NPR Books
Book News: Inmate Fights For His Right To Read Werewolf Erotica
Also: Donald Hall's life in beards, Kenn Nesbitt to be the next Children's Poet Laureate.
Reader Advisory: 'Shining Girls' Is Gruesome But Gripping
Lauren Beukes' new thriller The Shining Girls traces a time-traveling serial killer as he jumps through the decades, pursued by the only one of his victims to survive. Critic Alan Cheuse calls the book "a frightening journey in time and punishment."
The Complete List: What NPR's Backseat Book Club Has Read So Far
Looking for a great read for a kid age 9-14? Here are all the titles our kids' book club has read since we launched in 2011. We revisit classics like Black Beauty and The Phantom Tollbooth and explore new stories like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Graveyard Book.
How To Introduce Kids To Tough Topics? Art And TV Can Help
When parents aren't sure how to approach a difficult subject, they sometimes turn to other media — and Linda Ellerbee is happy to lend a hand. She's been the host of Nickelodeon's NickNews for 22 years, and her one rule of thumb is don't dumb it down.
Book News: Illinois School Board Restores 'Perks Of Being A Wallflower'
Also: A comic book for the blind; Salvador Dali's great, trippy Alice in Wonderland illustrations.
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Frontier Preachers Thump More Than Bibles In 'Blood Of Heaven'
Backwoods preachers spout Bible verses while spreading mayhem and revolution in Kent Wascom's The Blood of Heaven. The novel is set in the early 1800s, when western Florida was a battleground where Americans fought Spanish and French imperialists for control.
With Space-Bound Hubbies, 'Astrowives' Became 'First Reality Stars'
On April 9,1959, the U.S. introduced its first astronauts, and then launched their wives into the spotlight. In The Astronaut Wives Club, Lily Koppel looks at how seven women coped with the attention and anxiety that came with being married to the space race.
What Kids Are Reading, In School And Out
Some experts are concerned that both in-school assignments and the books kids read for pleasure may not be challenging them enough.
Aristotle's Daughter Comes Of Age In 'The Sweet Girl'
Canadian writer Annabel Lyon has a special gift when it comes to time travel. Her new novel The Sweet Girl carries us back to ancient Greece, where a teenage girl learns from her philosopher father and fights for her safety in a dangerous world. Reviewer Alan Cheuse says the novel is a triumph.
'One And Only': The Joys And Myths Of Raising Just One
In 1907, the first president of the American Psychological Association called only children "sickly, selfish, strange, and stupid." In her book One and Only, journalist Lauren Sandler, an only child and mother of one, takes on these stereotypes and explains the joys of raising just one.
Book News: Sales Of Orwell's '1984' Spike After NSA Revelations
Also: Charlotte Bronte's French homework fetches a staggering sum; McArthur & Company is closing its doors.
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'Taipei' Is Lifelike — But That's Not Necessarily A Compliment
Literary enfant terrible Tao Lin's latest novel, Taipei, follows protagonist Paul — who closely resembles Lin himself — on his drugged wanderings around New York and Taipei. Reviewer Annalisa Quinn says Lin "refuses, almost sadistically, to entertain the reader."
School's Out: 5 Great Summer Reads For Teens
NPR Books is replete with readers of grown-up books, but editor Petra Mayer prefers a good YA novel any day. She picks five (well, really six) of her favorite summer YA reads, from first love in 1980s Omaha to far-future Brazil and beyond.
Shoes, Romance, And Art: A Reader Walks With The Books She Loves
When a fan of romance novels meets a pair of high heels, much better things ensue than you might expect.
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Flying High And Low In 'Full Upright And Locked Position'
In a new book, aviation consultant Mark Gerchick writes that "the magic of air travel has morphed into an uncomfortable, crowded and utterly soulless ordeal." He talks about how it's gotten so bad, why there are so many hidden fees and if there actually is less leg room than there used to be.
June 10-16: A Terrorist, A Fabulist, A Worrier And Lost Orphans
In softcover nonfiction, Daniel Smith explores his anxiety, and Mark Bowden looks at the killing of Osama bin Laden. In fiction, Pablo Medina follows a boy caring for his aging, Cuban-American parents, and Jean Zimmerman tracks a 17th-century investigation into the disappearance of orphan children.
Jeannette Walls' 'Silver Star' Lacks Spunk And Direction
The novel is about two sisters, aged 12 and 15, who travel cross-country after their mother abandons them. Reviewer Meg Wolitzer says that not only the characters are adrift in this book, the story itself seems unsure of what it wants to be.
Sneak Preview: 5 Books To Look Forward To This Summer
NPR's Barrie Hardymon has been scanning the catalogs all year, searching for the summer's best books. Her five favorites range from young-adult fiction to a memoir about cheese.
Book News: Iain Banks, Genre-Defying Author, Dies
Also: U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey to be given second term; the best books coming out this week.
In 'Shocked,' Patricia Volk Honors Two Formative Femmes
Both Elsa Schiaparelli and Audrey Morgen Volk loved clothing. They were also strict, impatient and volatile. In her memoir, Patricia Volk describes how an iconoclastic, Italian fashion designer and a loving, perfectionist mother helped her move into adulthood.
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