August 17, 2011 Fiction ranges from Mona Simpson's look at mommies and nannies in Hollywood to Julia Stuart's tale of an English menagerie to Barry Eisler's newest Ben Treven thriller. In nonfiction, there's Siddhartha Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning "biography of cancer" and a memoir by Bill Clegg.

Summary

August 17, 2011 With Wendy and the Lost Boys, Julie Salamon has written the perfect biography for playwright Wendy Wasserstein's legions of fans, a book as entertaining and personable as its subject.

Summary

August 17, 2011 Couldn't afford that scuba trip in Indonesia? Didn't have time to hike the Grand Canyon? Fortunately, for those who couldn't quite make it out of town this summer, there's an alternative route for exploration. And all you need is a couch, a cold drink and these three books.

Summary

August 16, 2011 Penn Jillette frames his new book, God, No!, as the atheist's Ten Commandments. He joins NPR's Neal Conan to discuss the humility of atheists and his respect for believers.

Transcript

On Talk of the NationPlaylist

August 16, 2011 Dealing with rude, angry people is not fun. But when fictional, these unpleasant personalities can actually be quite charming. Author Ben Dolnick recommends three books and three central characters that'll have you flipping the page faster than you'd flip them the bird.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

August 16, 2011 Penn Jillette's new book God, No! presents a lively portrait of the author's libertarian, atheist, sometimes hedonist approach to life. But at times, it seems showy and assaultive.

Summary

August 16, 2011 America's anti-terrorism strategy has evolved in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks. New York Times reporters Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt explain some of the tactics used by the United States over the past decade to disrupt al-Qaida both in real life and online.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

August 16, 2011 Psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi argues that the best leaders — including Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. — might just be the ones with the weakest grip on sanity.

Summary

August 16, 2011 The author of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight follows up with a second memoir — a loving portrait of her eccentric mother. Alexandra Fuller tells the story of a young British woman raised in Kenya — a madcap adventuress with a predilection for drama.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

August 15, 2011 Everything you wanted to know about bug sex (but didn't bother to ask) is explained in a new book. Insect expert Marlene Zuk describes how ants learn, why some crickets don't chirp and how various bugs mate in Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love and Language from the Insect World.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist