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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

A secret shelf of banned books thrives in a Texas school, under the nose of censors

A high school teacher in Houston has a library in her classroom of books she's not supposed to have, per state legislation. Students say she's helping them survive. (Story aired on ATC on 1/29/24.)

A secret shelf of banned books thrives in a Texas school, under the nose of censors

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Jada Pinkett Smith, the artist

Jada Pinkett Smith's creative life. Matt Winkelmeyer/Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images hide caption

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Jada Pinkett Smith, the artist

Jada Pinkett Smith is the kind of celebrity that makes headlines just by breathing. But looking at those headlines — mostly about her marriage to fellow actor, Will Smith — made host Brittany Luse think that most people have gotten Jada all wrong. A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Jada's best known for her acting, but she's also a producer, musician, and painter. After reading her memoir, Worthy, Brittany noticed the way Jada's artistic mind and process had been overlooked. So, she sat down with Jada to ask about it. They talked about what Jada's painting, what she got out of her time as a rock singer, why she looks at her relationship with Will as a masterpiece, and what she wants for her future.

Jada Pinkett Smith, the artist

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Author Interviews

'Oscar Wars' spotlights bias, blind spots and backstage battles in the Academy

Fresh Air

From relentless campaigning to snubs and speeches, the Academy Awards have often reflected a cultural conflict zone. Michael Schulman discusses the controversies. Originally broadcast Feb. 22, 2023.

'Oscar Wars' spotlights bias, blind spots and backstage battles in the Academy

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You'll savor the off-beat mysteries served up by 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives'
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

You'll savor the off-beat mysteries served up by 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives'

Fresh Air

Hisashi Kashiwai's charming novel centers on a diner where carefully reconstructed meals help unlock mysteries of memory and regret.

You'll savor the off-beat mysteries served up by 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives'

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Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

Author and cultural critic bell hooks poses for a portrait on December 16, 1996 in New York City, New York. Karjean Levine/Getty Images hide caption

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Karjean Levine/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

This week, we're asking: do the fantasies we read in romance novels say anything about what we want in our real-life relationships? Devoted readers share how the genre has impacted their love lives. Host Brittany Luse revisits her conversation with writer Rebekah Weatherspoon about how she builds a world of desire.

Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

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The secret to lasting love might just be knowing how to fight
LA Johnson/NPR

Life Kit

The secret to lasting love might just be knowing how to fight

The Gottmans have been studying marriage and relationships for 40 years. In a new book, Fight Right, they explain how successful couples resolve their conflicts.

The secret to lasting love might just be knowing how to fight

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Is Bigfoot real? A new book dives deep into the legend

A person dressed as Bigfoot makes their way through the snow during a blizzard in Boston in January 2015. John O'Connor's The Secret History of Bigfoot explores the myth and its lingering appeal. Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images hide caption

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Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images

Review

Book Reviews

Is Bigfoot real? A new book dives deep into the legend

The Secret History of Bigfoot is a smart, hilarious, and wonderfully immersive journey into the history of Bigfoot, the culture around it, the people who obsess about it, and the psychology behind it.

Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death

Maurice Sendak's previously unpublished Ten Little Rabbits was released this week. On a visit to the late writer's home, we learned he whistled while he worked. (Story aired on ATC on 2/6/24.)

Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death

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Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images

Interview highlights

Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

The new book Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s reassesses a time when popular culture policed, ridiculed and even took down a variety of women in the public eye.

Reexamining the 'upskirt decade' and the public ridicule of female pop stars

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How the art world excludes you and what you can do about it

In her new book Get the Picture, journalist Bianca Bosker explores why connecting with art sometimes feels harder than it has to be. Above, a visitor takes in paintings at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London in 2010. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Author Interviews

How the art world excludes you and what you can do about it

First of all, can we stop using the word "liminal"? Bianca Bosker spent five years doing in-depth research for Get the Picture — an irreverent book about "strategic snobbery" in the art world.

How the art world excludes you and what you can do about it

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A foster parent reflects on loving — and letting go of — the children in his care

Mark Daley is the founder of The Foster Parent, a national platform to connect interested families with foster organizations. Mark Daugherty/Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Mark Daugherty/Simon & Schuster

Author Interviews

A foster parent reflects on loving — and letting go of — the children in his care

Fresh Air

Mark Daley always knew the goal was reunification — but he was still devastated when the young boys in his care returned to their birth family. He writes about the experience in his new memoir, Safe.

A foster parent reflects on loving — and letting go of — the children in his care

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Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death
HarperCollins Publishers

Book News & Features

Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death

The late author-illustrator, creator of Pierre and Where the Wild Things Are, loved whistling, Mozart, and Mickey Mouse curios. His trademark whimsy can be found in the new book Ten Little Rabbits.

Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death

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Police raided George Pelecanos' home. 15 years later, he's ready to write about it

Writer George Pelecanos reads The Washington Post every morning in his home. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrión/NPR

Author Interviews

Police raided George Pelecanos' home. 15 years later, he's ready to write about it

Crime fiction author and screenwriter George Pelecanos is known for his gritty realism. His latest short story collection takes that same unsparing look at his own past.

Police raided George Pelecanos' home. 15 years later, he's ready to write about it

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