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December 12, 2012 The Spanish woman who grabbed headlines for what's purported to be the world's worst art restoration is at it again. This time, she's selling an original oil painting on eBay. So far, it's fetched bids of more than $800.

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December 12, 2012 In a new book, biographer David Nasaw profiles the father of Robert, John and Teddy, and unpacks the elder Kennedy's influence on his children. "He told them over and over again, 'I'm making all this money so you don't have to make money, so that you can go into public service,' " Nasaw says.

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December 12, 2012 Frank Sinatra's hometown is swiftly morphing into a commuter hub. What does that mean for the longstanding business owners? It's hard enough to survive the economy, let alone Hurricane Sandy.

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December 12, 2012 Some of these novels will touch your heart; others will challenge your mind. One will make you laugh — a few might make you cry. But all of these books recommended by NPR's Lynn Neary will give you and your friends plenty to talk about.

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December 12, 2012 Author Wendy Welch shares her favorite book about small-town life that defy stereotypes. What is your favorite work that takes a bite out of literary tradition? Tell us in the comments.

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December 12, 2012 Oprah Winfrey says her Book Club grew out of a desire to talk to authors after finishing their books. While the original version of the club ended when Winfrey's television show went off the air in 2011, it has now been rebooted online and on the new Oprah Winfrey Network as Book Club 2.0.

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December 12, 2012 Spiced cookies shaped like windmills or villagers mark celebrations of St. Nicholas (or Sinterklaas) — and remind food writer Emily Hilliard of childhood visits with her grandmother. These speculaas even spawned a "cookie butter" that makes a festive base for a decadent pie.

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December 11, 2012 Chris Sullivan's debut animated feature, Consuming Spirits, deploys multiple styles to convey a surreal, semi-autobiographical portrait of life in a small Appalachian town. Critic Ian Buckwalter praises the film's emotional rawness as a labor of love on the part of the filmmaker. (Recommended)

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December 11, 2012 Our comics blogger examines the new 'Man of Steel' from a historical perspective and asks, Is Zack Snyder making Ma and Pa Kent ... interesting?

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December 11, 2012 If realist American painter Edward Hopper had wielded a camera rather than a brush, what would he have photographed?

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December 11, 2012 Gift books should be special: arrestingly visual, deeply felt, quirky, comprehensive, important. We've combed the shelves to bring you several such suggestions, guaranteed to put a sparkle in the eyes of any big reader.

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December 11, 2012 Oprah Winfrey's second pick for her rebooted book club is The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by first-time novelist Ayana Mathis. It's a chronicle of the Great Migration of African-Americans leaving the rural South, following a family matriarch who leaves Georgia to start a new life in Philadelphia.

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December 10, 2012 For this week's Sandwich Monday, we celebrate Hanukkah with the Latke Double Down, a Jewish take on the classic KFC sandwich which replaced bread with fried chicken. It's eight nights of calories in one, easy to hold package.

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December 10, 2012 In Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler satirizes pulp mysteries and uncovers the parallels between detective fiction and childhood. In both, he says, an outsider is trying to make his way in a mysteriously corrupt world.

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