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Books We Love: Great books about identity and culture

May 23, 2022 • The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of book recommendations from critics, writers and NPR journalists to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're giving recommendations for our favorite books about identity and culture.

Books We Love: Great books about identity and culture

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A kids' story unfolds without words in 'A Day For Sandcastles'

May 22, 2022 • Three siblings spend a summer day at the beach building sandcastles and watching them get demolished in a wordless picture book written by JonArno Lawson and illustrated by Qin Leng.

A kids' story unfolds without words in 'A Day For Sandcastles'

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These 4 novels will get your summer off to a terrific start

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These 4 novels will get your summer off to a terrific start

Fresh Air

May 19, 2022 • Book critic Maureen Corrigan has been diving into lighter literary novels and mysteries, searching for books suited for the beginning of summer. Here are some of her picks.

These 4 novels will get your summer off to a terrific start

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Latin American literature in translation: Stories that take you to unexpected places

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

Review

Latin American literature in translation: Stories that take you to unexpected places

May 19, 2022 • New translations of Juan Emar's Yesterday, Cristina Rivera Garza's New and Selected Stories, and Gabriela Alemán's Family Album offer a look at human nature — and adventures along the way.

Naheed Phiroze Patel

'Mirror Made of Rain' looks at how patterns of self-destruction are inherited

May 19, 2022 • Naheed Phiroze Patel's debut novel Mirror Made of Rain is out in the U.S. this week.

'Mirror Made of Rain' looks at how patterns of self-destruction are inherited

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'Translating Myself and Others' is a reminder of how alive language can be

Princeton University Press

Review

'Translating Myself and Others' is a reminder of how alive language can be

May 18, 2022 • Jhumpa Lahiri mixes detailed explorations of craft with broader reflections on her own artistic life, as well as the "essential aesthetic and political mission" of translation.

Many know how George Floyd died. A new biography reveals how he lived

A mural of George Floyd at the intersection where he was murdered in Minneapolis, Minn. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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Many know how George Floyd died. A new biography reveals how he lived

May 18, 2022 • NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa about their new book, His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice.

Many know how George Floyd died. A new biography reveals how he lived

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NPR's Petra Mayer receives posthumous science fiction award

Petra Mayer in 2019. Allison Shelley/NPR hide caption

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Allison Shelley/NPR

NPR's Petra Mayer receives posthumous science fiction award

May 17, 2022 • NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer posthumously receives the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

After a stroke blinded one eye, Frank Bruni focused on the future

Fresh Air

May 17, 2022 • The New York Times columnist says the stroke forced him to choose: He could focus on what had been lost, or on what remained. His memoir is The Beauty of Dusk. Originally broadcast March 22, 2022.

After a stroke blinded one eye, Frank Bruni focused on the future

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In 'This Time Tomorrow,' Emma Straub looks at the pieces that make a life

Riverhead

Review

In 'This Time Tomorrow,' Emma Straub looks at the pieces that make a life

May 17, 2022 • Emma Straub's new novel is a charmer that unleashes the magic of time travel to sweeten its exploration of some heavy themes like mortality, the march of time, and how small choices can alter a life.

Pixabay

The case for revolutionizing child care in America

May 17, 2022 • A new book argues that greater public support for parents is critical for the brain development of America's kids.

This forgotten women's prison helped cement Greenwich Village's queer identity

Angela Davis is escorted by two FBI agents after her arrest in New York on Oct. 13, 1970. She was taken from FBI headquarters to the Women's House of Detention. David Pickoff/AP hide caption

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This forgotten women's prison helped cement Greenwich Village's queer identity

Fresh Air

May 16, 2022 • In his book The Women's House of Detention, Hugh Ryan writes about the New York City prison and the role it played in the gay rights movement of the '60s, including the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

This forgotten women's prison helped cement Greenwich Village's queer identity

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If you've ever wanted to take a break from the internet, try these tips

May 16, 2022 • The world has changed a lot since the internet. Remember asking people for directions? If you miss the days pre-internet (or wonder what it was like), Pamela Paul, author of 100 Things We've Lost To The Internet, gives us a few ways you can reconnect with an analog way of life.

