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Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews NPR's brings you news about books and authors along with our picks for great reads. Interviews, reviews, and much more.

Books

Author Interviews

Actor Laura Dern shares stories of working with mom Diane Ladd

The mother-daughter duo have always shared a profession. But when Ladd was diagnosed with lung disease, the two started sharing so much more. Ladd died Nov. 3. Originally broadcast June 26, 2023.

FA: Laura Dern/Diane Ladd

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Padma Lakshmi says she wouldn’t go back to her 20s

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Padma Lakshmi says she wouldn’t go back to her 20s

Padma Lakshmi has always been deeply curious about food, and how it serves as a vehicle for celebrating the cultural diversity of America. In her new book, "Padma's All American," she shares stories and recipes from people she’s encountered all across the U.S. Padma talks to Rachel about the life lessons her grandma taught her through cooking and why life is better in her 50s.

Padma Lakshmi says she wouldn’t go back to her twenties

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Heart the Lover, by Lily King
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

Lily King's new novel constructs an erotically charged love triangle

Heart the Lover is both a prequel and a sequel to King's 2020 novel Lovers & Writers. It's a story about screwing up, wising up, finding yourself and realizing what you may have lost in the process.

FA: Book Review -Heart the Lover, by Lily King

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Nite Yun's debut cookbook is called My Cambodia: A Khmer

Nite Yun's debut cookbook is called My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook. Andria Lo/Ten Speed Press hide caption

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Andria Lo/Ten Speed Press

Author Interviews

Chef Nite Yun showcases flavors of her parents' home in new cookbook, 'My Cambodia'

Chef Nite Yun, who was born in a refugee camp and went on to become an acclaimed chef, discusses her debut cookbook, 'My Cambodia' — and shares a recipe essential for Khmer cooking.

Nite Yun showcases the flavors of her parent's home in new cookbook, 'My Cambodia'

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A photograph of a stack of books.
Becky Harlan/NPR

Books

A new fund will route millions to the literary arts

A coalition of charitable foundations are creating the Literary Arts Fund, which will distribute at least $50 million to various organizations over 5 years.

Literary Arts Fund

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Cameron Crowe, left, speaks with Gregg Allman in 1973.

Cameron Crowe, left, speaks with Gregg Allman in 1973. Neal Preston/Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Neal Preston/Simon & Schuster

Author Interviews

Why Cameron Crowe wears 'uncool' as a badge of honor

Crowe was just 15 years old when he became a music journalist in 1973. He had to talk his mom into letting him go on the road with bands. He chronicles his adventures in his new memoir, The Uncool.

FA: Cameron Crow

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This photo shows a green bean and chicken stir-fry, with sauce and seasonings, in a black pan. It is surrounded by other dishes that include vegetables and rice.

Green bean and chicken stir-fry is one of the many "vegetable-forward" recipes in Roy Choi's cookbook, The Choi of Cooking: Flavor-Packed, Rule-Breaking Recipes for a Delicious Life, which he co-wrote with Tien Nguyen and Natasha Phan. This dish uses the Sweet Garlic Teriyaki Sauce you can find below. Bobby Fisher hide caption

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Bobby Fisher

Life Kit

3 culinary tricks that might get you to eat more veggies, according to chef Roy Choi

Chef Roy Choi, known for his Korean-Mexican fusion food trucks, focuses on veggie-forward dishes in a new cookbook. He shares techniques to get you excited about your greens, plus 3 flavorful sauces.

Tupac Shakur in 1994.

Tupac Shakur in 1994. Steve Eichner/Getty Images hide caption

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Steve Eichner/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Tupac's life was 'yin and yang,' writes author of 'Only God Can Judge Me'

Bestselling author Jeff Pearlman digs into the complexities that defined rapper Tupac Shakur's short life in book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur.

'Only God Can Judge Me' explores the life of rapper Tupac Shakur

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A federal judge has ordered books about gender and race be returned to the shelves at school libraries on military bases in Kentucky, Virginia, Italy and Japan.

A federal judge has ordered books about gender and race be returned to the shelves at school libraries on military bases in Kentucky, Virginia, Italy and Japan. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Books about race and gender to be returned to school libraries on some military bases

The order is to be implemented at school libraries on military bases in Kentucky, Virginia, Italy and Japan. Students and their families claimed their First Amendment rights had been violated when officials removed the books to comply with President Trump's executive orders.

Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 when she was 17.

Malala Yousafzai is the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate and co-founder of Malala Fund, which advocates for girls' education worldwide. Rinaldo Sata/Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Rinaldo Sata/Simon & Schuster

Goats and Soda

Just because she won a Nobel doesn't mean Malala didn't break some rules in college

In 2014, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person to win a Nobel Prize, an honor that weighed on her when she went off to college. In Finding My Way, she writes about her life at Oxford and beyond.

FA: Malala Yousafzai

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Karine Jean-Pierre gives an interview on her new book "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines".

Karine Jean-Pierre gives an interview on her new book "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines". Bronson Arcuri/NPR hide caption

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Bronson Arcuri/NPR

Politics

Karine Jean-Pierre on why she left the Democrats — and calls herself independent

In her new book Independent, former Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre writes that party infighting, bias and disloyalty drove her to leave the Democratic Party.

Karine Jean-Pierre shares why she no longer identifies as a Democrat in her new book

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Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell’s London townhouse in March 2001. The photo, from Giuffre’s personal collection, appears in her book Nobody’s Girl.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell's London townhouse in March 2001. The photo, from Giuffre's personal collection, appears in her book Nobody's Girl. Courtesy of Virginia Roberts Giuffre hide caption

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Courtesy of Virginia Roberts Giuffre

National

Virginia Giuffre recounts a lifetime of abuse in her memoir 'Nobody's Girl'

Published months after her death, Virginia Roberts Giuffre's memoir illustrates how "victims of sexual trafficking are not born, they are made," says her collaborator.

Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's memoir is for 'all survivors,' collaborator says

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Author Interviews

'Fairyland' author recalls growing up with her gay dad in pre-AIDS San Francisco

Alysia Abbott was raised by a single father at the dawn of the gay liberation era. Sofia Coppola recently adapted Abbott's memoir, Fairyland, to film. Originally broadcast in 2013.

FA: Alysia Abbott

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After Midnight, by Daphne du Maurier
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

You know Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca' — but she also wrote these terrifying tales

Rebecca dominates du Maurier's legacy, but she wrote plenty of other macabre novels and short stories. A collection called After Midnight gathers 13 of these tales, with an intro by Stephen King.

FA: Book Review: After Midnight, by Daphne Du Maurier

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