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NPR's Backseat Book Club

'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes()  

Author Jarrett Krosoczka teaches a drawing class to a group of third- and fifth-graders at the Walker-Jones Education Campus in Washington, D.C.

May 23, 2013 Can you imagine your own superhero? That's the question author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka posed to kids on a recent afternoon at a school in Washington, D.C. Krosoczka also described how he overcame a difficult childhood to become the author of the beloved Lunch Lady series.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Book Reviews

Heartbreaking Choice Sets Siblings On Separate, Unequal Paths()  

And The Mountains Echoed cover

May 23, 2013 A poor father sells his daughter to a wealthy, childless couple, dividing her from her beloved brother and setting a chain of stories in motion in Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed. Moving and morally complex, this is the most ambitious book yet from the author of The Kite Runner.

Summary

The Week's 5 Best Stories From NPR Books()  

books

April 25, 2013 This week, Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini returns with And The Mountains Echoed — an ambitious story that spans decades and continents. And Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, is back with Inferno, his first novel in four years.

Summary

The Two-Way

Judge: Unredeemed Borders Gift Cards Are Worthless ()  

Customers walk out of Borders on July 22, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif., as the chain began liquidating.

May 22, 2013 A Manhattan judge upholds a lower court ruling that $210 million worth of unredeemed gift cards from the defunct book chain are no longer valid.

Summary

The Two-Way

Book News: Lydia Davis Wins Man Booker International Prize()  

Lydia Davis poses during a photocall in May for the finalists of the 2013 Man Booker International literary prize in London.

May 23, 2013 Also: Amazon to begin publishing fan fiction; Paul Ryan and Elizabeth Warren are writing books; Keith Richards' exorbitant library fines.

Summary

Author Interviews

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process()  

Flower from iStock

May 22, 2013 After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

The Two-Way

Book News: Newly Found Pearl Buck Novel To Be Published This Fall()  

At her desk in the study of her Philadelphia townhouse in 1967, Pearl Buck looks at a bound volume of the magazine Asia from 1925 that  contained her first published work.

May 22, 2013 Also: shameless book blurbs; new plays from Ayad Ahktar; and a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone draws a record price at auction.

Summary

Book Reviews

A Different Kind Of Immigrant Experience In 'Americanah'()  

Nigerian and American flags

May 22, 2013 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's latest, Americanah, follows the trials and tribulations of Ifemelu, a middle-class Nigerian immigrant to America. Reviewer Jennifer Reese calls Americanah a "rich and gloriously detailed tapestry ... hung on the sturdy scaffolding of a sweet love story."

Summary

First Reads

Exclusive First Read: 'Big Brother' By Lionel Shriver()  

cover image

May 21, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of Lionel Shriver's latest, Big Brother. Shriver is no stranger to controversial topics, from school massacres to the American health care system. Big Brother is a comedic take on obesity and its effect on an Iowa family.

Summary

ListenPlaylist

Author Interviews

After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive()  

Into The Abyss cover

May 21, 2013 On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Author Interviews

Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings'()  

Cover of Eleven Rings

May 21, 2013 Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

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Inferno

Hardcover Fiction

Symbologist Robert Langdon faces a Dante-themed riddle in Dan Brown's Inferno. It debuts at No. 1.

Pos. Title Author
1 Inferno Dan Brown
2 A Delicate Truth John Le Carre
3 The Woman Upstairs Claire Messud
4 Life After Life Kate Atkinson
5 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn

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The Guns at Last Light

Hardcover Nonfiction

The Guns at Last Light concludes Rick Atkinson's World War II trilogy. It debuts at No. 4.

Pos. Title Author
1 Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls David Sedaris
2 Lean In Sheryl Sandberg
3 Cooked Michael Pollan
4 The Guns At Last Light Rick Atkinson
5 I Could Pee On This Francesco Marciuliano

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The Dog Stars

Paperback Fiction

At No. 13, a pilot fights to survive after a devastating pandemic in Peter Heller's The Dog Stars.

Pos. Title Author
1 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
2 Beautiful Ruins Jess Walter
3 Where'd You Go, Bernadette Maria Semple
4 The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson
5 Bring Up The Bodies Hilary Mantel

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Wreck This Journal

Paperback Nonfiction

An expanded edition of Wreck This Journal encourages creative destruction. It debuts at No. 14.

Pos. Title Author
1 Wild Cheryl Strayed
2 Proof Of Heaven Eben Alexander, M.D.
3 Quiet Susan Cain
4 Thinking, Fast And Slow Daniel Kahneman
5 Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake Anna Quindlen

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