NPR: Books Podcast: Episodes
1) Junot Diaz, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" discusses what it means to become an American; 2) The art of translation is more than just choosing the right words; 3) A roundup of the year's best cookbooks from Susan Chang; 4) The kitchen theme ...
1) The National Book Awards were awarded in New York City; 2) Former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, author of "Do the Right Thing" on the future of the Republican party; 3) "Annie Leibovitz At Work" is a new collection of photographs from throughout her star-studded career; 4) Malcolm Gladwell ...
1) In "Wonderland: A Fairytale of the Soviet Monolith" photographer Jason Eskenazy documents the life of Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union; 2) First-time novelist Salvatore Scibona is nominated for a National Book Award for "The End"; 3) Firoozeh Dumas recommends Three Books that will ...
1) The Miami International Book Fair celebrates its 25th anniversary year; 2) "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" posed a marketing challenge for Knopf - author Stieg Larsson, a Swedish journalist, died just as his trilogy was was becoming popular in Europe; 3) Alan Cheuse reviews Amitav Ghosh's novel ...
1) Michael Crichton, author of science thrillers such as "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain" has died; 2) Writer Amitav Ghosh tells of the opium trade in his novel "Sea of Poppies", set in colonial India; 3) Barack Obama's election win has boosted his book sales; 4) The stories of women ...
1) Vampires are showing signs of great restraint in the popular series of "Twilight" books by Stephenie Meyer, and the "Sookie Stackhouse" Southern Vampire Mystery series by Charlaine Harris; 2) Studs Terkel, oral historian, author, and champion of the common man has died at the age of 96; 3) A ...
1) A remembrance of mystery author Tony Hillerman, who set 18 of his novels in Navajo lands, with Native American sleuths; 2) A look at the autobiographical books by the presidential candidates, with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham... Senator Barack Obama; 3) and Senator John McCain; 4) "The Gargoyle" ...
1) Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning novelist Toni Morrison discusses her new novel, set in late 17th Century America, called "A Mercy"; 2) "Deaf Sentence" by author David Lodge takes a somewhat comic look at hearing loss and the aging process; 3) The tale of a novel written in secret: Nathaniel Rich's ...
1) The British Library has just unveiled a treasury of early recordings of writers, including Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Arthur Conan Doyle; 2) Philip Dray's new history of the first African-American members of congress is called "Capitol Men"; 3) Roy Blount, Jr. writes about words, ...
1) Shalom Auslander recommends a collection of letters to and from Groucho Marx in the series "You Must Read This"; 2) Neil Gaiman tries something new with his latest, "The Graveyard Book" - videotaping his readings and posting the entire book on his website; 3) Alan Cheuse reviews psychologist ...
1) Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has written a memoir called "Speaking for Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street"; 2) "Hip Hop Speaks to Children" is a book and CD project edited by poet Nikki Giovanni, showing the relation of rhythm, words, and music; ...
1) This year's Nobel prize winner in literature: Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, 'not a typically French writer'; 2) The hero Robert Jordan from Hemingway's novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" brings together John McCain and Barack Obama; 3) A look at the shortlist for the Man Booker prize with Will Grozier, ...
1) John Le Carre's new novel "A Most Wanted Man" is set in the post-9/11 world of espionage; 2) Minimalist composer John Adams has a new autobiography called "Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life"; 3) Jerome Corsi, author of the book "The Obama Nation" runs into legal problems on tour ...
1) "Alfred & Emily", which Doris Lessing is calling her final book, is a memoir in two halves: one fictional, one historical; 2) Liza Mundy discusses her new biography of Michelle Obama; 3) "Three Books" about politics recommended by Mark Acito; 4) A discussion about American authors and the Nobel ...
1) Rick Wartzman's new book, "Obscene in the Extreme" tells the story of Kern County, California's attempt to ban John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" from its libraries; 2) In "State By State: A Panoramic Portrait of America" writers attempt to capture the soul of each state; 3) Chris Gardner, ...
1) "The Great Outdoor Fight" is a new book by Chris Onstad, creator of the Achewood web comic strip; 2) Pioneering African-American actress Diahann Carroll's new memoir is called "The Legs Are the Last to Go"; 3) Audiobooks that are scuttled by the wrong voice narration; 4) Joe Eszterhas of "Showgirls" ...
1) Alan Cheuse reviews "The Wasted Vigil" - a post 9/11 novel by Nadeem Aslam, set in Afghanistan; 2) American journalist Sarah Lyall's field guide to the British is called "The Anglo Files"; 3) Three books about the hidden life of suburban males: "Ordinary People," "Independence Day," and "Project ...
1) Author Salman Rushdie recommends "Cosmicomics" by Italo Calvino for "You Must Read This"; 2) Marilynne Robinson revisits the setting and characters of her Pulitzer prize-winning novel "Gilead" in her new book, "Home"; 3) Poet and author E. Ethelbert Miller's new memoir "In the Fifth Inning" ...
1) An appreciation of David Foster Wallace by David Lipsky, who says the author of "Infinite Jest" created a 'new style and a new comedy'; 2) Audiotapes of Agatha Christie offer a glimpse of the creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot; 3) "The Forever War" by Dexter Filkins describes the time he's ...
1) Writer David Foster Wallace has committed suicide - the author of "Infinite Jest" was 46 years old; 2) Bob Woodward's "The War Within" is his fourth look inside the White House of George W. Bush; 3) Daniel Mendelsohn has a new collection of critical essays called "How Beautiful It Is, and How ...