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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.

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"We used to call each other ... 'my person,'" Gilbert (right) says of Elias.

"We used to call each other ... 'my person,'" Gilbert (right) says of Elias. Penguin Random House hide caption

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Penguin Random House

Author Interviews

Elizabeth Gilbert opens up about sex, drugs and codependency in a new memoir

The Eat, Pray, Love author discusses her love affair with her best friend, which she says was life-changing but also marked by addiction and heartbreak. Gilbert's memoir is All the Way to the River.

FA: Elizabeth Gilbert, All The Way to the River

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Bobbi Brown doesn’t listen to men in suits about makeup

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Bobbi Brown doesn’t listen to men in suits about makeup

At 68 years old, Bobby Brown still has a competitive spirit. She lives by the words “watch me,” which has led to her success as a makeup artist, business mogul and TikTok star. She's written several books on makeup and beauty, but in her upcoming book "Still Bobbi," for the first time, she's telling her own story.

Bobbi Brown doesn’t listen to men in suits about makeup

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Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, by Mary Roach

Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, by Mary Roach W. W. Norton & Company hide caption

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W. W. Norton & Company

Author Interviews

From heart to skin to hair, 'Replaceable You' dives into the science of transplant

Science writer Mary Roach chronicles both the history and the latest science of body part replacement in her new book. She also answers the question: Is it kosher to receive an organ donation from a pig?

FA: Mary Roach

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West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Catholic up for re-election this year, was one of the Democrats who spoke out against the White House birth control policy before it was altered.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Catholic up for re-election this year, was one of the Democrats who spoke out against the White House birth control policy before it was altered. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Interview highlights

Joe Manchin reflects on his most controversial decisions in new memoir 'Dead Center'

Former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin reveals private conversations with former President Joe Biden and explains his most controversial stances in his new memoir Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense.

Former Sen. Joe Manchin reflects on career, state of U.S. politics in new memoir

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Trymaine Lee and his colleagues won the Pulitzer Prize for The Times-Picayune’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Trymaine Lee and his colleagues won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for The Times-Picayune's coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Wayne Lawrence/St. Lawrence Press hide caption

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Wayne Lawrence/St. Lawrence Press

Author Interviews

Telling stories of gun violence deaths almost cost this reporter his life

Trymaine Lee spent years reporting on the deaths of men who look just like him. His new memoir, A Thousand Ways to Die, chronicles the impact of gun violence in Black communities.

FA: Trymaine Lee, A Thousand Ways to Die: The True Cost of Violence on Black Life in America

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Library of Congress has named Arthur Sze, seen here on July 18, its 2025-26 poet laureate.

The Library of Congress has named Arthur Sze, seen here on July 18, its 2025-26 poet laureate. Shawn Miller/Library of Congress hide caption

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Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

Arthur Sze named 25th U.S. poet laureate

Sze is a poet with a lot of acclaim — he's won the National Book Award, was a Guggenheim fellow and was a finalist for the Pulitzer. He aims to promote interest in translated poetry in his new role.

Arthur Sze named 25th U.S. poet laureate

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A tiny dog takes a big walk in 'Hello, Tobi!'
Andrea Cáceres/Candlewick Press

Author Interviews

A tiny dog takes a big walk in 'Hello, Tobi!'

Author and illustrator Andrea Cáceres has changed careers, moved countries and built a new home — all alongside her 15-year-old pup, Tobi. Now, he's the main character of her new children's book, Hello, Tobi!, which celebrates their walks in the park.

BOOK: Hello, Tobi!

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Kate Riley is the author of the new novel, Ruth.
Author photo by Colleen Hayes/Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Up First from NPR

Life in a Christian Commune

As a young woman, Kate Riley’s search for meaning led her to a Christian commune. She lived there for a year and embraced collective life – everyone dressed the same and no one owned any private property. Kids growing up there didn’t have contact with cell phones or money. In this week’s conversation, Riley sits down with Ayesha Rascoe to explore what it means to be an individual in a communal place. And she shares what she learned about her own identity. These experiences informed her first novel, Ruth.

Life in a Christian Commune

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Reality Winner

Reality Winner Christopher Lee/Spiegel & Grau hide caption

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Christopher Lee/Spiegel & Grau

Author Interviews

NSA leaker Reality Winner is rebuilding her life -- and looking back at her past

Winner was working at the NSA in 2017 when she leaked a classified document to the press. Soon after, the FBI showed up at her door. Winner's new memoir is I Am Not Your Enemy.

FA: Reality Winner, I am Not Your Enemy

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Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

4 lives are upended by an impulsive kiss in the epic novel 'Buckeye'

Patrick Ryan's novel focuses on two married couples and stretches from pre-WWII to the close of the 20th century, capturing both the sweep of history and the mundane particularity of everyday life.

FA: Book Review: Buckeye

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Henry Huggins book cover
Louis Darling/HarperCollins

Book News & Features

Happy 75th birthday to Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby's big-kid neighbor

Beverly Cleary's fictional third grader with an adopted dog named Ribsy made his debut in 1950. Cleary was praised for writing simple, humorous stories that kids wanted to read.

Happy 75th birthday to Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby's big-kid neighbor

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Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk is honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 18, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Jerod Harris/Getty Images hide caption

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Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk is an alt-comedy legend. He wrote for Saturday Night Live in the 90s. Then he got the part in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul as Saul Goodman. He’s also a writer. With the help of his children, he released a collection of poems called Zilot & Other Important Rhymes. Bob joins us to talk about writing poetry and how he turned his worn notebook into a book of poetry with the help of his children.

Bob Odenkirk

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Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Henry Holt and Co. 

Review

Author Interviews

New teen thriller 'Sisters in the Wind' finds drama in hidden identities

Angeline Boulley, author of the hit Firekeeper's Daughter, writes thrillers set in Native American communities in northern Michigan, like the ones where her family has lived for generations.

New teen thriller 'Sisters in the Wind' finds drama in hidden identities

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Hitch a ride to the moon in a rusty old car and 'The Couch in the Yard'
Illustrations copyright © 2025 by Dena Seiferling

Picture This

Hitch a ride to the moon in a rusty old car and 'The Couch in the Yard'

As the sun sets in a small town, a family loads up their rusty old car with the spare couch in their yard. When it breaks down in the mountains, what else is there to do but fly it to the moon?

PICTURE THIS: THE COUCH IN THE YARD

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The iconic lox bagel — a "Classic with the Works" — at Russ & Daughters.

The iconic lox bagel — a "Classic with the Works" — prepared at Russ & Daughters. Keren Carrion/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrion/NPR

Food

Russ & Daughters in NYC celebrates '100 years of appetizing' and family

At Russ & Daughters, it takes three months to learn how to slice salmon. NPR's Scott Simon visits the 100 year-old appetizing store to try his hand at the fine art and talk about their new cookbook.

Russ & Daughters in NYC celebrates more than 100 years of 'appetizing' and family

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A case against Anthropic AI brought by a group of authors was settled on Friday.

A case against Anthropic AI brought by a group of authors was settled on Friday. Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Anthropic settles with authors in first-of-its-kind AI copyright infringement lawsuit

A U.S. district court is scheduled to consider whether to approve the settlement next week, in a case that marked the first substantive decision on how fair use applies to generative AI systems.

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