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Books

'X' explores pleasure and pain in a dystopic world

Davey Davis, the author of X. Elle Perez/Catapult hide caption

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Elle Perez/Catapult

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'X' explores pleasure and pain in a dystopic world

How do freedom and rights intersect with sex, pleasure and the self? It's a question the U.S. is facing in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — and a central theme in writer Davey Davis's new novel. In X, Davis relocates the conflict over these ideas from courts and abortion clinics to queer clubs and BDSM dungeons in a more dystopic version of our present.

'X' explores pleasure and pain in a dystopic world

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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Samara Weaving as Olivia and Eugenio Derbez as Antonio in the new Hulu film The Valet. Dan McFadden/Hulu hide caption

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What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Valet on Hulu, watching wrestling, and a playlist crafted for the perfect summer vibe.

Author Interviews

'Noir Alley' host celebrates cinema's double crosses and doomed characters

Fresh Air

Eddie Muller's book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. He says the genre draws on a "very dark vision of existence." Originally broadcast Oct. 21, 2022.

'Noir Alley' host celebrates cinema's double crosses and doomed characters

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8 books to enjoy at the beach this summer
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Review

8 books to enjoy at the beach this summer

From light romance and short fiction to thrillers, here's a list of books that are perfect companions as you retreat to the beach or pool to catch a break from the summer heat.

8 books to enjoy at the beach this summer

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Travel the world without leaving your home with these 10 books
Various/Emily Bogle for NPR

Review

Travel the world without leaving your home with these 10 books

From Lahore's red-light district and the streets of Mexico to a fantastical underwater land of Korean fable, here are some picks that can immerse you in worlds wholly unlike your own.

Travel the world without leaving your home with these 10 books

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Real life or satire? Novelist Mat Johnson says it can be hard to tell the difference

Mat Johnson is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Humanities at the University of Oregon. His previous books include Pym and Loving Day. Courtesy of University of Oregon hide caption

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Courtesy of University of Oregon

Author Interviews

Real life or satire? Novelist Mat Johnson says it can be hard to tell the difference

Fresh Air

Set in the future, Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, takes place on one of Jupiter's many moons, where humans have created an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth.

Real life or satire? Novelist Mat Johnson says it can be hard to tell the difference

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A novelist's time in the MMA cage informed his book on memory loss and identity

John Vercher is the author of the novels Three-Fifths and After the Lights Go Out. Karen Maria Photography/Soho Press hide caption

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Karen Maria Photography/Soho Press

Author Interviews

A novelist's time in the MMA cage informed his book on memory loss and identity

Fresh Air

John Vercher trained in mixed martial arts as a young man. His novel, After the Lights Go Out, centers on a veteran MMA fighter who struggles to remember everyday things.

A novelist's time in the MMA cage informed his book on memory loss and identity

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Life in the Middle Ages is more gross than engrossing in this ruthless novel

Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh Penguin Random House hide caption

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Penguin Random House

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Book Reviews

Life in the Middle Ages is more gross than engrossing in this ruthless novel

Fresh Air

Ottessa Moshfegh's Lapvona follows the life of Marek, a 13-year-old peasant boy who lives in a cruel world of sadism and stink, cannibalism and self-flagellation.

Life in the Middle Ages is more gross than engrossing in this ruthless novel

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Author Interviews

Fasten your seat belts, flight attendant-turned-novelist shares stories from the sky

Fresh Air

T.J. Newman began writing the hijack thriller Falling while she was a flight attendant. She'd jot down ideas on paper napkins in the quiet moments on red-eye flights. Originally broadcast July 2021.

Fasten your seat belts, flight attendant-turned-novelist shares stories from the sky

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The human sensory experience is limited. Journey into the world that animals know

A dolphin's sense of echolocation allows it to coordinate efforts to hunt prey, see "through" other creatures and form three-dimensional shapes using sound. Raymond Roig/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Raymond Roig/AFP via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

The human sensory experience is limited. Journey into the world that animals know

Fresh Air

In his new book, An Immense World, science writer Ed Yong explores the diversity of perception in the animal world — including echolocation, magnetic fields and ultraviolet vision.

The human sensory experience is limited. Journey into the world that animals know

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Raising kids is 'Essential Labor.' It's also lonely, exhausting and expensive

Fourth-grader Lucy Kramer (foreground) does schoolwork at her home, as her mother, Daisley, helps her younger sister, Meg, who is in kindergarten, in 2020 in San Anselmo, Calif. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images hide caption

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Raising kids is 'Essential Labor.' It's also lonely, exhausting and expensive

Fresh Air

In her book, author Angela Garbes makes the case that the work of raising children has always been undervalued and undercompensated in the U.S. Then came the pandemic, and everything got harder.

Raising kids is 'Essential Labor.' It's also lonely, exhausting and expensive

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Some states are changing the laws that govern community libraries

Attempts to ban books in school districts around the country have increased in recent years. Now, some states are working on enacting laws to give politicians more power over public libraries. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption

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Rick Bowmer/AP

Book News & Features

Some states are changing the laws that govern community libraries

At a time of concern about book banning, states are passing laws to tighten control over public libraries. The laws address how libraries are managed and some laws may open librarians to legal action.

Some states are changing the laws that govern community libraries

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Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Kaitlyn Tiffany, author of Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Shaped the Internet as We Know It. Amelia Holowaty Krales/FSG Books hide caption

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Amelia Holowaty Krales/FSG Books

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Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Fangirls often don't get taken seriously in pop culture. But in her new book, Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It, culture reporter Kaitlyn Tiffany explores just how much fangirls have shaped online life. She talks with guest host B.A. Parker about how fans used Tumblr to transform internet culture, how being a One Direction fan enriched her own life and why fandom is more complicated than we might think.

Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

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