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NPR's Favorite Books Of 2020: The Book Concierge Is Back With 380+ Great Reads

December 1, 2020 • Find eight years of recommendations all in one place: Here are nearly 2,500 titles, hand-picked by NPR staff and trusted critics — with handy filters to help you find the perfect book!

Courtesy of TED

Lee Mokobe: How Can We Make Sense Of Ourselves Through Poetry?

May 14, 2021 • How can art be a tool to better understand ourselves and the world around us? Poet Lee Mokobe shares what it was like to grow up trans in South Africa, and how language can be a tool for change.

Lee Mokobe: How Can We Make Sense Of Ourselves Through Poetry?

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Mark Leibowitz

Amanda Gorman: Using Your Voice Is A Political Choice

May 14, 2021 • Poet Amanda Gorman has often been asked to write poems that aren't "political." In her 2018 TED Talk, she explains why her writing inherently carries messages greater than her words.

Amanda Gorman: Using Your Voice Is A Political Choice

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CCAC North Library

Engaging With Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A Reading List

May 14, 2021 • Over the past year, stories surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been full of violence and grief — here are some reading recommendations that'll take you beyond just suffering.

In 'Sorrowland,' The Story Gets Lost In The Forest

MCD

Review

In 'Sorrowland,' The Story Gets Lost In The Forest

May 14, 2021 • Rivers Solomon's new novel — a gothic thriller about a woman escaping a cult for a wild life in the forest — relies too much on atmospherics, neglecting the basic building blocks of story.

Wave

Reality TV Inspired This Poetic Look At People And The Things They Hoard

May 13, 2021 • In her latest book of poems, artist Kate Durbin looks at modern consumerism and the way people process trauma and loss through the objects they hoard. Durbin was inspired by the A&E show Hoarders.

Reality TV Inspired This Poetic Look At People And The Things They Hoard

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'Son Of The Storm' Explores Power And Its Transformations

Orbit Books

Review

'Son Of The Storm' Explores Power And Its Transformations

May 12, 2021 • Suyi Davies Okungbowa's new novel seems like a familiar epic fantasy setup-- in fact, it's anything but. Son of the Storm explores power: Who has it, who wants it, and who's shut out from it.

'Notes On Grief' Makes Visceral The Experience Of Death And Grieving

Notes On Grief, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Knopf hide caption

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Knopf

Review

'Notes On Grief' Makes Visceral The Experience Of Death And Grieving

May 11, 2021 • "'After the burial we can begin to heal,'" Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recounts her mother saying. Perhaps in the reading of this book, so too will the rest of us who lost so much over this past year.

Running Press Kids

Fandom Can Be A Lot Like High School — Here's How To Avoid The Bad Stuff

May 9, 2021 • Finding a supportive fandom — a group of people who love what you love — is a great experience. But some fan communities can be toxic, so here are a few tips for kids looking for fan connections.

Doubleday

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

May 9, 2021 • Article III of the Constitution gives Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments — but doesn't cover what to do if they become incapacitated. For Abrams, that was the spark for an exciting story.

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

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'The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba' Steps Out Of The Headlines And Onto The Page

Berkley

Review

'The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba' Steps Out Of The Headlines And Onto The Page

May 8, 2021 • The Spanish-American war serves as the backdrop for Chanel Cleeton's new novel, which follows a real-life rebel named Evangelina Cisneros, who attracted a lot of attention from American newspapers.

Compassion Is The True Test Of A Person In 'Second Place'

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review

Compassion Is The True Test Of A Person In 'Second Place'

May 8, 2021 • Rachel Cusk follows her acclaimed Outline trilogy with this story about a woman whose lifelong obsession with a truculent painter is tested when he comes to stay at a cottage on her property.

