NPR Books Podcast
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NPR: 05-16-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Why You Should Give A $*%! About Words That Offend 2) The 'Curious' Story Of Robert 'Believe It Or Not!' Ripley 3) After Long Wait, Novelist James Salter Shares 'All That Is' 4) A Nigerian-'Americanah' Novel About Love, Race And Hair 5) 'Guns At Last Light' Illuminates Final Months Of World War II
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NPR: 05-09-2013 Books
Stories: 1) From A Debut Writer, A Polished, Passionate, Must-Read Book 2) With Gorgeous Dorms But Little Cash, Colleges Must Adapt 3) Please Don't Delete This Interview About Spam 4) Godwin's 'Flora': A Tale Of Remorse That Creeps Under Your Skin 5) Paul Rudnick On His 'Gorgeous' Adventure
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NPR: 05-02-2013 Books
Stories: 1) 'Wonderful Words' In Willa Cather's No-Longer-Secret Letters 2) A Grieving Brother Finds Solace In His Sister's 'Small Town' 3) New York: A Concrete Jungle And 'City Of Trees,' Too 4) What's In A Category? 'Women Novelists' Sparks Wiki-Controversy 5) Vibrant 'Club' Links Two Countries In Award-Winning Book
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NPR: 04-25-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Fire, Water, Air, Earth: Michael Pollan Gets Elemental In 'Cooked' 2) For TV Networks, Stiff Competition To Be 'Top Of The Morning' 3) Google Execs Talk Privacy, Security In 'The New Digital Age' 4) So Hot Right Now: Has Climate Change Created A New Literary Genre? 5) What Does Modern Prejudice Look Like?
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NPR: 04-18-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Friedkin, Who Pushed Film Forward, Looks Back 2) Following The Yellow Brick Road Back To The Origins Of 'Oz' 3) Diverse List Of Future British Literary Stars In Latest 'Granta' 4) A Real-Life Fight For Freedom In 'Nine Days' 5) Is The United States A 'Dispensable Nation'?
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NPR: 04-11-2013 Books
Stories: 1) How Twitter Star Kelly Oxford Makes Everything 'Perfect' 2) In Somalia, Mother And Daughter Are 'Keeping Hope Alive' 3) 'It's Pat' Creator Muses On Motherhood And Family Life 4) J.R.R. Tolkien's Ring On Display At Estate's Exhibit 5) Does Poetry Still Matter? Yes Indeed, Says NPR NewsPoet
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NPR: 04-04-2013 Books
Stories: 1) In A New Memoir, Maya Angelou Recalls How A 'Lady' Became 'Mom' 2) 'Life After Life,' The Many Deaths And Do-Overs Of Ursula Todd 3) Mining Books To Map Emotions Through A Century 4) 'Burgess Boys' Family Saga Explores The Authenticity Of Imperfection 5) David Sheff On Addiction: Prevention, Treatment And Staying 'Clean'
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NPR: 03-28-2013 Books
Stories: 1) You're So Dumb, You Probably Think This Book Is About Getting Slapped 2) At 80, Philip Roth Reflects On Life, Literature And The Beauty Of Naps 3) With Humor And Sorrow, 'Life After Life' Explores The Moment Of Death 4) The Apathy In 'A Thousand Pardons' Is Hard To Forgive 5) Love, Roughhousing And Fifth Position In 'Brothers Emanuel'
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NPR: 03-21-2013 Books
Stories: 1) 'Drunken Botanist' Takes A Garden Tour Of The Liquor Cabinet 2) 'FDR And The Jews' Puts A President's Compromises In Context 3) Revisiting Iraq Through The Eyes Of An Exiled Poet 4) Lack Of Conscience Gets A Comeuppance In 'The Accursed' 5) Reminder: Our Memories Are Less Reliable Than We Think
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NPR: 03-14-2013 Books
Stories: 1) 'One Nation Under Stress,' With To-Do Lists And Yoga For All 2) 'Lean In': Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg Explains What's Holding Women Back 3) Remembering Aldo Leopold, Visionary Conservationist And Writer 4) Living A Life Of Joy 'Until I Say Good-Bye' 5) Rita Moreno Reflects On Anita, Awards And Accents
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NPR: 03-07-2013 Books
Stories: 1) 'Wave' Tells A True Story Of Survival And Loss In The 2004 Tsunami 2) Man Turned Fly Seeks Revenge For Bad Reincarnation 3) To 'Sum It Up': A Legendary Basketball Coach Braves Alzheimer's 4) Time Rules In Jamaica Kincaid's New Novel, 'See Now Then' 5) With Audubon's Help, Beat-Up Kid Is 'Okay For Now'
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NPR: 02-28-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Clive Davis: A Life With A 'Soundtrack' 2) Loving But Leaving A Toxic Mother In 'Without You' 3) Literary Idol Comes To Life in 'Farewell, Dorothy Parker' 4) Craving Solitude In 'Ten White Geese'
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NPR: 02-21-2013 Books
Stories: 1) 'The Dinner' Asks: What Will You Do To Protect Your Family? 2) Control The Chaos With 'Secrets Of Happy Families' 3) Days With John And Yoko: A Writer Remembers 4) Uncovering A Dead Father's Secrets In 'After Visiting Friends' 5) Tales Of Transformation Make 'Vampires In The Lemon Grove' A Stunner
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NPR: 02-14-2013 Books
Stories: 1) At 50, Does 'Feminine Mystique' Still Roar? 2) Literary Types Find Love In 'The New York Review Of Books' 3) Reading Sylvia Plath 50 Years After Her Death Is A Different Experience 4) 'House Girl' Ties Past To Present In Tale Of Art And Slavery 5) Healing 'Brick City': A Newark Doctor Returns Home
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NPR: 02-07-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Woody Guthrie's 'House Of Earth' Calls 'This Land' Home 2) Sendak's 'Brother's Book': An Elegy, A Farewell 3) Why Traditional Publishing Is Really In A 'Golden Age' 4) Hollywood Hot Shots, Scientology And A Story Worth The Risk In 'Going Clear' 5) Raising A Glass To The Charms Of The Bar In 'Drinking With Men'
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NPR: 01-31-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Jane Austen's 'Pride And Prejudice' At 200 2) E-Readers Track How We Read, But Is The Data Useful To Authors? 3) Watch This: Neil Gaiman's Imaginative Favorites 4) Rare Robert Frost Collection Surfaces 50 Years After His Death 5) A Colorful Anniversary: The Caldecott Medal Turns 75
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NPR: 01-24-2013 Books
Stories: 1) New Reading Standards Aim To Prep Kids For College — But At What Cost? 2) A Historic Arrival: New York's Grand Central Turns 100 3) Relationships And Rocket Ships In 'Last Girlfriend' 4) George Saunders On Absurdism And Ventriloquism In 'Tenth Of December' 5) 'All We Know': Three Remarkable But Forgotten Lives
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NPR: 01-17-2013 Books
Stories: 1) A Justice Deliberates: Sotomayor On Love, Health And Family 2) George Saunders Lives Up To The Hype 3) Hold On To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants Is Back! 4) Cross-Culture Cilantro Sauce And Other Secrets Of 'Gran Cocina Latina' 5) A 'Beautiful Vision' In Science Forgotten
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NPR: 01-10-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Richard Blanco Will Be First Latino Inaugural Poet 2) Become A Successful Chinese Bureaucrat, In 5 Easy Steps 3) Mapping A History Of The World, And Our Place In It 4) 'What It Takes' Author Remembered As An Engrossing Figure 5) 'A Life In Friendships' Is A Life Well-Lived
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NPR: 01-03-2013 Books
Stories: 1) Change Is The Only Constant In Today's Publishing Industry 2) E-Books Destroying Traditional Publishing? The Story's Not That Simple 3) Listen Up! Audiobooks For Every Taste 4) 'Fifty Shades' Is The One That Got Away. At Least From Me 5) Death Of The (Predatory) Salesman: These Days, It's A Buyer's Market
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NPR: 12-27-2012 Books
Stories: 1) No Sugar Plums Here: The Dark, Romantic Roots Of 'The Nutcracker' 2) 'Law & Order' Meets Tom Clancy In Dick Wolf's First Novel 3) Shake It Up! Vintage Cocktails Are Ripe For Revival 4) The 'Bitter' Tale Of The Budweiser Family 5) 5 Young Adult Novels That You'll Never Outgrow
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NPR: 12-20-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Self-Publishing: No Longer Just A Vanity Project 2) In 'Red Pyramid,' Kid Heroes Take On Ancient Egypt 3) Rod Stewart: Big Dreams, Bigger Hair 4) The Year's Best Science Fiction Crosses Galaxies And Genres
