Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews : NPR

Review

Book Reviews

'Tell The Machine' Is A Lucid Dream Of Sci-Fi Perfection

June 21, 2018 • Katie Williams' debut novel follows a woman who works for a company that can tell you infallibly how to become happy — and a drifting group of characters who aren't really looking for happiness.

Review

Book Reviews

Librarian Nancy Pearl Picks 7 Books For Summer Reading

June 21, 2018 • Pearl's under-the-radar recommendations include a children's fantasy, a murder mystery set in 1919 Kolkata and an entire book dedicated to the events of 1947.

Librarian Nancy Pearl Picks 7 Books For Summer Reading

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MIT Clears Junot Díaz Of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Writer Junot Díaz, pictured in 2015, was cleared by MIT of sexual misconduct allegations and will return to teach there in the fall. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

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Arts & Life

MIT Clears Junot Díaz Of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

June 20, 2018 • After a month-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and verbal abuse, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz has been cleared by MIT to continue teaching there next year.

Review

Book Reviews

2 First-Rate Novels Celebrate The Humor And Heroism Of Unconventional Women

Fresh Air

June 20, 2018 • Authors Dorthe Nors and Sayaka Murata use bracing good humor to subvert readers' expectations about single women in their new novels, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal and Convenience Store Woman.

2 First-Rate Novels Celebrate The Humor And Heroism Of Unconventional Women

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Author Interviews

Novelist Stephen McCauley Embraces Life On A 'Small, Everyday Scale'

Fresh Air

June 20, 2018 • McCauley's novel, My Ex-Life, is a comedy about a couple whose marriage ended years ago when the husband came out as gay. "All relationships evolve — even for people who stay together," he says.

Novelist Stephen McCauley Embraces Life On A 'Small, Everyday Scale'

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Review

Book Reviews

'The Boyfriend Bracket' Isn't What You Expect — But It's A Winner

June 20, 2018 • Kate Evangelista's new book is called The Boyfriend Bracket, but it's done with the titular bracket in just a few chapters, becoming a sweet story about a high-school senior and her childhood crush.

National Security

Journalist Warns Cyber Attacks Present A 'Perfect Weapon' Against Global Order

Fresh Air

June 19, 2018 • New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger says U.S. officials worry that foreign powers have planted malware that could knock out critical infrastructure, including electric power.

Journalist Warns Cyber Attacks Present A 'Perfect Weapon' Against Global Order

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Review

Book Reviews

'The Melody' Will Draw You In, Then Take You Somewhere Unexpected

June 19, 2018 • Jim Crace's superb new novel is a trickster — it seems to be a bittersweet tale of late-life love, but then it becomes a meditation on gentrification and the toll poverty can take on human beings.

Review

Book Reviews

Pithy And Pointed 'There There' Puts Native American Voices Front And Center

Fresh Air

June 18, 2018 • Critic Maureen Corrigan says Tommy Orange's novel, which centers on a cast of native and mixed-race characters whose lives intersect at a powwow, features "a literary authority rare in a debut."

Pithy And Pointed 'There There' Puts Native American Voices Front And Center

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Summer Reader Poll 2018: Horror

It'll Take More Than A Few Angry Villagers To Kill Off 'Frankenstein'

June 18, 2018 • Mary Shelley's timeless novel gave us not only an enduring trope — the misunderstood monster — but an equally enduring way to talk about what happens when human knowledge outpaces responsibility.

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Review

Monkey See

Have We Reached Peak Funny?

June 18, 2018 • In his new book Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture, Ken Jennings takes humor seriously, tracing how comedy infiltrated every aspect of our lives — and what it's doing to us.

Author Interviews

The Expansive Program To Recruit Africa's Young Soccer Talent

June 17, 2018 • NPR's Michel Martin speak with author Sebastian Abbot about his book, The Away Game, The Epic Search for Soccer's Next Superstars.

The Expansive Program To Recruit Africa's Young Soccer Talent

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Movies

David Lynch On 'Room To Dream'

June 17, 2018 • NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asks David Lynch about Room to Dream, the director's new memoir.

David Lynch On 'Room To Dream'

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We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories

Review

Summer Reader Poll 2018: Horror

'Where The Nightmares Go' Maps The Territory Of Fear

June 17, 2018 • C. Robert Cargill's new story collection covers the globe and genres of horror from classic to modern, with ghost stories, thrillers, gore and puzzles that would be right at home on premium cable.

Review

Book Reviews

'The Secret Life of Cows' Aims To Show Animals As Thinking, Feeling Beings

June 17, 2018 • Farmer Rosamund Young's book will charm people who want to lap up more evidence that animals have personalities, but may not warm hearts of animal lovers who don't eat meat.