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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.
Celebration Is In The Air. Or Is That Just Snow?

Performers get ready before the start of a Chinese New Year parade in Hong Kong on Jan. 31. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

Review

This Week's Must Read

Celebration Is In The Air. Or Is That Just Snow?

Patty Chang Anker recommends a cookbook that eases the anxieties of anyone trying to cook Chinese-American meals, and Lev Grossman reminds us that there is a Seussian storm comparable to the one that shut down Atlanta this week.

Celebration Is In The Air. Or Is That Just Snow?

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'Founding Mothers' Helps Kids 'Remember The Ladies'

Deborah Franklin defended her home against a mob that was angry about the Stamp Act. Courtesy of Harper hide caption

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Courtesy of Harper

Author Interviews

'Founding Mothers' Helps Kids 'Remember The Ladies'

Cokie Roberts' new children's book tells the stories of women who contributed to the success of the American Revolution — women like Martha Washington and Abigail Adams. She tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, "These were very, very politically passionate women. ... They were utterly devoted to the patriot cause."

'Founding Mothers' Helps Kids 'Remember The Ladies'

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Before He Fell To Earth, 'The Little Prince' Was Born In N.Y.

A detail of a drawing from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Graham S. Haber/Courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum hide caption

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Graham S. Haber/Courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum

Book News & Features

Before He Fell To Earth, 'The Little Prince' Was Born In N.Y.

Author Antoine Saint-Exupery was French, but his beloved book, The Little Prince, wasn't written in Paris. Saint-Exupery wrote it in New York, and even included references to the island in his original manuscript.

Before He Fell To Earth, 'The Little Prince' Was Born In N.Y.

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Movie Buff Or Not, There's Something 'Beautiful' About Hollywood

Review

This Week's Must Read

Movie Buff Or Not, There's Something 'Beautiful' About Hollywood

Welcome to awards season. Between the Golden Globes, the SAG awards, and the upcoming Oscars, it's enough to make anyone question America's fixation on movies. But author Kevin Roose says that Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins, a novel with a funny take on the movie industry, shows that there's something important going on behind the glitz.

Movie Buff Or Not, There's Something 'Beautiful' About Hollywood

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Skeptic Takes A Tour Of Self-Help's 'Promise Land'

Author Interviews

Skeptic Takes A Tour Of Self-Help's 'Promise Land'

Fresh Air

Despite being the daughter of a child psychologist and self-help author, Jessica Lamb-Shapiro has spent most of her life recoiling from the self-help industry. But eventually, her curiosity got the best of her. She tells Fresh Air about self-help's high- and low-brow iterations and the ways the industry helped her address her fears.

Skeptic Takes A Tour Of Self-Help's 'Promise Land'

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Exclusive First Read (And Listen!): B.J. Novak's 'One More Thing'

B.J. Novak is a writer and actor best known for his work on NBC's Emmy Award-winning comedy series The Office. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories is his first collection. Jennifer Rocholl hide caption

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Jennifer Rocholl

First Reads

Exclusive First Read (And Listen!): B.J. Novak's 'One More Thing'

The Office writer B.J. Novak expands his scope from Dunder Mifflin to the range of human experience in a new short story collection. We've got an exclusive excerpt — with readings by Novak himself, Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson.

'The Literalist's Love Poem,' Read By Emma Thompson

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One Last Tale Of The City In 'Anna Madrigal'

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Author Interviews

One Last Tale Of The City In 'Anna Madrigal'

Armistead Maupin's famous series Tales of the City winds down with one last story about Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane. Maupin tells NPR the series originally grew out of his attempts to write a nonfiction piece about the heterosexual pickup scene at his local Safeway.

One Last Tale Of The City In 'Anna Madrigal'

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For Cheating Husbands, A Little Dose Of Revenge

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Review

This Week's Must Read

For Cheating Husbands, A Little Dose Of Revenge

On Tuesday, France's president held an uncomfortable news conference, beginning with a question about his personal life. Rumor has it he's been cheating on the French first lady with a younger actress. In light of this affair, author Sarah Wendell recommends revisiting an old classic: The First Wives Club.

For Cheating Husbands, A Little Dose Of Revenge

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As A Latina, Sonia Sotomayor Says, 'You Have To Work Harder'

In addition to being the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor was New York state's first Hispanic federal judge. Kainaz Amaria/NPR hide caption

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Author Interviews

As A Latina, Sonia Sotomayor Says, 'You Have To Work Harder'

Fresh Air

The Supreme Court justice tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "In every position that I've been in, there have been naysayers who don't believe I'm qualified or who don't believe I can do the work." She has committed herself to proving those people wrong.

As A Latina, Sonia Sotomayor Says, 'You Have To Work Harder'

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Months After Marriage, A Military Wife Becomes An 'Unremarried Widow'

This photograph of Artis Henderson and her husband Miles was taken in 2006, on the day he deployed to Iraq. Miles was killed just a few months later in an Apache helicopter crash. Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Simon & Schuster

Author Interviews

Months After Marriage, A Military Wife Becomes An 'Unremarried Widow'

Artis Henderson was just 26 when her husband, Miles, died in Iraq. Marrying him meant leaving behind the life she had planned for herself — and his death redefined her life all over again. Henderson's debut memoir is called Unremarried Widow.

Months After Marriage, A Military Wife Becomes An 'Unremarried Widow'

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Doctorow Ruminates On How A 'Brain' Becomes A Mind

Author Interviews

Doctorow Ruminates On How A 'Brain' Becomes A Mind

E.L. Doctorow's new novel goes inside the brain of a neuroscientist trying to outrun his memories of disaster and the daughter he gave up. He tells NPR's Scott Simon that Andrew's Brain was inspired by his own memories, and by a recurring idea of a little girl hiding her colored-pencil drawings from adult eyes.

Doctorow Ruminates On How A 'Brain' Becomes A Mind

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