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NPR: 12-13-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Great Reads In Store: Indie Booksellers Pick 2012's Best 2) Oprah's Book Club Turns Over A New Page 3) A Wintry Mix: Alan Cheuse Selects The Season's Best 4) The Feds Can Tell Ernest Hemingway's Cats What To Do; Here's Why 5) 'Torn': Living As An Openly Gay Christian
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NPR: 12-06-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Dozens Of Covers Later, 'Hallelujah' Endures 2) PBS Remixes 'Reading Rainbow,' Delights Map And Book Nerds Everywhere 3) Susan Straight: One Home Town, Many Voices 4) Neil deGrasse Tyson Helps His New 'Bud' Superman Get A Glimpse Of Home 5) No Mystery: Agatha Christie Takes A 'Grand Tour'
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NPR: 11-29-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Librarian Nancy Pearl's Picks For The Omnivorous Reader 2) Independent Bookstores Find Their Footing 3) Memoir Traces How Cartoonist Lost Her 'Marbles' 4) Uncovered Letters Reveal A New Side Of William Styron 5) A White Face With A Forgotten African Family
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NPR: 11-24-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Book-Vending Machine Dispenses Suspense 2) 'Unorthodox' Book Of 'Jewish Jocks' Puts Stereotypes Aside 3) Hungry Hearts And Family Matters In 'Middlesteins' 4) A Readable Feast: Poems To Feed 'The Hungry Ear' 5) Anne Lamott Distills Prayer Into 'Help, Thanks, Wow'
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NPR: 11-15-2012 Books
Stories: 1) 'Round House,' 'Forevers' Win National Book Awards 2) 'Antidote' Prescribes A 'Negative Path To Happiness' 3) 'Testament Of Mary' Gives Fiery Voice To The Virgin 4) Ian McEwan's 'Sweet Tooth' Leaves A Sour Taste 5) Philip Pullman Rewrites The Brothers Grimm
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NPR: 11-08-2012 Books
Stories: 1) How 'Black Beauty' Changed The Way We See Horses 2) Nick, Nora (And Asta) Return In 'Thin Man' Novellas 3) Reading 125 Titles A Year? That's 'One For The Books' 4) Caring For Mom, Dreaming Of 'Elsewhere' 5) A Lesson In Making Math Cool For Girls
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NPR: 11-01-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Resenting And Respecting Mom In Russo's 'Elsewhere' 2) History Inspired Travel Tales Of Donoghue's 'Astray' 3) 'Smitten Kitchen' Takes The Fuss Out Of Cooking 4) With Barbs, Author Becomes Literary Star In China 5) Should 'The Generals' Get Fired More Often?
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NPR: 10-25-2012 Books
Stories: 1) From Ship To Sherlock: Doyle's 'Arctic' Diary 2) Portis 'Miscellany' Makes A High-'Velocity' Collection 3) America's Facebook Generation Is Reading Strong 4) A Reminder To Tolkien Fans Of Their First Love 5) Running Toward Redemption On 'Ransom Road'
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NPR: 10-18-2012 Books
Stories: 1) A Startling Gap Between Us And Them In 'Plutocrats' 2) Some Book! 'Charlotte's Web' Turns 60 3) A Year's Worth Of Facts From An NPR Librarian 4) Jerusalem: A Love Letter To Food And Memories Of Home 5) Thousands Line Up For Rare Rowling Appearance
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NPR: 10-11-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Chinese Author Wins 2012 Nobel Prize In Literature 2) A Lively Mind: Your Brain On Jane Austen 3) Virgin's Richard Branson Bares His Business 'Secrets' 4) Emma Thompson Revives Anarchist 'Peter Rabbit' 5) 'Mr. Penumbra' Bridges The Digital Divide
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NPR: 10-04-2012 Books
Stories: 1) In 'House,' Erdrich Sets Revenge On A Reservation 2) Boozy Birth Of The American Mafia In Lehane's Latest 3) Put Down Your E-Reader: This Book Is Better In Print 4) 'Listening In' To JFK's Secret White House Recordings 5) Housekeeping Tips From One Mercurial 'Mommy'
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NPR: 09-27-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Poverty Informs J.K. Rowling's New Novel For Adults 2) A Lifetime Of Love In 'My Husband And My Wives' 3) A Midcentury Romance, With 'Sunlight' And 'Shadow' 4) Personal Reflections On 'Gone With The Wind' 5) 'Clifford The Big Red Dog' Turns 50 (In Human Years)
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NPR: 09-20-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Becoming 'Anton,' Or, How Rushdie Survived A Fatwa 2) In 'Season,' One Plantation's Double Murder Mystery 3) Renaissance CSI: Machiavelli-Da Vinci Detective Duo 4) Embracing Diversity In A 'Multi-Faith World' 5) A Father's Decades-Old Bedtime Story Is Back In Print
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NPR: 09-13-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Fidelity In Fiction: Junot Diaz Deconstructs A Cheater 2) Stories From A New Generation Of American Soldiers 3) 'End Of Men' Heralds New Era Of Female Dominance 4) Michael Chabon Journeys Back To 'Telegraph Avenue' 5) 'Good Girls Revolt': Story Of A Newsroom Uprising
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NPR: 09-06-2012 Books
Stories: 1) The Writer Who Was The Voice Of A Generation 2) 'Children Succeed' With Character, Not Test Scores 3) Same Streets, Different Lives In 'NW' London 4) Behind The Lens With Obama's 'First Cameraman'
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'This Will End In Tears': Soundtracks For Down Days
Story: Author Adam Brent Houghtaling has put together an encyclopedia of the best music to pair with melancholy moments.
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NPR: 08-30-2012 Books
Stories: 1) In 'The Brontes,' Details Of A Family's Strange World 2) Michigan Author Dreams Up A Deadlier Ann Arbor 3) A Linguist's Serious Take On 'The A-Word' 4) 'The Ethicist' Explains How To 'Be Good' 5) Slaughter In The Subway: A Tale Of New York Terror
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NPR: 08-23-2012 Books
Stories: 1) Robert Crais: L.A. Is 'Natural Canvas' For Nightmare 2) NewsPoet: Tess Taylor Writes The Day In Verse 3) Kati Marton, Recalling 'Paris' With Love And Longing 4) The 'State Of England' Is Grim In 'Lionel Asbo' 5) A Novel Endeavor From Molly Ringwald
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NPR: 08-16-2012 Books
Stories: 1) A Rainbow Of Happy Endings In Ethnic Romances 2) Sleuthing Through The Shadows In Sunny Honolulu 3) In The 'Shadow' Of Death, Stories Survive 4) Batman's Biggest Secret (No, It's Not Bruce Wayne) 5) 'Age Of Desire': How Wharton Lost Her 'Innocence'
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Oslo's Jagged Edges, Hemingway, Olympic Reads and more
Stories in this episode: 1)Jo Nesbo's Fiction Explores Oslo's Jagged Edges 2) New Edition Includes 39 Different Farewells To 'Arms'3) 'In The Attic': Whips, Witches And A Peculiar Princess4)Get Revved Up: London Cabbie Picks Olympic Reads
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Author and Screenwriter Nora Ephron Remembered, Teenage...
Stories in this episode: 1)Ephron: From 'Silkwood' To 'Sally,' A Singular Voice 2)Rich Reads: Historical Fiction Fit For A Queen 3)As The Earth Slows, This 'Miracle' Becomes Calamity 4)Dr. Karp On Parenting And The Science Of Sleep 5)Teenage Brain: Gateway To A 'Bright And Dark' World
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Food Trucks, Audio Books and Three Books That Should Be...
Stories in this episode: 1) Book Party For One: A Loner's Summer Survival Guide 2) Audiobooks That'll Make The Family Road Trip Fly By 3)What Animals Can Teach Humans About Healing 4) Screen Time: 3 Books That Should Be Movies 5) Food Truck Cookbook Tracks Best Meals Served On Wheels
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The First Lady Cultivates 'American Grown' Gardening
The First Lady Cultivates 'American Grown' Gardening, 2) Libraries Grapple With The Downside Of E-Books 3) A Portrait Of The Cartoonist And Her Mother 4) 'I Am The Cheese': A Nightmarish Nail-Biter 5) Cowslips To Kingcups: Finding Joy In The Garden
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History, Heartbreak and How A Daily Show Writer Grew Up...
