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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Books News & Features

A Lost And Found 'Wonder': Pearl S. Buck's Final Novel

Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia but spent much of her childhood in China, where her parents worked as missionaries.

Before her death in 1973, Pearl S. Buck wrote one final novel. But The Eternal Wonder languished in a Texas storage unit for decades until its discovery last fall.

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Author Interviews

Transcending Hardships By Saving Others In 'Constellation'

Russian soldiers take their position near the village of Shatoy, Chechnya.

In his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra takes readers to the war-torn republic of Chechnya. People disappear, informers betray and those with humanity endure great hardships.

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Theater

Two Songs That Led Keith Carradine From Screen To Broadway

Keith Carradine (right) performs with the cast of Hands on a Hardbody during its spring 2013 run in New York.

One of Keith Carradine's most famous roles in recent years was as Wild Bill Hickok on the HBO TV show Deadwood. But Carradine is also a musician, and it was a song that jump-started his career — and another that drew him to his latest Broadway role.

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From Our Listeners

Three-Minute Fiction Readings: 'Geometry' And 'Snowflake'

road sign

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles.

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Movie Reviews

More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

Still Talking: After 18 years, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) apparently have plenty left to hash out.

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke return for the third in Richard Linklater's loosely peerless Before series, and they've never been more persuasive — nor has the storytelling. (Recommended)

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The Salt

Meet London's Master Architects In Jell-0

Sam Bompas (left) and Harry Parr made names for themselves with spectacular gelatin creations.

London duo Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have made names for themselves with their wild, experimental food installations. From pineapple islands and banana vapors to re-creations of famous architectural monuments, their work playfully pushes the boundary of how we experience food.

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

NFL Sideline Reporter Michele Tafoya Plays Not My Job

Sideline reporter Michele Tafoya speaks on a panel at the 2011 Summer TCA Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif.

As one of the first female reporters to be allowed inside the NFL locker room, Tafoya has been a pioneer in her field. But there are still places out there where they believe in cooties, so Tafoya will answer three questions about men's-only clubs.

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Theater

Equity At 100: More Than Just A Broadway Baby

His statue may be a Theater District landmark now, but George M. Cohan caused no small amount of trouble for Actors' Equity early in its history. The union marks its 100th anniversary this year.

The union of actors and stage managers, who banded together to improve working conditions in the early 1900s, marks its centennial this year. As Jeff Lunden reports, it's operating in an ever-shifting theatrical landscape.

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Author Interviews

Gateway Arch 'Biography' Reveals Complex History Of An American Icon

The Gateway Arch "is really a monument to the 20th century and to the height of American power," says historian Tracy Campbell.

The gleaming stainless steel arch in St. Louis is, officially, a monument to westward expansion. But in The Gateway Arch: A Biography, Tracy Campbell argues that the monument's meaning is more complicated. He tells NPR about the controversies, the clout and the costs behind the 630-foot structure.

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The Two-Way

Gnomes Crash Distinguished Garden Show In England

Decorated gnomes designed by celebrities, including Elton John (second from the right), are displayed at Chelsea Flower Show on Monday in London.

The contentious little creatures were allowed in the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time in its 100-year history. Their presence has been hotly debated, but celebrity-decorated gnomes will be sold for a cause.

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Author Interviews

Prepare For Takeoff With 'Cockpit Confidential'

Airliner taking off in clear sky

In his new book, pilot and columnist Patrick Smith explains why you have to turn off your cellphone for takeoff and landing, and why your ideas about autopilot are probably all wrong. He wants people to "re-appreciate the act of air travel. It's not as horrible as everybody thinks it is."

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Three-Minute Fiction

Three-Minute Fiction: Snowflake

Snowflake

She found the photograph early in the day, while she was cleaning for spring, pulling a winter's collection of domestic detritus out from under the bed. Ticket stubs, grimy grocery notes, coffee-stained lined paper, and dead pens. Their life: movies, food, and books.

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Three-Minute Fiction

Three-Minute Fiction: Geometry

road sign

I found your journal in my car. A slim, Moleskin, six by ten centimeters, soft cover, blue, curving upwards at the edges like an incredibly shallow bowl, or a key dish. By the concavity in its form, the book seemed to be suggesting it was capable of carrying something. Something real.

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The Salt

Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?

Ladies, why are we letting the menfolk dominate the grilling?

The grill "is the one and only male-dominated appliance in America," says a researcher who recently crunched the numbers. He found that men are more than twice as likely as women to be the primary grillers at home. One reason? Grilling can feel like a form of recreation.

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