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Thrilled To Death

'Advise And Consent': Scandal In The U.S. Senate()  

Richard North Patterson

July 27, 2010 Thriller writer Richard North Patterson knows about engrossing political dramas -- he served as the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. As his favorite thriller, he recommends Allen Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning Advise and Consent, a political novel that still rings true after 50 years.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

In E-Publishing Revolution, Rights Battle Wears On()  

Jeff Bezos

July 27, 2010 In the most recent battle of the publishing revolution, a major literary agency has announced its plans to bypass traditional publishers and start selling some prominent titles as e-books through Amazon. Needless to say, publishers are fighting back.

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Author Interviews

Paparazzi Take Center Stage In Hiaasen's 'Star Island'()  

Salma Hayek

July 27, 2010 Vacuous pop stars, a hygiene-challenged photographer and corrupt politicians all play a part in Carl Hiaasen's new satire of the industry that both makes and breaks celebrities.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

A Novel Approach: Free Books For Donations()  

One of the free books published by the Concord Free Press is on display.

July 27, 2010 The Concord Free Press has been publishing books and giving them away for the past two years. The Massachusetts-based publisher just asks readers to make a donation to a charity or a person in need and to chart the donation online. It also encourages readers to share the book with others.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Futurist 40 Years Later: Possibilities, Not Predictions()  

Author Alvin Toffler  in 1970.

July 26, 2010 Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was first published in July 1970. The book includes insights into the effects of rapidly changing technology and "information overload." People may not be as shocked by change as 81-year-old Toffler had imagined, but he says there's still value in envisioning possibilities.

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Author Interviews

Jennifer Egan Does Avant-Garde Fiction -- Old School()  

Jennifer Egan

July 26, 2010 Influenced by both The Sopranos and Marcel Proust, Jennifer Egan takes her readers on a swirling, playful ride through time in A Visit from the Goon Squad, a novel of linked short stories -- including one told as a PowerPoint presentation -- that defies categorization.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Books We Like

'Tis The Season For 'The Thousand Autumns'()  

David Mitchell

July 26, 2010 Stories about sober, upstanding Dutch trading clerks on assignment in Tokugawa-era Japan aren't exactly trendy in the publishing industry ... but that didn't stop David Mitchell. Critic Michael Schaub finds Mitchell's latest novel so inventive and complex that he expects it to easily qualify as one of the best books of 2010.

Summary

A London Cabbie's Summer Reading Picks()  

Taxi

July 24, 2010 Will Grozier, who drives a taxi in London, is no ordinary cabbie. NPR's Scott Simon calls him "the best-read man that I have ever encountered in my life" -- which is why NPR occasionally calls Grozier up for reading recommendations. Here are Grozier's latest picks, five books that are equally suitable for diving into on the beach or sampling on a short taxi ride.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

Author Interviews

'Kook': Life's Lessons Learned On A Surfboard()  

Kook promo

July 25, 2010 After sailing the Antarctic Sea and traversing the deepest Tibetan gorge, Peter Heller became a "kook," or beginner surfer. It was while surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif. that he caught a glimpse of his next great adventure: a trip down the West Coast, in search of the perfect wave. In Kook he tells the story of that journey, and what he learned along the way.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

My Guilty Pleasure

Gilded Romances Of Dashing Dandies, Brooding Beaus()  

Regency Romance

July 23, 2010 Author Helen Simonson risks her literary pretensions to admit a lifelong secret attraction to the Regency romance novels of Georgette Heyer. The dampened muslin dresses, the highly polished boots -- for her, nothing beats these tales of heroines who require a man with a firm hand on the bridle.

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