Stories in this episode: 1) Lessons In Counterterrorism From The Octopus, 2) History, Heartbreak And 'The Chemistry Of Tears', 3) Three Pilgrimages To Gain 'A Sense Of Direction', 4) In One Person': A Tangled Gender-Bender, 5) How A 'Daily Show' Writer Grew Up Funny
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Maurice Sendak, Rachel Maddow and more
Stories in this episode: 1) An Inside Look At Sendak's 'Wonderful Magic' 2)'Drift': Rachel Maddow On Why We Go To War 3)'Wolf Hall' Sequel: Cromwell In All His Complexity 4)'Teachers Make' A Difference, What About You? 5)Beyond The 'Blonde': A Look At Marilyn's Inner Life
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The Roaring 20s, Poem In Your Pocket Day, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Get Ready To Celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day 2) Rodney King Comes To Grips With 'The Riot Within' 3) Our Roaring 20s: 'The Defining Decade' 4) A Rival For Pigeon In Willems' New 'Duckling' 5) 'Death And The Penguin' Captures Post-Soviet Reality 6) Both Community And Garden Grow In 'Seedfolks'
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A Screwball Parisian Adventure, Books On Writing Well,...
1) Hellbent For Living: A Screwball Parisian Adventure 2)Jargon To Jabberwocky: 3 Books On Writing Well 3) The Wrong Crowd: A Tale Of Teens Behaving Badly 4) 3 Books To Whisk You Away 5) The Amazing, Untrue Story Of A Sept. 11 Survivor 6) 'Heretics': The Crisis Of American Christianity
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Teddy Roosevelt, YA Fiction and The Big Con
Stories in this episode: 1) From Page To Screen: Hollywood Targets YA Fiction; 2)Teddy Roosevelt's 'Doomed' War On New York Vice; 3)Secrets And Lies Overseas In 'The Expats'; 4)'The Big Con': If You Can't Avoid It, Avenge It; 5)'Mysterious Benedict': Solve A Puzzle, Save The World
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The Real 'Mad Men', How Creativity Works and Kevin Smith
Stories in this episode: 1) The Battle Of The Sexes: When Women Out-Earn Men 2) 'How Creativity Works': It's All In Your Imagination' 3) Damn Good Advice' From One Of The Real 'Mad Men' 4) Two Books That Delight In New York City's Dirt 5) That's All, Folks: Kevin Smith On Leaving Filmmaking
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Steve Martin On Twitter, Jodi Picoult, Emancipating...
1) The Wild And Crazy 'Tweets Of Steve Martin'; 2)Jodi Picoult Turns Tough Topics Into Best-Sellers; 3)Artful, American Essays From 'When I Was A Child'; 4)'Emancipating Lincoln': A Pragmatic Proclamation; 5)The Knives Come Out: Three Books About Betrayal
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Remembering A Publishing Pioneer, E-Books Democratizing...
Stories in this episode: 1) Publishing Pioneer Barney Rosset Dies At 89; 2) At Last, They See: E-Books 'Democratize' Publishing; 3) Murder, Corruption And Cover-Ups In 'Bloodland'; 4) 'King Peggy': A Cinderella Story — With A Twist; 5) 'Plotto': An Algebra Book For Fiction Writing
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Living With Asperger's, Surviving Slum Life in Mumbai,...
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Best Practices': Learning To Live With Asperger's; 2)Is White, Working Class America 'Coming Apart'?; 3)'Beautiful Forevers': Surviving Slum Life In Mumbai; 4)Robert Harris, In 'Fear' Of A Financial Frankenstein 5)S'il-Vous-Plait: Raising Your 'Bebe' The French Way
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Cuckoo's Nest, Introverts and A Lively Ode to...
Stories in this episode: 1) Bound Together: Breaking Those Toxic Family Ties; 2)Kesey's 'Cuckoo's Nest' Still Flying; 3)Tina Brown's Must-Reads: Dictators; 4)Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts'; 5)'An Available Man': Love After Loss; 6)Newspoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse; 7)'How It All Began': A Lively Ode To Happenstance
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Dr. Seuss, Reads For Your Inner Geek, 'Predatory' Amazon...
Stories in this episode: 1) A 'Guitar Zero' Finds It's Not Too Late To Learn Music; 2) Lesson Learned: Don't Fly To North Pole In A Balloon; 3) Talk Nerdy To Me: Three Reads For Your Inner Geek; 4) Publishers And Booksellers See A 'Predatory' Amazon; 5) Taft 2012': A Presidential Time Warp; 6) How Dr. Seuss Got His Start 'On Mulberry Street'; 7) A Ball (And A Caldecott) For 'Daisy' The Dog
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Hell-Raising Heroines, Diaries Of New Yorkers, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Imprisoned In A Mysterious Mistaken Identity 2) Growing Up Muslim And Midwestern In 'Dervish' 3) Hell-Raising Heroines: Three Ladies With Spitfire 4) Diaries' Reveals New York Through The Ages 5) Left-Handedness: No Longer Suspect; Still A Mystery 6) What's In Store: 3 Tales Of A Terrifying Future
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Downton Abbey, Bill Cosby, True Crime Comics, more
Stories in this episode: 1) True Grit: 'Into The Silence' Scales Everest; 2) Dusting Off A Gritty, Glamorous California Classic; 3) Graphic Content: 3 Comics Based On Real Crimes; 4) Bill Cosby Enlists Santa's Staff For A Silent Night; 5) A Jewish Perspective On The New Testament; 6) For 'Downton' Fans, A New Season And A New Book; 7) Fired Up: The Year's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy
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Sherlock Holmes, Christopher Hitchens, William F....
Stories in this episode: 1) The Enduring Popularity Of Sherlock Holmes; 2) ‘The Dead Witness’: Classic Victorian Crime Fiction; 3) ‘Breadcrumbs’: Young Readers Follow A Wintry Tale; 4) The Story Of The Chitlin’ Circuit’s Great Performers 5) William F. Buckley, Father of American Conservatism 6) For Hitchens, In Life And Death, An Unaware Cosmos
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'Man Seeks God,' 'Salvage The Bones' and more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Man Seeks God,' Finds Wayne Of Staten Island 2) In 'Pemberley,' James Picks Up Where Austen Left Off 3) Short And Sweet Status Updates Tell Their Own Story 4) In 'Salvage The Bones,' Family's Story Of Survival 5) A New Look At The Man Behind U.S. Cold War Policy
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Hedy Lamarr, Death Comes to Pemberley, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Hedy Lamarr: 'Most Beautiful Woman' By Day, Inventor By Night; 2)'Pride And Prejudice' Meets 'Clue' At 'Pemberley'; 3)Bachmann's 'Conviction' To Fixing Government; 4)Micro' Picks Up Where Michael Crichton Left Off; 5)Kids' Book Club Takes 'Tollbooth' To Lands Beyond
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Kurt Vonnegut, Self-Styled Superheroes, Cookbooks and...
Stories in this episode: 1) The Real Mr. Incredible: Self-Styled 'Superheroes' 2)2011's Best Cookbooks, Tested And Tasted 3)Small Book, Big Story: Bronte Manuscript Discovered 4)Kurt Vonnegut Was Not A Happy Man. 'So It Goes.' 5)Parenting Advice For The 20-Something Years 6)Speak, Memory: 'An Ending' That Uncovers The Past
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Mindy Kaling, John Hodgman, Neil Gaiman and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Mindy Kaling On Diets, High School And Other American Pastimes 2)John Hodgman And Robert Siegel Consider 'All' Things, Some Of Them Rather Dubious 3)Sorrowful 'Blue Nights': Didion Mourns Her Daughter 4)The Funny 50: A Cavalcade Of Comic Writers 5)Kids' Book Club: A 'Graveyard' Tour With Neil Gaiman
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Steve Jobs, 'Brandwashed', Jane Austen and more
Stories in this Episode: 1) New Bio Quotes Jobs On God, Gates And Great Design 2) Products R Us: Are We 'Brandwashed'? 3)'El Narco': The Trade Driving Mexico's Drug War 4) 'Jane Austen Made Me Do It,' Authors Claim 5) Israel's Oz On 'Village Life' And Unhappy Endings
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Colson Whitehead's Zombie Apocalypse, Body Snatchers,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Real 'Sybil' Admits Multiple Personalities Were Fake 2)Author Malin Alegria Builds On 'Estrella's' Star Power 3)Income Disparity And The 'Price Of Civilization' 4)The Sad Lesson Of 'Body Snatchers': People Change 5)Whitehead's 'Zone' Is No Average Zombie Apocalypse 6)'Why Read Moby-Dick?': A Passionate Defense Of The 'American Bible' 7)'The Breakfast Club' Meets Hell In 'Damned'
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Catch-22, Paula Deen, Harry Belafonte and more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Catch-22': A Paradox Turns 50 And Still Rings True 2) Drunk On Words: A Literary Escape From Adolescence 3) 'Lost Memory Of Skin' Goes Where Most Fiction Won't 4) Deen Does 'Southern' Fare ... With A Stick Of Butter 5) Harry Belafonte: Out Of Struggle, A Beautiful Voice 6) Quest For The Holy Doughnut, And The First Dessert
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Michael Lewis Returns with 'Boomerang'; Justice Stevens...