'Things We Lost To The Water' Is A Literal And Allegorical Look At Dislocation

Knopf

Review

'Things We Lost To The Water' Is A Literal And Allegorical Look At Dislocation

May 6, 2021 • Eric Nguyen's debut novel plays off a Vietnamese word that means both country and water, examining all the ways those two things affect a family of Vietnamese refugees who resettle in New Orleans.

'Everybody' Examines The Idea That Bodies Can Confine Or Free

Everybody: A Book about Freedom, Olivia Laing W. W. Norton & Company hide caption

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W. W. Norton & Company

Review

'Everybody' Examines The Idea That Bodies Can Confine Or Free

May 6, 2021 • Olivia Laing weaves the history of people and ideas in with her own life, bringing readers on a fleet, gracious tour of bodily distress and joy that takes in Malcolm X, the Marquis de Sade and others.

A Daughter Rediscovers Her Deceased Father's Life In 'Negative Space'

Negative Space, by Lilly Dancyger Santa Fe Writer's Project hide caption

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Santa Fe Writer's Project

Review

A Daughter Rediscovers Her Deceased Father's Life In 'Negative Space'

May 5, 2021 • Lilly Dancyger's memories, coupled with her father's art and conversations with his friends, create a map she uses to navigate her past, her childhood and growing up, and her father's life and legacy.

Trees Talk To Each Other. 'Mother Tree' Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too

Suzanne Simard is a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia. Her own medical journey inspired her research into, among other things, the way yew trees communicate chemically with neighboring trees for their mutual defense. Brendan George Ko/Penguin Random House hide caption

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Brendan George Ko/Penguin Random House

Shots - Health News

Trees Talk To Each Other. 'Mother Tree' Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too

Fresh Air

May 4, 2021 • Ecologist Suzanne Simard says trees are "social creatures" that communicate with each other in remarkable ways — including warning each other of danger and sharing nutrients at critical times.

Trees Talk To Each Other. 'Mother Tree' Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too

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3 Romance Novels Written By Stacey Abrams Will Be Reissued

In addition to running for Georgia governor and registering some 800,000 voters, Stacey Abrams has written eight romance novels under the nom de plume Selena Montgomery. Now, her first three novels will be reissued. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Book News & Features

3 Romance Novels Written By Stacey Abrams Will Be Reissued

May 4, 2021 • The novels, published under the nom de plume Selena Montgomery, have been out of print for years. They form a trilogy, each starring Black lead characters working for a U.S. espionage organization.

Elizabeth Warren Stitches The Stories She Says 'Help Us Learn To Persist'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Feb. 24. Warren's latest book is called Persist. Greg Nash/AP hide caption

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Greg Nash/AP

Author Interviews

Elizabeth Warren Stitches The Stories She Says 'Help Us Learn To Persist'

May 4, 2021 • Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she isn't looking to be president. She's looking for change, she tells NPR, which happens when we talk about our stories — from sexual harassment to child care troubles.

Elizabeth Warren Stitches The Stories She Says 'Help Us Learn To Persist'

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'The Parted Earth' Traces The Impact Of India's Partition Across Generations

Hub City Press

Author Interviews

'The Parted Earth' Traces The Impact Of India's Partition Across Generations

May 4, 2021 • Partition split India and Pakistan in 1947 and affected millions of lives across decades. Journalist Anjali Enjeti's new novel explores the way people who don't process their trauma can pass it on.

'The Parted Earth' Traces The Impact Of India's Partition Across Generations

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Former 'Pregnant Girl' Builds Support To Help Other Teen Moms

Nicole Lynn Lewis is the author of Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption

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Elissa Nadworny/NPR

Shots - Health News

Former 'Pregnant Girl' Builds Support To Help Other Teen Moms

Fresh Air

May 3, 2021 • Nicole Lynn Lewis felt overwhelmed and isolated as a young single mom in college. Now she runs a nonprofit designed to help teen parents get the financial and emotional support they need to thrive.

Former 'Pregnant Girl' Builds Support To Help Other Teen Moms

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