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

NPR

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.

None of the Above

Education

Former Teacher Blames Education Policymakers For Atlanta Cheating Scandal

February 16, 2019 • Shani Robinson was one of 11 Atlanta teachers convicted of altering standardized test results in 2015. In None of the Above, she pleads her innocence — and points a finger at systemic failure.

Former Teacher Blames Education Policymakers For Atlanta Cheating Scandal

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Recently Reviewed

Eugene V. Debs

Review

Book Reviews

'Eugene V. Debs' Resurrects A Stubborn Question: Why Is Labor History So Boring?

February 16, 2019 • Turn-of-the-last-century labor leader Eugene V. Debs lead an interesting life — but this graphic biography misses plenty of opportunities to render the most interesting parts of it on the page.

Comics Will Break Your Heart

Review

Book Reviews

Real Life Provides The Origin Story In 'Comics Will Break Your Heart'

February 16, 2019 • Faith Erin Hick's sweet new YA novel is reminiscent of the real-life conflict between Batman co-creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger — and asks what happens when the next generation meets up.

The Threat

Review

Book Reviews

McCabe's 'The Threat' May Be Darkest Vision Of Trump Presidency Yet

February 14, 2019 • Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Thursday that top Justice Dept. officials discussed invoking the 25th Amendment. But his new book is about far more than that.

McCabe's 'The Threat' May Be Darkest Vision Of Trump Presidency Yet

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The Source of Self-Regard

Review

Book Reviews

'The Source Of Self-Regard' Speaks To Today's Social And Political Moment

February 14, 2019 • Though the essays, speeches, and meditations in Toni Morrison's new nonfiction collection were written over the course of four decades, virtually every entry feels strikingly relevant now.

Love Is: A Crowdsourced Valentine's Day Poem

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Arts & Life

Love Is: A Crowdsourced Valentine's Day Poem

February 14, 2019 • Poet Kwame Alexander's latest community poem is inspired by kids' definitions of love, touching on everything from ephemeral connections and puppy kisses to the circle of life and Kendrick Lamar.

Love Is: A Crowdsourced Valentine's Day Poem

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Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Review

Book News & Features

This Valentine's Day, Make A Date With A Book

February 13, 2019 • Sure, it's great to celebrate love, but why not escape all the relationship pressures, buy yourself some chocolate and make a date with a good romance novel? Here are five our our all-time favorites.

Sounds Like Titanic

Review

Book Reviews

Aspirations Come Up Against Economic Hardship In 'Sounds Like Titanic'

February 13, 2019 • In Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman's debut, she doesn't shrink from the systemic issues of an unfair economic system, but her personal story, with its unexpected twists, makes this memoir memorable.

American Spy

Review

Book Reviews

'American Spy' Is A Unique Spin On The Cold War Thriller

February 13, 2019 • Lauren Wilkinson's debut novel follows the life and career of an African American FBI agent who's recruited by the CIA to aid in the overthrow of a charismatic African leader.

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

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Shots - Health News

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

Fresh Air

February 12, 2019 • Growing up, Judith Grisel struggled with alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. Now as a neuroscientist, she's working to understand the biological basis of addiction. Her new book is Never Enough.

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

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Lost Children Archive

Review

Book Reviews

Real Life Informs A Tense Trip In 'Lost Children Archive'

February 12, 2019 • Valeria Luiselli's twist on the great American road trip novel follows a family with two children on a grim odyssey through the Southwest, a vision of a country blighted by industry and prejudice.

How to Disappear

Review

Book Reviews

'How To Disappear' Condemns Online Visibility Without Truly Exploring It

February 12, 2019 • Akiko Busch sets out to argue against visibility, "the common currency of our time." But she neglects to expose why she dislikes social media and networked culture.

Magical Negro

Author Interviews

'Magical Negro' Carries The Weight Of History

February 11, 2019 • Morgan Parker's new poetry collection explores the ways African-American lives are affected by historical events, even though they may have happened decades or centuries ago.

'Magical Negro' Carries The Weight Of History

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The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

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Shots - Health News

The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

Fresh Air

February 11, 2019 • Does exercise recovery work? Science writer Christie Aschwanden examines the physiology and effectiveness of sports drinks, protein powders and other products and services in her new book, Good to Go.

The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

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Any Old Diamonds, by K.J. Charles

Review

Book Reviews

For Chilly February, 3 Romances To Warm Your Heart

February 11, 2019 • February is High Holiday season in Romancelandia — and what better time to recommend some great romances? From Victorian jewel thieves to modern-day road trips, we've got something for everyone.

Tonic and Balm

Review

Book Reviews

'Tonic And Balm' Builds A World In A Bottle

February 10, 2019 • Stephanie Allen's novel creates a microcosm of America in 1919 in the form of a travelling medicine show, packed with people from all walks of life, trying to get along in the show's close confines.

The Made-Up Man

Review

Book Reviews

Questioning Authenticity — And Reality — In 'The Made-Up Man'

February 10, 2019 • Joseph Scapellato's new novel mashes up noir and philosophy in a multi-layered story about an aimless young man who gets caught up in his uncle's strange and possibly dangerous performance art.

Golden State

Book News & Features

Lies Are Illegal In The 'Golden State' Of Ben Winters

February 10, 2019 • In his new book, the author imagines a world where officers known as Speculators track down liars, in a cross between a dystopian novel and a classic detective story.

Lies Are Illegal In The 'Golden State' Of Ben Winters

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A People's Future of the United States

Review

Book Reviews

New Collection Asks: What Might The 'People's Future' Look Like?

February 9, 2019 • This new collection of speculative fiction stories imagines the lives of marginalized people in a variety of difficult future Americas. It's not an easy read, but it has depths of resilience and hope.

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

Flatiron Books

Author Interviews

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

February 9, 2019 • Yangsze Choo's second novel features a disembodied finger, Chinese dancehalls of the 1930s and weretigers. For the author, it's a book of parallel worlds: the supernatural and the real.

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

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Enchantée

Review

Book Reviews

'Enchantée' Casts A Delightful Spell

February 9, 2019 • Gita Trelease's new novel follows a young woman trying to support her family in Paris on the eve of the French Revolution, using trickery and a little real magic to disguise herself as an aristocrat.

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