Stories in this episode: 1) Eugenides Spins A Modern Kind Of 'Marriage Plot'; 2)Novel Chronicles ACaliforniaDream Divided; 3)Stevens Chronicles 'Five Chiefs' Of The Supreme Court; 4)In 'Boomerang,' Cheap Credit Exposes Nations' Flaws; 5)The Old Man And The Boat: Hemingway On The Pilar
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Roger Ebert, Shel Silverstein, and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Shel Silverstein's Poems Live On In 'Every Thing' 2) Lucretius, Man Of Modern Mystery 3) Roger Ebert: A Critic Reflects On 'Life Itself'4) In Taseer's 'Noon', Fictional Violence Is All Too Real 5) Daniel Yergin Examines America's 'Quest' For Energy 6) 'The Swerve': Ideas That Rooted The Renaissance
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Roger Ebert, Night Circus, Wonderstruck and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Ebert: A 'Life' Still Being Lived, And Fully; 2) 'Night Circus' Comes To Town With Magic, Mystery 3) Patricia Marx Tells A Tale Of Sweet, Unbalanced Love 4) 'Wonderstruck': A Novel Approach To Picture Books
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Thomas Friedman, Young Adult Lit for The Whiz Kid, more
Stories in this episode: 1) A Libyan Son Mourns His Father's 'Disappearance' 2)Sick Of Young Adult Lit? 3 Books For The Whiz Kid 3)Thomas Friedman On 'HowAmericaFell Behind' 4)Could 'Submission' BeAmerica's Sept. 11 Novel? 5)Know This Headline's Font? You're 'Just My Type'
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Athens Cop Searching For Modern Greece, Moscow,
Stories in this episode: 1) Athens Cop On The Trail Of Modern Greece 2) Immerse Yourself In An Innocent, Ill-Fated Love 3) Moscow, In A Time Of Fear 4) Appreciating The Awkward Absurdity Of Adolescence 5) What Makes A School Good: Not The Finger Painting 6) Book Review: 'The Lotus Singers'
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Revolutionizing Modern Retail, Travel Secrets, more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'The Great A&P': Revolutionizing Modern Retail 2)A Frequent Flier Shares His Travel Secrets 3)'Madness' And Leadership, Hand In Hand 4)Master Hacker Kevin Mitnick Shares His 'Addiction'
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Cocktail Hour, Antagonizing Protagonists, and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Fuller's 'Cocktail Hour': This Memoir's For Mom 2)Teens, Sex And Tech Tear A 'Beautiful Life' Apart 3)The Fraught, Fictional Road To A Sept. 11 Memorial 4)3 Antagonizing Protagonists You'll Love To Hate 5)Searching For Black Utopia ... InAntarctica
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New Teen Novels, Terry Pratchett, Vampires, Werewolves...
Stories in this week's episode: 1)Hooray For YA: Teen Novels For Readers Of All Ages 2)Discworld's Terry Pratchett On Death And Deciding 3)A Delightful Portrait Of The Screwball 'Family Fang' 4)Wall Street Meets Classic Caper In 'Thick As Thieves' 5)The LateL.A.Banks: Beyond Vampires, Werewolves
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Crime In Vermont, D.C., Seattle, 'Starman' David Bowie,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Brattleboro: Vermont's Hotbed Of Fictional Crime 2) Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C. 3) Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival 4) A Former Cop Sets His Crime Scene In Seattle 5) 'Starman' Tracks David Bowie's Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 6) Writer's Mystery Endures, Long After He Vanished
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Juan Williams, Scandinavia's Dark Side, Broetry and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Muzzled,' Williams Tells His Side Of The Story 2) Crime Writers Expose Scandinavia's Dark Side 3) Rescue Your Reading With 3 Superhero Sagas 4) 'Stone Arabia': The Cost Of Artistic Commitment 5) Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite 'Broetry' 6) 'Nothing Daunted': From Society Women To Pioneers
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Crime In Vermont, D.C., Seattle, 'Starman' David Bowie,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Brattleboro: Vermont's Hotbed Of Fictional Crime 2) Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C. 3) Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival 4) A Former Cop Sets His Crime Scene In Seattle 5) 'Starman' Tracks David Bowie's Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 6) Writer's Mystery Endures, Long After He Vanished
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Juan Williams, Scandinavia's Dark Side, Broetry and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Muzzled,' Williams Tells His Side Of The Story 2) Crime Writers Expose Scandinavia's Dark Side 3) Rescue Your Reading With 3 Superhero Sagas 4) 'Stone Arabia': The Cost Of Artistic Commitment 5) Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite 'Broetry' 6) 'Nothing Daunted': From Society Women To Pioneers
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Crime In Vermont, D.C., Seattle, 'Starman' David Bowie,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Brattleboro: Vermont's Hotbed Of Fictional Crime 2) Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C. 3) Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival 4) A Former Cop Sets His Crime Scene In Seattle 5) 'Starman' Tracks David Bowie's Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 6) Writer's Mystery Endures, Long After He Vanished
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Juan Williams, Scandinavia's Dark Side, Broetry and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Muzzled,' Williams Tells His Side Of The Story 2) Crime Writers Expose Scandinavia's Dark Side 3) Rescue Your Reading With 3 Superhero Sagas 4) 'Stone Arabia': The Cost Of Artistic Commitment 5) Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite 'Broetry' 6) 'Nothing Daunted': From Society Women To Pioneers
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Crime In Vermont, D.C., Seattle, 'Starman' David Bowie,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Brattleboro: Vermont's Hotbed Of Fictional Crime 2) Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C. 3) Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival 4) A Former Cop Sets His Crime Scene In Seattle 5) 'Starman' Tracks David Bowie's Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 6) Writer's Mystery Endures, Long After He Vanished
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Juan Williams, Scandinavia's Dark Side, Broetry and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Muzzled,' Williams Tells His Side Of The Story 2) Crime Writers Expose Scandinavia's Dark Side 3) Rescue Your Reading With 3 Superhero Sagas 4) 'Stone Arabia': The Cost Of Artistic Commitment 5) Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite 'Broetry' 6) 'Nothing Daunted': From Society Women To Pioneers
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Crime In Vermont, D.C., Seattle, 'Starman' David Bowie,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Brattleboro: Vermont's Hotbed Of Fictional Crime 2) Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C. 3) Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival 4) A Former Cop Sets His Crime Scene In Seattle 5) 'Starman' Tracks David Bowie's Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes 6) Writer's Mystery Endures, Long After He Vanished
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Juan Williams, Scandinavia's Dark Side, Broetry and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Muzzled,' Williams Tells His Side Of The Story 2) Crime Writers Expose Scandinavia's Dark Side 3) Rescue Your Reading With 3 Superhero Sagas 4) 'Stone Arabia': The Cost Of Artistic Commitment 5) Yo, Bro! Belly Up To The Bar And Recite 'Broetry' 6) 'Nothing Daunted': From Society Women To Pioneers
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Stieglitz And O'Keeffe, George R.R. Martin, Fibonacci...
Stories in this Episode: 1) Stieglitz And O'Keeffe: Their Love And Life In Letters 2) Education Of An Interrogator: Questioning The CIA 3) Author George R.R. Martin 'Playing For Keeps' 4) Fibonacci's 'Numbers': The Man Behind The Math 5)Students Get Up Close And Personal With Rare Books
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George R.R. Martin, The Supermarket Tomato, Weeds and...
