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Everything she knew about her wife was false — a faux biography finds the 'truth'

Macmillan

Everything she knew about her wife was false — a faux biography finds the 'truth'

Fresh Air

March 28, 2023 • In Catherine Lacey's new genre-bending novel, Biography of X, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist realizes her spouse — a fierce and narcissistic artist — was not who she believed.

Everything she knew about her wife was false — a faux biography finds the 'truth'

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In 'Above Ground,' Clint Smith meditates on a changing world, personal and public

Little, Brown & Company

In 'Above Ground,' Clint Smith meditates on a changing world, personal and public

March 28, 2023 • Smith's poems reveal that his wonder at the world keeps him holding on to faith in the way the universe works. Ultimately, this collection points to our ability to trust in the face of volatility.

Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz

Beck Harlan/NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz

March 27, 2023 • NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today we're recommending great books for people who love show business, including a fictional take on a popular gossip Instagram account, a love story, and a memoir.

Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz

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In 'Old God's Time,' Sebastian Barry stresses the long effects of violence and abuse

Viking

In 'Old God's Time,' Sebastian Barry stresses the long effects of violence and abuse

March 22, 2023 • Sebastian Barry's relentlessly bleak, stunning new novel follows his character Tom, a retired police detective, as his life is thrown into disarray when he's confronted with a past he'd rather forget.

'Benjamin Banneker and Us' traces generations of descendants of the mathematician

Henry Holt & Co.

'Benjamin Banneker and Us' traces generations of descendants of the mathematician

March 21, 2023 • Rachel Jamison Webster learned she is related to Benjamin Banneker at a cousin's wedding. The news was unexpected, not only because of Banneker's place in history but also because the author is white.

In 'The Teachers,' passion motivates, even as conditions grow worse for educators

Dutton

In 'The Teachers,' passion motivates, even as conditions grow worse for educators

March 20, 2023 • Alexandra Robbins illuminates how teachers, who shape our future, live a constant battle against financial pressure, entitled parents, politicians, and the educational system at the local level.

'Poverty, By America' shows how the rest of us benefit by keeping others poor

Crown

'Poverty, By America' shows how the rest of us benefit by keeping others poor

March 17, 2023 • Pulitzer winner for Evicted Matthew Desmond examines why the U.S. has more poverty than other rich nations. He finds it spends big on social programs, but gives the most to those who need it least.

2 novels to cure your winter blahs: Ephron's 'Heartburn' and 'Pineapple Street'

Penguin Random House

2 novels to cure your winter blahs: Ephron's 'Heartburn' and 'Pineapple Street'

Fresh Air

March 16, 2023 • When it came out in 1983, Nora Ephron's comic novel became an instant bestseller. Now newly released, Heartburn pairs well with Jenny Jackson's smart comedy of manners, Pineapple Street.

2 novels to cure your winter blahs: Ephron's 'Heartburn' and 'Pineapple Street'

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'Heart Sutra' is a satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith

Grove Press

'Heart Sutra' is a satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith

March 16, 2023 • Chinese novelist Yan Lianke treats the deities of China's major religions as quiet, omnipresent participants in the novel's events, which range from slapstick comedy to shocking violence.

'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system

‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux

'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system

March 15, 2023 • Journalist Roxanna Asgarian's tenacious and vulnerable reporting reveals the foundation of the intensely disturbing Hart family story — a broken child welfare system in the U.S.

3 new fantasy novels spin inventive narratives from old folklore

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

3 new fantasy novels spin inventive narratives from old folklore

March 15, 2023 • Daughters and sisters are at the heart some new fantasy novels where supernatural bargains and shapeshifting transformations are just the beginning of stories that ultimately explore family dynamics.

Eco-idealism and staggering wealth meet in 'Birnam Wood'

MacMillan

Eco-idealism and staggering wealth meet in 'Birnam Wood'

Fresh Air

March 14, 2023 • Eleanor Catton's novel centers on young members of an radical environmental rights group who wind up entangled with a billionaire drone manufacturer. Our critic devoured all 400+ pages in two days.

