betsy Lerner writes about joining her 83-year-old mother's weekly bridge club in her new book, which critic Maureen Corrigan calls a "smart and colorful memoir."

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3 Generations Of Trauma Haunt 'Ladivine'

10:34am April 28, 2016

by Jean Zimmerman

Marie NDiaye's unflinching new novel handles heavyweight emotions — guilt, shame, grief, cruelty — with sharp-edged writing and clear-eyed courage. It's an intense read, but an engrossing one.

Questlove's previous books include Mo' Meta Blues and Soul Train. He also teaches a class about classic albums at New York University.

Questlove On Prince, Doo-Wop And The Food Equivalent Of The 'Mona Lisa'

2:26pm April 27, 2016

In his new book, somethingtofoodabout, The Roots' drummer discusses the artistry involved in creating a great meal. "I'm more obsessed with the journey ... than the destination," Questlove says.

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'Plain Houses' Is A Spellbinding Story Of Witchcraft And Disobedience

7:00am April 27, 2016

by Carmen Maria Machado

Julia Franks' debut novel is set in Depression-era North Carolina, where young farm wife Irenie is sneaking off to the woods for moments away from her husband — who's convinced his wife is a witch.

Books
Arts

'Sleeping Giants' Kicks Off A New Series In Style

4:01pm April 26, 2016

by Jason Heller

Sylvain Neuvel's debut begins with a young girl who falls into a hole in the ground and is found soon after, sitting on a 20-foot-long mechanical hand. And that's just the (finger) tip of the iceberg.

In high school, Meryl Streep was one of the "cheeries."

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Arts

Meryl Streep's First Acting Gig: Becoming Pretty And Popular In High School

10:52am April 26, 2016

by Susan Stamberg

In a new biography called Her Again, author Michael Schulman says that at 14, Streep decided to reinvent herself — and before she was an Oscar winner, she was homecoming queen.

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'Alter Egos' Dissects Hillary Clinton's Tenure As Obama's Secretary Of State

1:51pm April 25, 2016

Mark Landler of The New York Times discusses Clinton and Obama's contrasting views on America's role in the world. Clinton, Landler says, was often the hawk, more willing to intervene with force.

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Viet Cong soldiers going into battle near Hue during the Vietnam War, circa 1968. Years later, the war shaped how Ocean Vuong grew up.

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Arts

In The Lines Of Ocean Vuong, Echoes Of His Family's Past In Vietnam

9:01am April 25, 2016

by NPR Staff

Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong speaks about his new book Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which weaves growing up in America with his family's memories of a war-torn Vietnam.

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Warhead Constriction, a group of high-schoolers from Lagos, is one of many rock bands of the 1960s and '70s featured in the new book series Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock, 1972-1977.

'Wake Up You!' Explores The Transitional, Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Of Nigeria

7:07pm April 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

In the 1970s, a crop of young rock bands with "a new sense of fury and fuzz" arose in the aftermath of the country's civil war, says historian Uchenna Ikonne.

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Wendell Berry, America's foremost farmer-philosopher, with horses on his farm.

Books
Arts

The Gospel According To Wendell Berry, On Screen

10:07am April 24, 2016

by Dan Charles

America's foremost farmer-philosopher, Wendell Berry, is the subject of a new documentary. It celebrates the writer's work, and the rural community in Kentucky in which he's rooted.