Stories in this Episode : 1) George R.R. Martin's Complex Epic For An Ambivalent Age 2) The Troubled History Of The Supermarket Tomato 3) Love It Or Hate It, Pregnancy 'Bible' Has A Lot To Say 4) For Stanton, All Women Were Not Created Equal 5) 'Weeds': In Defense Of Botany's Cockroach
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Charlotte's Web, Hemingway Remembered, more
Stories In this episode: 1) How E.B. White Spun 'Charlotte's Web' 2) A Yacht, A Mustache: How A President Hid His Tumor 3) In Race To South Pole, Scott Lost ... Or Did He? 4) After 50 Years, Remembering Hemingway's Farewell 5) Reads For The Road: Picks From A London Cabbie
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Gone With The Wind Turns 75, Diana's Untold Story, Josh...
Stories in this episode: 1) Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind' Turns 75 2) 'Untold Story': What If Princess Diana Had Survived? 3) Josh Ritter: First A Songwriter, Now A Novelist 4) Isolation Proves Dangerous On 'Rat Island' 5) A Harsh Tale Of War, But An Unforgettable Read
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Simon Pegg, Terrific Summer Reads, Demon Fish and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Nancy Pearl Presents 10 Terrific Summer Reads 2) Love, Betrayal, Humiliation: A Coming-Of-Age Affair 3) Hidden Gems And 'Killer Stuff': A Flea Market How-To 4) Sympathy For The 'Demon Fish' 5) 'Nerd Do Well': Simon Pegg On 'Becoming A Big Kid' 6) 'State Of Wonder' Deftly Twists, Turns Off The Map
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Tweeting 'Ulysses,' 'Guilty Passion,' A Century Of...
Stories in this episode: 1) In Asia, The Perils Of Aborting Girls And Keeping Boys 2) Tweeting 'Ulysses': Fans Put A Twist On Bloomsday 3) 'Guilty Passion' Leads A Housewife To Homicide 4) For A Navy SEAL, Balance Between 'Heart' And 'Fist' 5) A Century Of Atrocities, Through A Psychiatrist's Eyes
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Summer Cookbooks, Pop Nostalgia, Drug Smugglers' Party...
Stories in this episode: 1) Back To Basics: 2011's Simple, Summery Cookbooks 2) The Sweet Taste Of 'Pop' Culture Nostalgia 3) Ann Patchett Journeys To The Amazon With 'Wonder' 4) Drug Smugglers' Party Days A Prelude To War 5) 'Farishta': Afghan Fiction From The Foreign Service
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Summer Reads, Vonnegut, Ellen Willis and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Summer Reads To Transport You Back In Time 2) A Last Gift: Father Finishes Book After Son's Death 3) Kurt Vonnegut: Still Speaking To The War Weary 4) From The 'Vinyl Deeps,' Ellen Willis Wrote About Rock 5) Spanish-Language Books Woo Untapped U.S. Market 6) The Return Of 'Crows,' Huxley's Children's Tale 7) Through A Correspondent's Eyes: Revisiting Vietnam
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Dick Van Dyke, Little House Revisited, E-Books and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Dick Van Dyke Talks About His 'Lucky Life' And What Stan Laurel Left Him 2) An Author Returns To 'The Little House' 3) Publishers Navigate The 'Open Road' Of E-Books 4) 'Big Girl Small': Humiliation, High School Style 5) A Celebration Of 'Vinyl' And Pop Critic Ellen Willis
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Blood, Bones & Butter, Damn You, Autocorrect!, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Three Books To Rescue Nordic Lit From The Dark Side 2) The 'Blood, Bones & Butter' Of Restaurant Work 3) Accidentally, 'Autocorrect' Makes Good Texts Go Bad 4) Ian Rankin Switches To A New Hero In 'Complaints'
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Swamplandia, Shakespeare, and an Army of Princesses
Stories in this episode: 1) A Lack Of Rigor Leaves Students 'Adrift' In College 2) Saving Our Daughters From An Army Of Princesses 3) Collecting Garbage, Memories On Chicago's Streets 4) 'Weird Sisters' Quote Shakespeare To Communicate 5) Wrestling Gators And Language In 'Swamplandia!'
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Bobby Fischer, Scorecasting, Harlem and more
Stories in this episode: 1) The Troubled Genius of Bobby Fischer 2) How Bad Weather Built The 'World's Biggest Markets' 3) 'Scorecasting': Saying Sports Cliches Ain't So 4) Dreams And Reality Forever Intertwined In 'Harlem'
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New Salinger Biography, A Presidential Novel, Why...
Stories in this episode: 1) Digging For Pearls In The New Salinger Biography 2) 'A Presidential Novel' Hidden Behind Anonymity 3) Reagan's Son Sees His 'Father At 100' 4) Math Isn't So Scary With Help From These Monsters 5) 'Why Leaders Lie,' Whether You Believe It Or Not
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Tina Brown's Must-Reads, Modern Fables, Books For...
Stories in this episode: 1) Tina Brown's Must-Reads: On Choice And Control 2) Three Modern Fables To Capture Your Imagination 3) 'American Rising': When Slaves Attacked New Orleans 4) Son Of Jim And Tammy Faye Finds His Own 'Grace' 5) Three Books For Your Motorcycle Road Trip
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William Trevor, Last Exit To Brooklyn, Alan Lomax, more
Stories in this episode: 1) William Trevor: A Short-Story Master's Life Work 2) Tiger Mothers: Raising Children The Chinese Way 3) In 'Last Exit,' Brooklyn Is A Character, Too 4) As The Facts Win Out, Vaccinations May, Too 5) Alan Lomax: Recording The World
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Net Delusion, Figment Of My Imagination, India Calling,...
Stories in this episode: 1) Tragic Loss And Love Affirmed In 'An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination' 2) In The 'Net Delusion,' Internet Serves Oppressors 3) 'India Calling': The New 'Land Of Opportunity'? 4) 'If I Stay': Trapped Between Life And Death 5) The Enduring Allure Of Chanel No. 5
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Nostalgia Books, A.G. Gatson, Robert Morris and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Elegantly Old School: Nostalgia Books On The Rise 2) 'Bird Songs Bible' Tweets, The Old-Fashioned Way 3) A.G. Gaston: From Log Cabin To Funeral Home Mogul 4) Robert Morris: America's Founding Capitalist 5) Barbara Newhall Follett, Disappearing Child Genius
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Maya Angelou's Cookbook, The Future Of Bookstores and...
Stories in this episode: 1) End Of Days For Bookstores? Not If They Can Help It 2) Kids' Books Make The Leap Off The Page And Online 3) Killer Confesses To Pluto's Murder In Tell-All Book 4) Maya Angelou's Cooking Advice: Ignore The Rules 5) App-etizing: Cookbooks And Recipes Go Mobile
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'Titanic Thompson,' 'Unbroken' and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Gambling Legend Wasn't Always a Winner 2) The 'Unbroken' Spirit of an Ordinary Hero 3) Twain's Summer Home: Visiting Elmira, N.Y 4) How to 'Thrive': Dan Buettner's Secrets of Happiness 4)
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2010's Best Cookbooks, Seabiscuit Author Returns, more
Stories in this episode: 1) A Soldier's Steamy Affair: 'Meat Loves Salt' 2) 2010's Best Cookbooks: Real-Life Labors Of Love 3) OK: How Two Letters Made 'America's Greatest Word 4) 'Seabiscuit' Author's New Hero 'Unbroken' By War
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Mark Twain, Franklin And Eleanor, Jane Austen and more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'The Autobiography Of Mark Twain': Satire To Spare 2) 'Franklin And Eleanor': A Marriage Ahead Of Its Time 3) 'The Dirty Life': From City Girl To Hog Butcher 4) Was Jane Austen Edited? Does It Matter? 5) 'Revival' Author Outlines White House Identity Crisis
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Cleopatra, Dinaw Mengestu, Judd Apatow and more
Stories in this episode: 1) The True Love Story Of Lady Antonia And Her Harold 2) Cleopatra: 'A Life' Misunderstood 3) 'Vast Ocean Of Stories' In Biography Of The Atlantic 4) From Dinaw Mengestu, A 'How To' With Few Answers 5) From Funnyman Judd Apatow, A Few Solid Laughs
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All Facts Considered, Jane Austen, Gary Trudeau, and more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'All Facts Considered' By NPR's Longtime Librarian 2) Manuscripts Suggest Jane Austen Had A Great Editor 3) Trudeau Reflects On Four Decades Of 'Doonesbury' 4) Sci-Fi's Cory Doctorow Separates Self-Publishing Fact From Fiction 5) 'Tamil Pulp': Sexy, Gory Fiction, Now In English
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Amish Romance, Israeli Identity, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Garry Wills' Adventures As An 'Outsider Looking In' 2) Amish Romance: More Faith And No Sex In This Slice Of Christian Fiction 3) 'To The End' A Solemn Exploration Of Israeli Identity 4) 'Heaven Bears' Author Finds Beauty In 'The Air'
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Condoleezza Rice, Enlightened Panda and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Condoleezza Rice Details Her Civil Rights Roots 2) Enlightened Panda Imparts Wisdom In 'Zen Ghosts' 3) 'Finkler' Questions The Meaning Of Jewishness 4) Simplicity Served In 'One-Dish' Dinnertime Wonders
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David Sedaris, National Lampoon, Per Petterson, more
Stories in this week's episode: 1) David Sedaris, Anatomizing Us In 'Squirrel' Tales 2) Brilliant To Dead: The High Art Of 'Lampoon' Satire 3) 'Geometry Of Pasta': Full Of All Shapes And Sauces 4) Per Petterson: A Family Approach To Fiction
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Man-Eating Tigers, The Runaways, more
Stories in this episode: 1) The True Story Of A Man-Eating Tiger's 'Vengeance' 2) This Graphic Novel Will Turn You Into A Teen Again 3) History Through A Supreme Court Justice's Lens 4) Star-Crossed Lovers Get A Makeover In 'Juliet'
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Investigating The Real Charlie Chan, Zardoz and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan 2) Gary Shteyngart's Nerd Passion For 'Zardoz' 3) Children's Book Finds Hope In Haiti's Rubble 4) 'Phantom Tollbooth' Creators Reunited By An 'Ogre'
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Scott Simon's Adoption Story, David Mitchell, more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Meant For Each Other': Scott Simon's Adoption Story 2) Moving 'Beyond Katrina' Through Poetry And Prose 3) How David Mitchell Brings Historical Fiction To Life 4) An Alphabetical Urban Tour Teaches 'Barrio ABCs'
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Escaping Summer Heat In Bookmobile, Nordic Lit, more
Stories in this episode: Sun Valley Sheriff Finds Murder On The Mountain; Larsson's Just The Tip Of The Nordic Literary Iceberg; Escaping The Summer Heat In A Bookmobile; Ties That Bind: A Bittersweet Tale Of Friendship.
