Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews : NPR

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, the NPR Bestseller Lists, New in Paperback and much more.

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NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads

November 27, 2018 • The Book Concierge is back! Explore more than 300 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.

Author Interviews

In 'The Dakota Winters,' Finding A New Story To Tell About John Lennon

December 15, 2018 • Tom Barbash's new novel is set in the famed Manhattan apartment house where Lennon spent the last year of his life — and where, in this telling, he befriends a washed-up talk show host and his son.

In 'The Dakota Winters,' Finding A New Story To Tell About John Lennon

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Author Interviews

This 'Broken Ornament' Led To Christmas Magic

December 13, 2018 • Award-winning illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi got the idea for his new children's book when his own daughter accidentally dropped a beloved Christmas ornament, and he made up a story to comfort her. W

This 'Broken Ornament' Led To Christmas Magic

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Obama Photographer Uses 'Shade' To Contrast Presidents, Political Landscapes

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Pete Souza

The Picture Show

Obama Photographer Uses 'Shade' To Contrast Presidents, Political Landscapes

December 13, 2018 • On Instagram and in his latest book, former White House photographer Pete Souza juxtaposes images of the 44th president as critical counterpoints to headlines and tweets generated by the 45th.

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Screenshot courtesy of USC Game Innovation Lab

Reading The Game

Reading The Game: Walden

December 13, 2018 • Our occasional series on storytelling in video games returns with the most intentionally literary game we've ever looked at: Walden, A Game, in which you play as Henry David Thoreau (yes, really).

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Gulfiya Mukhamatdinova/Getty Images

Review

Code Switch

Code Switch's 2018 Book Guide

December 12, 2018 • We checked in with authors, poets and great literary minds to see what books they think everyone should read this holiday season.

Code Switch's 2018 Book Guide

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Guy Branum and Sam Sanders Talk Changing The Culture Of Comedy

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Guy Branum and Sam Sanders Talk Changing The Culture Of Comedy

December 12, 2018 • Comedian Guy Branum joins NPR's Sam Sanders to talk about his new book My Life As A Goddess and the many challenges presented by a mostly white, hetero-normative comedy scene.

Guy Branum and Sam Sanders Talk Changing The Culture Of Comedy

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Fresh Air

December 10, 2018 • Driverless vehicles could be the "most disruptive technology to hit society worldwide since the advent of the motor car," says former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz.

The Revolution Will Be Driverless: Autonomous Cars Usher In Big Changes

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Maureen Corrigan Picks The Best Books Of 2018, Including The Novel Of The Year

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Review

Book Reviews

Maureen Corrigan Picks The Best Books Of 2018, Including The Novel Of The Year

Fresh Air

December 10, 2018 • Fresh Air's book critic recommends her 10 favorite books of the year, including The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai's sweeping story about the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.

Maureen Corrigan Picks The Best Books Of 2018, Including The Novel Of The Year

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Book Reviews

Art Restores The Soul In 'Museum Of Modern Love'

December 10, 2018 • Performance artist Marina Abramovic is the still point at the center of Heather Rose's new novel, as a motley cast of characters come to see her sitting at a table in New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Review

Book News & Features

In 'Trish Trash,' Roller Derby — And Anti-Capitalist Parable — On Mars

December 8, 2018 • Jessica Abel's comic Trish Trash, Rollergirl of Mars isn't just a sports story and a coming-of-age tale, it's a masterful critique of capitalism that stays engaging despite a few wobbles.

The Moral Of The Story Is: Great Kids' Books Don't Always Need Morals

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The Moral Of The Story Is: Great Kids' Books Don't Always Need Morals

December 7, 2018 • Jon Scieszka — dad, teacher and author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales — shares the books he plans to give to the kids on his list this year.

The Moral Of The Story Is: Great Kids' Books Don't Always Need Morals

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Can't Find Time To Read? Poetry Might Make The Perfect Gift

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A Photographer Turns A Lens On His Father's Alzheimer's

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Stephen DiRado

Shots - Health News

A Photographer Turns A Lens On His Father's Alzheimer's

December 6, 2018 • They had always been partners, in a way — artists who connected through their work. So, when Gene DiRado began withdrawing from the world, his son rushed toward him — and brought along a camera.

Review

Book Reviews

'Broken Ground' Balances Location, Character And Props In Perfect Proportion

December 6, 2018 • Prolific crime writer Val McDermid's latest catches up with plainspoken cold-case detective Karen Pirie as she deals with personal troubles, machinations at work and a mystery going back decades.

Review

Book Reviews

Surrealism Meets Sci-Fi In 'Parallel Lives'

December 6, 2018 • Olivier Schrauwen's new graphic novel is cold and rejecting, giddy and uncontrolled, all at the same time. It's semi-autobiographical and loosely sci-fi, set in an unsettlingly minimalist future.

Lynn Neary's Reading Recommendations For The Book Lovers On Your List

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Lynn Neary's Reading Recommendations For The Book Lovers On Your List

December 6, 2018 • Ahead of the holidays, Neary offers some literary gift ideas — including a novel about a teenage spy, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a cookbook just for kids.

Lynn Neary's Reading Recommendations For The Book Lovers On Your List

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Novelist And 'Book Matchmaker' Tayari Jones Shares Her Favorite Books Of 2018

December 5, 2018 • Ahead of the holidays this year, All Things Considered is inviting writers to talk about the books they'll be gifting to friends and family. Jones, author of An American Marriage, shares her list.

Novelist And 'Book Matchmaker' Tayari Jones Shares Her Favorite Books Of 2018

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Review

1968: How We Got Here

Key 1968 Harvard-Yale Battle Sets Scene For 'The Game' — And Football's Future

December 5, 2018 • Author George Howe Colt's choice to delve into the lives of the players and coaches in his new book, as well as the turbulent year itself, makes his writing about the actual game pay off beautifully.