5 Best-Selling Female Writers You May Not Have Heard Of
Many extremely popular writers of the 19th century are now pretty much forgotten — and gone with the wind.
Books
The History Of American White Bread Is Anything But Bland
From a scapegoat for the "sapping" of the "white race," to a symbol of modern engineering, to a target of the counterculture movement: White bread's been a social lightning rod time and again.
For Tracey Stewart, Life After The 'Daily Show' Is All About The Animals
When they ran out of room for rescue animals in their home, Tracey Stewart and her husband, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart, bought a farm. Her new book is Do Unto Animals.
'Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise' Educates But Doesn't Entertain Its Readers
Oscar Hijuelos' posthumously published novel chronicles the friendship between Mark Twain and explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Maureen Corrigan says the book lacks the magic of Hijuelos' best work.
John Irving Always Knows Where He's Going
Irving's latest novel is Avenue of Mysteries. He tells NPR's Lynn Neary that he thinks about each book for a long time — and he doesn't start writing until he knows what the ending will be.
Stephen Park On Playing A Code-Switching Character In Steinbeck's 'East Of Eden'
Park plays Lee, a Chinese servant with an interesting approach to getting by in America, in a new theatrical adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic.
'White Road' Maps The History Of Porcelain
While readers may not share Edmund de Waal's obsession with the precious clay (at one point, he crafts an exhibition of 2,455 white-glazed porcelain vessels), his writing makes the subject seductive.
Making Sense Of A Scandal-Fractured Family In 'Houses'
Karen Olsson's novel follows a woman who returns home to care for her ailing father, but also in the hopes that she can get him to open up about how the Iran-Contra scandal ended his career.
Actress Illeana Douglas Recounts A Life 'Lived In And Out Of The Movies'
The actress, who appeared in Six Feet Under and Cape Fear, discusses growing up on a commune, working with (and dating) Scorsese and her various acting gigs. Douglas' memoir is I Blame Dennis Hopper.
'My Father's Guitar' Plays On Perception And Memory
Joseph Skibell's new collection of personal essays is full of offbeat life lessons, moving from whimsy to weight. And, as he puts it, though the stories are true, they're full of "imaginary things."