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Periodic Table, Hamlet's BlackBerry, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Fun And Intrigue With The Periodic Table 2) Sir Thomas Lipton And His Empire Of Tea 3) 'Hamlet's BlackBerry': To Surf Or Not To Surf? 4) 'Cookbook Collector': Updated Austen Hits The Spot
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Penicillin, CIA Insiders, Humorist Sloan Crosley, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Former CIA Insider Pens First Novel 'Intelligence' 2) Gerritsen On Follett's Repellent, Fascinating 'Needle' 3) Humorist Sloane Crosley's Got Your 'Number' 4) 'McKay's Bees' Alive With Wit And Wonder 5) Penicillin Comes Of Age In 'A Fierce Radiance'
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'To Kill A Mockingbird' At 50, Bookless Libraries, more
Stories in this episode: 1) 50 Years On, 'Mockingbird' Still Sings America's Song 2) Stanford Ushers In The Age Of Bookless Libraries 3) A 'Thousand Autumns' In The Land Of The Rising Sun 4) 'The Madonnas Of Echo Park': Residents, Reinvented
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Cobain's Journals, 'Double Take' Author, more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Double Take' Author: Skiing Hard And Staring Back 2) Cobain's Journals: The Writer Behind The Rock Star 3) 'Pearl Buck In China': A Child Across The Good Earth
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Summer Books, India's Diverse Faiths, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Summer Books That Make The Critics' Cut 2) India's Diverse Faiths, As Told Through 'Nine Lives' 3) Tamsen Donner: Pioneer Dame Of The Donner Party
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Summertime Escapes, M.J. Rose, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Fiction, Long And Short, For Summertime Escapes 2) Haunted 'River' Waters Flow Below A Grand Hotel 3) On Tour With Best-Selling Suspense Writer M.J. Rose
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Facebook, Vampires, Native American Folk Tales
Stories in this episode: 1) Native American Folk Tales Take A Graphic Turn 2) Vampire Stories: Two New Twists On An Old Nemesis 3 Author Explores The Evolution Of Facebook
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15 Summer Reads, Books for World Cup Fever, and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Booksellers' Picks: 15 Soaring Summer Reads 2) 'The Shallows': This Is Your Brain Online 3) In 'Believers', Courage And Cowardice Of Conviction 4) Three Books To Ignite Your World Cup Fever
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Rush Limbaugh, Emily Dickinson, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Zev Chafets talks about his new biography of the conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, 'An Army of One.' 2) The New York Botanical Garden has a new exhibit that re-creates the gardens of the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson. 3) Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Private Life,' the new novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley.
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Bottled Water, Real Life Terror, Roddy Doyle
Stories in this episode: 1) Mohsin Hamid found parallels between his novel and the life of the suspected Times Square bomber. 2) Freshwater expert Peter Gleick explains what's bottled water -- and why we drink it -- in the book 'Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water.' 3) 'The Dead Republic,' the final chapter of Roddy Doyle's Henry Smart trilogy, finds Henry reflecting on his life.
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Ian McEwan, Walter Mosley and Nella Larsen
1) The main character in Ian McEwan's 'Sola' is a brilliant climate scientist whose work masks a lack of morality. 2) Walter Mosley has written more than two dozen books featuring unforgettable black characters and his latest 'Known To Evil' explores heroes and redemption. 3) Heidi Durrow recommends Nella Larsen's 1929 novel about two light-skinned, African-American women.
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Tony Judt on Lou Gehrig's Disease, Hellraisers and...
Stories in this episode: 1) A Historian's Long View On Living With Lou Gehrig's: Tony Judt talks about life with ALS, which he calls a "progressive imprisonment without parole." 2) Sarah Rose's 'For All the Tea in China' tells how England hijacked tea production in the 19th century. 3) . Four of the 20th century's great actors were possibly its wildest men. In 'Hellraisers,' biographer Robert Sellers tells tales from the intersection of talent and wretched excess.
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Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer, 3 Minute Fiction, more
Stories in this episode: 1) Abraham Lincoln Reborn As A Vampire Slayer 2) Three-Minute Fiction Round Three: The Winner Is ... 3) In New Serial Thriller, Everyone's Hands Are Bloody
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Poisoner's Handbook, Desmond Tutu
Stories in this episode: 1) Picking The Poison: The Story Of Forensic Medicine 2) Desmond Tutu, Insisting We Are 'Made For Goodness' 3) One Scientist's Prescription: Grow Your Own Drugs
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Alice In Wonderland, Lucille Clifton and more
Stories in this episode: 1) Heidi Durrow's critically acclaimed debut novel 'The Girl Who Fell From The Sky' explores biracial identity in young adulthood. 2) 'Alice I Have Been' is Melanie Benjamin's story of the real girl behind 'Alice In Wonderland.' 3) Susan Jane Gilman offers suggestions for six great books that won't embarrass you in airports. 4) The African-American poet Lucille Clifton addressed tough issues of race and sexism. She died Feb. 13 at 73.
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'Union Atlantic,' 'The Whale' and more
Stories in this episode: 1) In a small Swedish village, 19 people are found brutally murdered. The investigation of these gruesome deaths takes readers from Sweden to China to Africa in Henning Mankell's latest book, 'The Man from Beijing.' 2) Philip Hoare's book, 'The Whale,' is an exploration of the role that the great animals have played in human history, from Moby-Dick to lamp oil to the author's own close encounter with a curious female sperm whale. 3) A first novel by a much-honored...
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Gladiators and Do-Good Vampires
Stories in this episode: 1) The autobiography of Dan Clark, aka Nitro, is his wince-inducing story on doing anything to get big. 2) Immortality is one thing. But for NPR's Margot Adler, it's modern vampire 'morality' that appeals. 3) The main character in Joshua Ferris' second novel, 'The Unnamed,' can't stop walking. 4) Maaza Mengiste tells the story of the 1974 revolution that ended a 3,000-year-old monarchy.
