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The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books This week: Meg Wolitzer's latest, Charles Frazier returns to the Civil War, the pressures of being the only black person in the room, a new Macbeth, and marriage-saving tips from a divorce lawyer.
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The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

This week: Meg Wolitzer, Charles Frazier, Jo Nesbo, Nafissa Thompson-Spires and James Sexton.
Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts'

Introverts, who prefer quieter, lower-stimulation environments, have trouble thriving in today's extrovert-oriented culture, says author Susan Cain. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Opinion

Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts'

Introvert Susan Cain is here to make the case for people who like to work in peace and quiet. Today's workplaces are designed for extroverts, she says, and put too much emphasis on group work. Cain's new book is called Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.

Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts'

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'An Available Man': Love After Loss

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Review

Book Reviews

'An Available Man': Love After Loss

Fresh Air

Hilma Wolitzer's finely observed comedy of manners follows the romantic misadventures of recently widowed 62-year-old Edward Schuyler as he re-enters the dating pool with a splash.

'An Available Man': Love After Loss

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On Amazon, An Uneasy Mix Of Plagiarism And Erotica

Unlike traditional publishing companies, self-publishing programs like Amazon's Kindle Select lack the keen eyes of publishers, leaving room for copyright violations. It also leaves room for plagiarism. That's exactly what an author and publisher or erotica found to be the case with some best-selling ebooks in the genre.

On Amazon, An Uneasy Mix Of Plagiarism And Erotica

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'The Snowy Day': Breaking Color Barriers, Quietly
With special permission from The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

'The Snowy Day': Breaking Color Barriers, Quietly

The classic children's book by Ezra Jack Keats turns 50 this year. When it came out in 1962, it was one of the first major kids' books to feature a non-caricatured black protagonist. It became a huge hit, and was embraced by parents, teachers and children of all colors.

'The Snowy Day': Breaking Color Barriers, Quietly

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'How It All Began': A Lively Ode To Happenstance
Viking

'How It All Began': A Lively Ode To Happenstance

In her 20th work of fiction, Penelope Lively imagines a mugging that sets off a chain of events — and explores the role that chance plays in our lives. "You find yourself looking back over your own life and wondering about where it could have gone completely different," Lively says.

'How It All Began': A Lively Ode To Happenstance

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'Star'-Crossed: When Teens With Cancer Fall In Love
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'Star'-Crossed: When Teens With Cancer Fall In Love

You wouldn't necessarily think of a cancer support group as a place where teens meet and fall in love — but that's exactly what happens to Hazel and Augustus, the young protagonists in The Fault in Our Stars, the latest from author John Green.

'Star'-Crossed: When Teens With Cancer Fall In Love

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NewsPoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

Tracy K. Smith poses for a portrait outside of NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

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Opinion

NewsPoet: Writing The Day In Verse

NewsPoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

Tracy K. Smith is today's poet in residence at NPR's All Things Considered. She spent the day in the newsroom taking in the sights and sounds, and learning how the show comes together. Then she composed a poem about the day's headlines.

NewsPoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

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'Birmingham': A Family Tale In The Civil Rights Era

NPR's Backseat Book Club

'Birmingham': A Family Tale In The Civil Rights Era

A road trip from Michigan to Alabama places the Watson family in Birmingham in 1963, just as racial tensions are roiling. Christopher Paul Curtis draws upon his own experiences growing up in the 1960s for this Newbery Honor-winning novel.

'Birmingham': A Family Tale In The Civil Rights Era

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Planning Your Insanity-Free, 'Practical Wedding'

Weddings don't have to be extravagantly expensive to be filled with joy and fun. "Allocating your money to the places that you care the most about can be really helpful," says author Meg Keene. Kriss Russell/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Planning Your Insanity-Free, 'Practical Wedding'

Couples planning their weddings are forced to make scores of difficult decisions — managing the guest list, the cost and family expectations. In her new book, Meg Keene helps couples focus a little more on the meaning of marriage, and a little less on the flowers and cake.

Planning Your Insanity-Free, 'Practical Wedding'

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