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Best Books Of 2012
The Year's Outstanding 'Backseat' Reads, For Ages 9 To 14
December 10, 2012 NPR's Backseat Book Club polled children's booksellers and librarians to find 2012's best books for middle-graders. The winners are a heartwarming city kid's tale, a Chinese folklore-inspired adventure, and an encounter with a 10-year-old you'll never forget.
Fine Art
Hopper's Lonely Figures Find Some Friends In Paris
December 10, 2012 An exhibition of works by American realist Edward Hopper is drawing impressive crowds at the Grand Palais. Hopper is well-known in the U.S. for his pensive, lonely portraits of people sitting together yet alone. He's less well-known in France, but the exhibit has been a surprising success.
Author Interviews
'Torn': Living As An Openly Gay Christian
December 9, 2012 Justin Lee grew up in a Southern Baptist family. At age 18, he came out to his family and church, who had trouble accepting him as a gay man. Lee later started the Gay Christian Network to encourage a dialogue between gay Christians, their families and their churches. His new book is Torn.
Sunday Puzzle
Quick! Sneak In That 'QU'
December 9, 2012 Every answer is a six-letter word containing "QU" somewhere inside it. You'll be given anagrams of the remaining four letters. You name the words (No answer is a plural or a word formed by adding "s.").
Author Interviews
Sebastian Faulks: Searching For The Self In 'Possible' Lives
December 9, 2012 Author Sebastian Faulks says all of the characters in his new novel, A Possible Life, "struggle with the idea of selfhood, and who they are and identity." The novel weaves together five separate stories, jumping centuries and locations, and Faulks compares them to movements in a symphony.
Movies I've Seen A Million Times
The Movie Gustavo Santaolalla's 'Seen A Million Times'
December 8, 2012 Musician and composer Gustavo Santaolalla, best known for his Oscar-winning scores for The Motorcycle Diaries and Brokeback Mountain, could watch Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life a million times. "It gives me hope," he says.
Movies
Knightley's Anna Karenina Loses The Innocence
December 8, 2012 The epic novel Anna Karenina has been adapted for TV and film dozens of times. This time, Keira Knightley plays the leading role. Host Guy Raz talks with the actress about bringing Leo Tolstoy's book to life in 2012.
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Hugh Bonneville Of 'Downton Abbey' Plays Not My Job
December 8, 2012 We've invited Bonneville to play a game called "Welcome to America, Lord Grantham": three questions about the TLC show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
Movie Interviews
50 Years On, Sharif Looks Back At 'Lawrence'
December 8, 2012 The Oscar-winning epic Lawrence of Arabia was first released in theaters 50 years ago this month. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Omar Sharif about playing Sherif Ali in the film.
Movies
Hollywood Heights: The Ups, Downs And In-Betweens
December 7, 2012 When we go to the movies, we want our heroes big and our villains bigger. But Hollywood actors are only slightly taller, on average, than their fans. NPR critic Bob Mondello takes a look at actors' heights: who's commandingly short, or diminutively tall.
Best Books Of 2012
A Wintry Mix: Alan Cheuse Selects The Season's Best
December 7, 2012 Critic Alan Cheuse maps out a winter wonderland of fiction and poetry — from ancient Greece to the near-future visions of Walter Mosley, a selection of the best books to give and receive this holiday season. Cheuse says these five books strike the perfect balance between lyricism and narrative.
The Salt
Mushroom Ice Cream, Anyone? Chefs Turning To Veggies For Dessert
December 7, 2012 Unafraid of the supposed barrier between sweet and savory, many chefs are incorporating vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, and even mushrooms into new dessert recipes. But are they any healthier? Actually, yes, says a nutritionist.
The Picture Show
A Look At Brazil's Big Dreamer, Architect Oscar Niemeyer
December 7, 2012 The legendary architect was living proof that sometimes, you have to bend the rules. In doing so, he created the visual language for an entire city.
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Fiction, Week Of December 6, 2012
December 7, 2012 Jim Butcher's Cold Days resurrects Harry Dresden into eternal servitude. It debuts at No. 7.
Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season
Hanukkah Lights 2012
December 7, 2012 This year's installment of Hanukkah Lights showcases some of the program's most insightful moments. Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz read stories about a mother reconnecting with her daughter, a schoolboy standing up for his heritage and teenagers trying to bridge a bitter family divide.
