3 Fresh New Romances For October October 21, 2019 • As the October days shorten, it's a good time to curl up with a romance novel — this month, we're featuring stories about people who defy traditional expectations to find their happy-ever-afters.
In 'The Less People Know About Us' A Mysterious Identity Theft Hits Close To Home October 20, 2019 • Axton Betz-Hamilton was 12 when her family's mail began disappearing. Her memoir details what follows and, when she discovers the culprit, the painful process of collecting the pieces of her past.
'Curious Toys' Gets Itself Into Unnecessary Trouble October 20, 2019 • Elizabeth Hand's new historical thriller has a compelling main character and vivid, carefully drawn settings — but its treatment of the story's murderous villain leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
In 'Reincarnation Stories,' Visual Exuberance Masks Artistic Care October 19, 2019 • Legendary underground cartoonist Kim Deitch's new book is packed with monkeys, cartoon magpies, and even Jesus; it starts with an account of killing time after eye surgery and gets wilder from there.
Movies Cast A Spell In 'Show People' October 18, 2019 • Author Michael Newton waxes rhapsodic in his new book about a century of acting, with a special fondness for performances about performance; it's taken for granted how much we love movies.
'Past Their Prime' At 20? Book Chronicles Attitudes Toward Female Aging In America October 18, 2019 • Known for the punch of her columns, The New York Times' Gail Collins sprinkles conversational, sardonic asides throughout No Stopping Us Now in an effort to keep the decades-long hike spry.
A Daughter Becomes An Accomplice To Her Mother's Affair In 'Wild Game' October 17, 2019 • As a teen, Adrienne Brodeur helped her mother keep a long-term affair a secret. In her memoir, she writes of realizing that being her mother's confidant didn't equal the unconditional love she sought.
In 'Stolen,' Five Boys Are Caught In A Reverse Underground Railroad Toward Slavery October 16, 2019 • Richard Bell's true tale details how even as the Underground Railroad ferried enslaved people north towards freedom, free black people vanished from northern cities to be sold into plantation slavery.
In 'Olive, Again,' Elizabeth Strout Revisits An Old Friend October 16, 2019 • Ten years after her Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, where ornery Olive is learning about compassion, connection, and her own self.
Edna O'Brien Bears Witness To Horror In 'Girl' October 16, 2019 • O'Brien's 19th novel is based on the real story of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by jihadist group Boko Haram in 2014. It's a painful and essential read that ends on a hopeful yet realistic note.
'The Compatriots' Suggests The Days Of Domestic-Only Politics Are Behind Us October 15, 2019 • Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, revered experts on the Russian secret service, give the book a credibility most others on Russian clandestine operations lack — and they also change the optics.
Bill Bryson's 'The Body' Is Missing His Characteristic Wit, Ingenious Way Of Analysis October 15, 2019 • The author of the magisterial work A Short History of Nearly Everything turns his sights inside, but without the magic touch of the past that made his very big books transcend the common textbook.
'How We Fight For Our Lives' Is One Life Story That Finds Connection To Others October 14, 2019 • Extremely personal, emotionally gritty, and unabashedly honest, Saeed Jones' memoir somehow manages a perfect balance between love and violence, hope and hostility, transformation and resentment.
'The Man Who Saw Everything' Is An Eye-Opening Read October 14, 2019 • Deborah Levy's new book considers themes of objectification, betrayal and focus, centered on a historian who goes to East Berlin and finds himself both the observer and the observed.
A Double Dose Of Cosmic Horror In 'A Lush And Seething Hell' October 13, 2019 • John Hornor Jacobs' new book combines two novellas that stake his claim to the territory of cosmic horror. Both gorgeously written and unsettlingly conceived, they dig at how fragile our humanity is.
'Orpheus Girl,' Painful and Beautiful, Puts A Modern Twist On Myth October 13, 2019 • Author and poet Brynne Rebele-Henry transplants the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice to modern-day Texas, for a wrenching tale of two young women whose love lands them in a religious re-education camp.
A Puppeteer Gets Swept Up In Political Theater In 'Kingdom For A Stage' October 12, 2019 • In her new book, Heidi Heilig continues the tale of family, rebellion and necromancy begun in For a Muse of Fire. Heilig tackles difficult issues deftly, and sets up readers for a rousing conclusion.
In 'Catch And Kill,' Ronan Farrow Offers A Damning Portrait Of A Conflicted NBC October 11, 2019 • The book ties the killing of his story on Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct to a pattern of harassment and abuse within NBC — including payouts and rape allegations against Matt Lauer.
In Book, Andrew Ridgeley Pays Tribute To George Michael And A More Innocent Pop Era October 10, 2019 • In WHAM!, the singer-songwriter reminds readers of Michael's songwriting genius, often overlooked by pop-averse critics and taken for granted by listeners who gorged on the hooky riches of the '80s.
Granddaughter Of Westboro Baptist Church Founder Chronicles Leaving In 'Unfollow' October 9, 2019 • Megan Phelps-Roper, who first picketed against homosexuality with her family at age 5, writes of facing feelings of guilt. In her memoir she says of her family, "losing them was the price of honesty."
In 'Horror Stories,' Liz Phair Writes Of 'The Haunting Melodies' In Her Head October 9, 2019 • The singer-songwriter's new book is an unconventional rock memoir that doesn't hew to the genre's norms. And like her entire musical catalog, it's honest and original.
Saeed Jones' Eloquent Coming-Of-Age Is Hard To Read — And Harder To Put Down Fresh Air October 9, 2019 • Jones grew up black, gay and isolated in Texas. He chronicles his wobbly path to self-affirmation in the raw and eloquent new memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives. Saeed Jones' Eloquent Coming-Of-Age Is Hard To Read — And Harder To Put Down Listen · 5:44 5:44 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/767865730/768643184" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Saeed Jones' Eloquent Coming-Of-Age Is Hard To Read — And Harder To Put Down Listen · 5:44 5:44 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/767865730/768643184" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
In 'Tough Love,' Former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice Aims To Reclaim Her Voice October 8, 2019 • The former national security adviser endured ridicule over comments made after the Benghazi embassy attack. Her book allows her tell her own story — and she is also open about foreign policy failures.
