Books

Playlist

browse by date
subscribe
share

History Hijacks Life In 'All That Followed'

August 8, 2015 • Set in Spain's Basque Country, Gabriel Urza's new novel chronicles three lives in the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Critic Michael Schaub calls it "unsparing and beautiful."

Life Through The Lens Of A Falling 'Fishbowl'

August 8, 2015 • Bradley Somer's new novel follows (literally) Ian the goldfish, who's catching glimpses of life and love in the apartments he passes as his bowl plummets from a 27th-floor balcony.

Recently Reviewed

Beverly Jenkins Wraps Bitter History In Sweet Romance

August 8, 2015 • Beverly Jenkins writes historical romances — about free black towns, lawmen and cowboys and Civil War vets. She says her mission is to illuminate the parts of black history you don't learn in school.

Can people tell a computer-generated story from a human-authored one? How about a poem, or a playlist? Three new contests hope to find out. ImageZoo/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption ImageZoo/Corbis

Shall I Compare Thee To An Algorithm? Turing Test Gets A Creative Twist

August 7, 2015 • Can a computer program craft passable prose — something readers can't distinguish from human-authored stuff? How about poetry, or dance mixes? New contests pose those challenges.

Listen Loading… 3:36

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429084124/430381766" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

NPR Bestsellers: Week Of August 6, 2015

August 7, 2015 • The lists are compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide.

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of August 6, 2015

August 7, 2015 • In J. Ryan Stradal's Kitchens Of The Great Midwest, a single dad raises his daughter to be a star chef and lover of Midwestern cuisine. It debuts at No. 11.

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of August 6, 2015

August 7, 2015 • Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Disney Little Golden Book, a nostalgic collection for fans of Disney classics, debuts at No. 14.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Disney Little Golden Book

by Diane Muldrow

The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up

by Marie Kondo

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Fiction, Week Of August 6, 2015

August 7, 2015 • In Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, an unpopular high-schooler immerses himself in a virtual world of puzzles to escape an ugly reality. It appears at No. 14.

NPR Bestsellers: Paperback Nonfiction, Week Of August 6, 2015

August 7, 2015 • At No. 15, Agent Storm gives and inside look at a Danish national's decade as a jihadist — and his decision to become a double agent.

Agent Storm

by Morten Storm, Paul Cruickshank et al.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

by Jeff Hobbs

'Blood Will Out' Reveals Secrets Of A Murderous Master Manipulator

August 7, 2015 • Author Walter Kirn thought he was befriending an eccentric Rockefeller, but his pal turned out to be an impostor wanted for murder. Originally broadcast March 10, 2014.

Listen Loading… 30:06

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/430316053/430358912" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

Identity Is At The Heart Of Brash, Essential 'Mulattos'

August 7, 2015 • Tom Williams' new collection digs into the experience of being multiracial, difficult to categorize in a society that likes to slap labels on people. Reviewer Michael Schaub calls it vital and gutsy.

'Marriage Of Opposites' Paints Camille Pissarro's Colorful Family History

August 6, 2015 • Alice Hoffman's new novel is a fictionalized account of the painter's early life and family, including the eccentric mother who raised him on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas.

'The Lufthansa Heist' Is No Score

August 6, 2015 • The famous 1978 Lufthansa robbery is a great crime story — it was even a plot point in GoodFellas. But a new book about the heist falls flat, hampered by purple prose and pointless details.

'Two Across' Spells Out A Charming Love Story In Crosswords

August 5, 2015 • Jeff Bartsch's new novel is about a brainy couple who, after meeting at a 1960s spelling bee, conduct their troubled love affair through secret clues in the crosswords they compose for newspapers.

Six Friends, A Pile of Cash And A Game With Deadly Consequences

August 5, 2015 • Black Chalk hinges on a plot twist that we won't give away. But we will say it's the summer thriller we've been waiting for: about a teenage game that turns dangerous as its players become adults.

Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn star as Ada and Inman in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Santa Fe Opera. Ken Howard/Courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera hide caption

itoggle caption Ken Howard/Courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera

'Cold Mountain' Takes Civil War Odyssey To The Opera Stage

August 5, 2015 • The best-selling novel and star-studded movie gets the operatic treatment from Pulitzer-winning composer Jennifer Higdon with a world premiere in Santa Fe.

Listen Loading… 7:02

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429370329/429597253" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

The Bonds Of Friendship Stay Strong In 'Stranger'

August 4, 2015 • Newbery Medal-winning author Rebecca Stead says her latest, Goodbye Stranger, is about love and how it helps a trio of seventh-grade girls stay friends through the challenges of middle school.

Listen Loading… 7:50

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429365941/429386034" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

At Some Stores, Readers Can Go Get A Refund For 'Watchman'

August 4, 2015 • Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman has sold millions of copies, but some feel it has not lived up to the hype. A bookstore owner in Traverse City, Mich., is giving readers a refund — and an apology.

Listen Loading… 2:06

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429385971/429385972" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

'Dragonfish' Offers A Noir Vision Of An 'American Dream Gone Rancid'

August 4, 2015 • The debut novel by Vu Tran is a crime drama involving a white cop, his Vietnamese-born ex-wife and her new husband, a violent crime boss. Maureen Corrigan calls Dragonfish a "haunting literary novel."

Listen Loading… 5:48

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429318091/429366798" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

"Anytime you're in the wild with a beautiful animal you're going to feel good," says Susan Casey, author of Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins. Penguin Random House hide caption

itoggle caption Penguin Random House

Environment

Exploring The 'Wild And Haunting World Of Dolphins'

August 4, 2015 • In her new book, Voices in the Ocean, Susan Casey describes the life of dolphins and details some new threats the animals face, such as organized dolphin kills and man-made sounds in the ocean.

Listen Loading… 32:36

Playlist
Download
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/428986235/429366710" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

copy

copy

Most Viewed

Education

High Schoolers And Snooze Buttons: A Public Health Crisis?

Environment

In Louisiana, Rebuilding Mother Nature's Storm Protection: A 'Living Coast'

Law

Aurora Theater Shooter James Holmes Gets Life In Prison Without Parole