If you've ever wanted to take a break from the internet, try these tips

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Three female authors show us how writing can turn adversity into beauty

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

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Three female authors show us how writing can turn adversity into beauty

May 13, 2022 • In their latest works, Azar Nafisi, Elena Ferrante, and Anna Quindlen vigorously assert that reading and writing can pull us out of our mess. In their hands, reading and writing are worth celebrating.

'Nasty, Brutish, and Short' contends that all parents are raising little philosophers

Penguin Press

Review

'Nasty, Brutish, and Short' contends that all parents are raising little philosophers

May 12, 2022 • Author Scott Hershovitz sets out to prove that philosophy, like inquisitive, rowdy children, can offer illuminating insights — even when addressing complex subjects related to misbehavior.

You can't 'Trust' this novel. And that's a very good thing

Penguin Random House

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You can't 'Trust' this novel. And that's a very good thing

Fresh Air

May 12, 2022 • Hernan Diaz's novel is constantly pulling a fast one on the reader. It opens with the saga of a Wall Street tycoon, but soon another narrative comes to upend the truth of everything that came before.

You can't 'Trust' this novel. And that's a very good thing

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'Fly Girl' and 'The Great Stewardess Rebellion' recount journeys toward empowerment

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

Review

'Fly Girl' and 'The Great Stewardess Rebellion' recount journeys toward empowerment

May 11, 2022 • Novelist Ann Hood, whose Fly Girl paints a picture of her time as a flight attendant, was a beneficiary of the fight by the women profiled in Nell McShane Wulfhart's book to be treated professionally.

Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan rips complaints about casting the TV series

Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Rick Riordan hide caption

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Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan rips complaints about casting the TV series

May 10, 2022 • Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, has issued a forceful response to criticisms of the decision to hire a person of color, Leah Jeffries, to play Annabeth Chase on TV.

Books We Love: Recommendations for nonfiction

NPR

Review

Books We Love: Recommendations for nonfiction

May 10, 2022 • NPR's annual Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of books that scratch whatever your reading itch might be. Today, we're going to talk about some of the nonfiction we loved.

Books We Love: Recommendations for nonfiction

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New York Review Books

2022 Pulitzer Prizes in arts and letters go to 'Fat Ham' and 'The Netenyahus'

May 9, 2022 • The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes in fiction, poetry, drama and other categories in arts and letters were announced in New York along with awards for journalism.

2022 Pulitzer Prizes in arts and letters go to 'Fat Ham' and 'The Netenyahus'

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Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters

Mark Esper has written a book about the challenges he faced as Defense secretary in the Trump administration. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters

May 9, 2022 • NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Mark Esper about his forthcoming book, "A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times."

Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters

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In her new poems, Ada Limón argues for turning a delicate attention to the world

Broadside PR

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In her new poems, Ada Limón argues for turning a delicate attention to the world

May 9, 2022 • The award-winning poet's new collection, The Hurting Kind, is a testament to the power of sensitivity and to the reality that the world is here to both guide us and lead us astray.

George Pérez, celebrated comic book artist who redefined Wonder Woman, has died

George Pérez, a celebrated comic book writer and artist, died at age 67 on Friday. Here, the artist is seen in 2019 at Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP hide caption

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Obituaries

George Pérez, celebrated comic book artist who redefined Wonder Woman, has died

May 8, 2022 • Pérez died on Friday at age 67. In a career that spanned over four decades, Pérez's meticulous pencil was behind some of the biggest comic book heroes.

In 'Mothercoin', the labor of love transcends borders

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Courtesy of Elizabeth Cummins Munoz

Code Switch

In 'Mothercoin', the labor of love transcends borders

May 8, 2022 • Mothercoin, by Elizabeth Cummins Muñoz, takes an intimate look at the lives of immigrant nannies in Houston, and how their work in private homes affects their relationship with their own children.