Eco-idealism and staggering wealth meet in 'Birnam Wood'

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Margaret Atwood's 'Old Babes in the Wood' tackles what it means to be human

Doubleday

Margaret Atwood's 'Old Babes in the Wood' tackles what it means to be human

March 14, 2023 • Margaret Atwood's first collection of short stories in almost a decade is a dazzling mixture of tales showcasing her imagination and humor — and exploring everything from love to the afterlife.

'Love at Six Thousand Degrees' is a refreshing inversion of the trauma narrative

Europa Editions

'Love at Six Thousand Degrees' is a refreshing inversion of the trauma narrative

March 13, 2023 • Maki Kashimada's work is a fascinating exploration of the sources of our own cruelty and our level of individual agency when healing from trauma.

'The God of Endings' is a heartbreaking exploration of the human condition

Flatiron Books

Books

'The God of Endings' is a heartbreaking exploration of the human condition

March 9, 2023 • Jacqueline Holland's The God of Endings chronicles almost two centuries of one woman's journey while also exploring the beauty of brevity, the power of love, and the importance of art.

'The Angel Maker' is a thrilling question mark all the way to the end

Celadon Books

'The Angel Maker' is a thrilling question mark all the way to the end

March 8, 2023 • In Alex North's skilled hands, this narrative that juggles so many elements becomes a very cohesive, enthralling ride into some of the darkest corners of extreme religiousness and human nature.

'Dr. No' is a delightfully escapist romp and an incisive sendup of espionage fiction

Graywolf Press

'Dr. No' is a delightfully escapist romp and an incisive sendup of espionage fiction

March 7, 2023 • Pulitzer and Booker Prize finalist Percival Everett just won another prestigious award, the PEN/Jean Stein Award, for his newest book in which he makes a myriad of compelling creative choices.

Rebecca Makkai's smart, prep school murder novel is self-aware about the 'ick' factor

Viking

Rebecca Makkai's smart, prep school murder novel is self-aware about the 'ick' factor

Fresh Air

March 1, 2023 • The thickly-plotted mystery, I Have Some Questions for You, is the latest from the author of The Great Believers. It has been compared to Donna Tartt's 1992 blockbuster, The Secret History.

Rebecca Makkai's smart, prep school murder novel is self-aware about the 'ick' factor

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'Homestead' is a story about starting fresh, and the joys and trials of melding lives

Flatiron Books

Books

'Homestead' is a story about starting fresh, and the joys and trials of melding lives

February 28, 2023 • Alaska-born author Melinda Moustakis' debut novel Homestead is beautiful; it's also a profound look at how we navigate one another, and what it means to reveal ourselves to the ones we care about.

'I Have Some Questions For You' is a dark, uncomfortable story that feels universal

Viking

'I Have Some Questions For You' is a dark, uncomfortable story that feels universal

February 27, 2023 • In less capable hands, all of this would be too much. But Rebecca Makkai manages to juggle every subplot brilliantly; each sings with a unique voice that harmonizes with the crime story at the heart.

'The Great Displacement' looks at communities forever altered by climate change

Simon & Schuster

'The Great Displacement' looks at communities forever altered by climate change

February 24, 2023 • Jack Bittle's book takes a look at several communities that have been affected by climate change, and how the lives of their residents — those who have survived — have been altered by extreme weather.

'We Should Not Be Friends' offers a rare view of male friendship

Knopf

'We Should Not Be Friends' offers a rare view of male friendship

February 23, 2023 • Literary editor Will Schwalbe's new book is a tale about connecting across divides — which is particularly heartening in our polarized culture.

5 new mysteries and thrillers to help get you through winter

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

5 new mysteries and thrillers to help get you through winter

February 21, 2023 • The long days of January and February usually herald some great reads featuring crime, suspense and — everyone's favorite — murder.

Want to be a writer? This bleak but buoyant guide says to get used to rejection

Biblioasis

Want to be a writer? This bleak but buoyant guide says to get used to rejection

Fresh Air

February 14, 2023 • On Writing and Failure isn't your standard meditation on the art and nobility of writing as a profession; instead, author Stephen Marche argues writers should be prepared to fail — again and again.

Want to be a writer? This bleak but buoyant guide says to get used to rejection

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