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Don DeLillo, Louise Erdrich and More
Stories in this episode: 1) DeLillo's Man In The Desert, Up Against The Wall 2) From Erdrich, A Page Turner With Deceit At Heart 3) Three Americans In London, Fighting For War 4) Sci-Fi Novels To Keep You Awake At Night
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Shedding Light on A-Bomb Decision; 'Game Change' and more
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Hell To Pay' Sheds New Light On A-Bomb Decision 2) 'Game Change' Authors Say No Need To Name Sources 3) Are We Overlooking The Black Power Behind Obama? 4) Two Authors, One Legendary New England Connection
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Story Specialists, Mad Scientists and News Satirists
Stories in this episode: 1) Lynn Neary speaks with two doctors who are also fiction writers — Abraham Verghese and Terrence Holt — about the link between medicine and writing literature. 2) The work of an agency known as DARPA is the topic of a new book by tech writer Michael Belfiore. 3) Commentator Rod Dreher says Sarah Palin's new book sells her personality, not a political platform. 4) America's Finest News Source 'The Onion' has released a new book celebrating its 21 years of satire...
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The Scariest American Stories And Guilty Pleasure Foods
Stories in this episode: 1) Food writer Nigella Lawson says one of the best ways to be warm and comfortable during winter is to indulge in rich, tasty foods that some might call guilty pleasures. 2) In his new book, 'Eating Animals,' Jonathan Safran Foer grapples with the morality of meat. 3) Author Peter Straub spent two years researching the best — and scariest — American stories.
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Wimpy Kids, Walmart and the Best British Writer You've...
Stories: 1) Jeff Kinney's book series centers on a smart-mouthed sad sack who just can't seem to win. 2) Walmart, Amazon and Target are cutting the price of some best-selling books. 3) 'What to Expect When You're Expected' is a tongue-in-cheek take on life in utero. 4) Novelist Jane Gardam may be the best British writer you've never heard of.
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NPR Books: October 19, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Amy Efaw's new novel, 'After,' tells the story of a girl who tries to murder her newborn baby. 2) The Institute of Noetic Sciences president realized recently she's the heroine in Brown's new novel. 3) Jeff Kinney's latest graphic novel, 'Dog Days,' gets kids — and adults — laughing.
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NPR Books: October 9, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Once the center of an obscenity trial, William S. Burroughs' novel 'Naked Lunch' chronicles heroin addiction. 2) Ex-Wife Of D.C. Sniper, Mildred Muhammad says the sniper wanted to kill her and divert suspicion to a crazed gunman in new memoir, 'I Was The Enemy.' 3) Dan Chaon's latest novel, 'Await Your Reply,' weaves together three separate narratives.
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NPR Books: October 1, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Audrey Niffenegger, the author of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' says she's attracted to themes of death and dying. 2) The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo recommends four fictional takes on office life. 3) In 'Read My Pins, ' Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state reveals how she used jewelry as a diplomatic tool.
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NPR Books: September 17, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Writer John Geiger chronicles phantom presences that lead to safety in his new book, 'The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible. 2) Jon Krakauer's latest book sheds new light on the death of NFL player turned soldier Pat Tillman. 3) In Dan Brown's new novel 'The Lost Symbol,' hero Robert Langdon uncovers esoteric mysteries even as he dismisses them.
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NPR Books: September 11, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Susan Stamberg talks with linguist Deborah Tannen who interviewed 100 women (including her own big sisters) for her new book. 2) Lorrie Moore's new novel is a powerful tale of a young college student who becomes a nanny. 3) Both the beauty and the brutality of the country are captured in the memoir 'God Sleeps in Rwanda.'
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NPR Books: September 3, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Dying Up Here' Chronicles Golden Age Of Stand-Up 2) Doctorow's Fictional Take On Real-Life Eccentricity 3) 'Reading Rainbow' Reaches Its Final Chapter
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NPR Books: August 20, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Ready to become engrossed in a good book? Try these mysteries you may have missed. 2) A new interactive novel allows readers to e-mail and telephone characters from the book. 3) Tina Brown, the Daily Beast editor talks about what you need to read on the web.
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NPR Books: August 13, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Lev Grossman's new novel reads like a Harry Potter tale, but with more shades of gray. 2) Children's book author Lesley Blume recommends timeless books that both kids and parents will enjoy. 3) Fancy a cozy whodunit set in the English countryside? Don't read any of Mark Billingham's novels.
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July 30, 2009
1) David Balducci writes crime novels that take place in Washington, D.C.. 2) A writer for The Onion talks about his new memoir and how marrying his humor and his depression makes for an insane, dark comedy. 3) Crime writer Gabriel Cohen takes us on a tour around Brooklyn, New York pointing out sites where his characters murder and die. 4) One cookbook author says you don't need recipes as long as you know ratios. 5) Some of the best books for beach reading are the ones which tell tales...
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NPR Books: July 24, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Despite the economic downturn, one kind of story is still selling better than many other forms of adult fiction. 2) In a kind of supermarket Cinderella story, a cashier in France has become a literary sensation. 3) 'Young Woman and the Sea' shows how Gertrude Ederle's fame grew, then evaporated.
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NPR Books: July 16, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) The murder of wildlife activist and filmmaker Joan Root was never solved, but her life and violent death is the subject of a new book, 'Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa'. 2) Writer Neil Gaiman talks with Neal Conan about "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader."
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NPR Books: July 10, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Author Colin Ellard says you can train yourself to be more conscious of your surroundings. 2) Author Jag Bhalla discusses the unique turns of phrase that different cultures use. 3) In a new book, Nick Reding describes why the working class in Oelwein, Iowa, started using meth.
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NPR Books: July 2, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) 'Touch' tells of the conflicting accounts that arise after a girl is groped on a school bus. 2) Author Gigi Levangie Grazer talks about her new novel, 'Queen Takes King.' 3) 'The Photographer' is an unusual graphic novel that tells the story of a photojournalist's harrowing trip to Afghanistan.
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NPR Books: June 25, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Retrace the strands that led to a lot of current American satire, and you end up at Harvey Kurtzman. 2) Nikita Khrushchev starred in his own travel comedy back in 1959. Peter Carlson's new book, 'K Blows Top,'documents the Communist leader's unusual tour through the United States. 3) Dean Olsher, author of 'From Square One,' weighs in on the appeal of the crossword.
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NPR Books: June 19, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's new novel merges vampire folklore with the very modern paranoia over pandemics. 2) Looking to cozy up with some good books? Librarian Nancy Pearl has some great suggestions. 3) A multivolume dictionary five decades in the making collects the nation's linguistic treasures.
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NPR Books: June 12, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) This year's selections take readers from the great outdoors to the inside of a Scrabble factory. 2) Google's new e-book plan could give the Amazon Kindle a run for its money by the end of this year. 3) Haunted by memories of failures from his youth, Robin Hemley went back for a second chance.
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NPR Books: June 5, 2009
Stories in this episode: Reviewer Alan Cheuse and writer Samantha Hunt offer their suggestions of books for summer. 2) The Kasper Hauser group's 'Weddings of the Times' pokes fun at formal wedding announcements. 3) For the first time, David Kaczynski has written about his relationship with the brother he admired. 4) These three books about the intensity of illicit love are meant to be savored for eternity.
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NPR Books: May 22, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) As author Clinton Heylin explains, Shakespeare's sonnets were never intended for a wide audience. 2) Karl Taro Greenfeld describes growing up with his autistic brother in his book 'Boy Alone.' 3) For Jeffrey Eugenides, Saul Bellow's 1964 tale of a man on the rocks beats any dose of caffeine. 4) A novel wears an autobiography's disguise in Clive James' rereleased 'Unreliable Memoirs.'
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NPR Books: May 15, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Elizabeth Edwards has survived campaigns, cancer, the death of a child and her husband's infidelity. 2) Kamila Shamsie loves 'In the Skin of a Lion' enough to shout it from the rooftops. 3) Matthew Pearl's 'The Last Dickens' focuses on the perils of early author tours in America.
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NPR Books: May 7, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Fascination with dead bodies is the focus of one of the most gruesome coffee table books ever. 2) 'Found' magazine's new book features scraps of paper and lost things found by famous people. 3) In 'Annie's Ghosts,' Steve Luxenberg details his quest to learn about the aunt he never knew.
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NPR Books: April 30, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Robert Goolrick's new book 'A Reliable Wife' spins a tale that will keep many a reader turning the pages late at night to find out what happens next. 2) The humor in Christopher Buckley's latest book is of a personal — sometimes sad — nature. 3) George Scialabba's new collection of essays asks, 'What Are Intellectuals Good For?'
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NPR Books: April 23, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) An anniversary edition of 'The Elements of Style' chronicles the making of a classic. 2) The younger of the filmmaking Coen brothers is the author of two recently published books. 3) When violence exploded at Columbine High, Dave Cullen was one of the first journalists on the story.
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NPR Books: April 16, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Author Charles Bock calls Castle Freeman Jr.'s novel 'Go With Me' a "wry, primal, epic." 2) Publishers Gamble On Blockbuster Book Deals: Can the publishing industry afford to offer Tina Fey and Kathy Griffin seven-figure deals? 3) Romi Lassally's new book gathers together women's confessions of "mommy misdemeanors."
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NPR Books: April 8, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Why do smart people shell out good money for diet books? 2) If you met former 'Washington Post' executive Leslie Morgan Steiner on the street, you might never guess her secret: that she was once married to a man who beat her with abandon on a regular basis. 3) When author Rebecca Flowers was downsized twice in three months, she crawled into bed to console herself with books about other women in similar situations. 4) The photograph of an author plays an important...
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NPR Books: April 2, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Journalist Evan Wright has written about the lives of porn stars, anarchists and con artists in many mainstream magazines. He talks about a new collection of his stories: 'Hella Nation.' 2) Historian Quentin Taylor reads modern parallels in L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel. 3) New novels are facing off in The Tournament of Books, a bracket-style showdown at themorningnews.org. Competition is based on readers' picks and reviewers' choices. The site's...
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NPR Books: March 27, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) In 1995, Debra Gwartney's two oldest daughters hopped a freight train and disappeared. Her memoir, 'Live Through This,' is the story of heartache and panic as she tried to track her children down. 2) Twenty-seven years after his death, the life and work of John Cheever are in the spotlight again. 3) In 'A Hope in the Unseen,' a teen escapes the inner city, then faces new battles in college.
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NPR Books: March 18, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Poetry is a living, breathing medium in the Arab world. 2) Novelist Zoe Heller's latest effort, 'The Believers' proves her devotion to unlikable characters. 3) Johnson vs. Bird and the dawn of March Madness: Thirty years ago, millions of viewers watched a basketball game that would change sports forever.
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NPR Books: March 12 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) A new book follows a troubled teen trying to save the world in the New York City subway system. 2) Slate.com editor David Plotz talks about his new book, 'Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible.' 3) 'The Kindly Ones,' by Jonathan Littell, is the fictional memoir of a Nazi exterminator.
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NPR Books: March 6, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Harper's editor Roger Hodge calls the magazine's monthly Index "a statistical poem." 2) James Lever talks about his fictionalized memoir, 'Me, Cheeta: My Life in Hollywood.' 3) Mark Barrowcliffe shares three fantasy books that offer a glimpse of a life less ordinary. 4) Ukrainian-born author and humorist Sholem Aleichem was a champion of the Yiddish language.
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NPR Books: February 27, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) Robert Darnton, head librarian at Harvard University, says the deal violates a basic American principle — that knowledge should be free and accessible to all. 2) Novelist Barbara Hall explores the idea that not everyone is called to be a professional musician. 3) Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Drood' and the 'Twilight' series.
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NPR Books: February 20, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) 'The Other Side of Desire' explores erotic drives that fall outside the normal zones. 2) Joan Rivers has written a new mystery novel 'Murder at the Academy Awards.' 3) From 1935 to 1939, an army of folklorists and writers went in search of tales both real and tall. A new book revisits the project.
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NPR Books: February 20, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) 'The Other Side of Desire' explores erotic drives that fall outside the normal zones. 2) Joan Rivers has written a new mystery novel 'Murder at the Academy Awards.' 3) From 1935 to 1939, an army of folklorists and writers went in search of tales both real and tall. A new book revisits the project.
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NPR Books: February 12, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'The Mighty Queens of Freeville,' Amy Dickinson writes about the strong women in her life. 2) As Amazon unveils its updated reader, some booksellers are saying A.B.K. — anything but Kindle. 3) Critic Maureen Corrigan says Yu Hua's new novel about life in a Chinese village is sensational. 4) On the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, NPR tours Ford's Theatre, where he was shot in 1865.
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NPR Books: February 6, 2009
Stories in this episode: 1) In 'Squint: My Journey with Leoprosy,' Jose P. Ramierez Jr. writes about his life and recovery. 2) Jayne Anne Phillips' 'Lark & Termite' has drawn comparisons to 'The Sound and the Fury.' 3) The new tell-all book 'Bases Loaded' by a former clubhouse attendant is now out, but book sellers say readers are tired of sports doping stories.
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NPR Books: January 12, 2009
1) Songs for the Butcher's Daugher is a new novel about a friendship between a young man and the last living Yiddish poet; 2) NPR's Moscow correspondent, Gregory Feifer talks about his book on the Soviet war in Afghanistan; 3) A group of women authors discuss their new advice book, "Go Tell Michelle: African American Women write to the new First Lady; 4) NPR's Scott Simon speaks with comedian Joan Rivers about her new book on plastic surgery.
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NPR Books: January 5, 2009
1) People are getting hooked on wovels, an on-line novel written serially; 2) A collection of quirky essays on China's booming economy; 3) A poet speaks with host Liane Hansen about Civil Rights Poets; 4) A memoir by an author whose child dies in utero.
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NPR Books: December 31, 2008
1) Mystery writer, Mary Higgins Clark, and her daughter, Carol, discuss suspense writing with NPR's Renee Montagne; 2) Writer Melissa Banks says you must read this book; 3) Iranian author, Azar Nafisi, talks about her new memoir
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NPR Books: December 29, 2008
1) A biography on writer George Plimpton; 2) A new biography looks at how one forgotten chef greatly shaped American cuisine; 3) A number of children's books are about Hurricane Katrina; 4) A book looks inside the Astor family.
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NPR Books: December 23, 2008
1) A commentator talks about blending different holiday traditions; 2) Economists put large numbers in perspective; 3) An MIT professor collects her students' essays about a specific object that motivated them to pursue a career in science; 4) The lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein are collected in a new coffee table book.
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NPR Books: December 19, 2008
1) Holiday books for children; 2) A novelist comments on Governor Blagojevich's current situation; 3) Books on parenting; 4) A book of essays written by MIT students about their first interest in science
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NPR Books: December 15, 2008
1) Different books to give as gifts this holiday season; 2) An Iranian photojournalist talks about his new book; 3) NPR's Susan Stamberg has advice on which books to give this holiday season; 4) An author speaks about his new book, "Family Planning", set in New Delhi.
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NPR Books: December 8, 2008
1) The publishing world's hard week, with job losses, reorganizations, and nervousness about booksellers' holiday sales; 2) John Milton's 400th birthday this week is being celebrated with exhibits and readings of his "Paradise Lost"; 3) "Loot" by Sharon Waxman investigates the trafficking of ancient artifacts, and the clash between museums and the countries from which antiquities were taken; 4) Calvin Trillin has written a book of poetry called "Deciding the Next Decider" about the 2008...
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NPR Books: December 4, 2008
1) The attacks in Mumbai recall a plot line in the two-year-old novel "Sacred Games" by Vikram Chandra; 2) Steven Rinella, author of "American Buffalo" describes winning a lottery for a permit, then hunting the wooly animal in Alaska; 3) Author Ann Patchett recommends Henry James' novel "The Ambassadors" for the series "You Must Read This"; 4) New, hip takes on the Bible hope to reach a wider and younger audience; 5) A former interrogator for the US military discusses his book "How To Break...
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NPR Books: December 1, 2008
1) What it means to become American, according to Joseph O'Neill, author of "Netherland"; 2) "Knucklehead" is the memoir of children's book author Jon Scieszka, who grew up in a house full of brothers in Michigan; 3) A tour with John Cole, the author of "On These Walls: Inscriptions and Quotations in the Library of Congress"; 4) "The Glory Game" by Frank Gifford tells the story of a single game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts - which he says changed football, and...
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NPR Books: November 24, 2008
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 continues with Jamie Oliver "The Naked Chef" - whose new book is "Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life"; 5) Environmentalist writer Terry Tempest Williams has a new book called "Finding Beauty...
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NPR Books: November 21, 2008
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 investigates those away from the norm in "Outliers: The Story of Success"
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NPR Books: November 17 2008
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 liven up cocktail party conversation; 4) Marian Wright Edelman charts a course for the next generation in "The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small"
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NPR Books: November 13, 2008
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 "Sea of Poppies"; 4) Will Layman recommends Three Books for curling up in the middle of the night; 5) Sir Roger Moore on his new autobiography "My Word is My Bond"
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NPR Books: November 10, 2008
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 serving in the armed forces appear in "Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks, from Vietnam to Iraq"; 5) The self-described dandy Sebastian Horsley recommends Three Books by Quentin Crisp, Andy Warhol,...
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