Books

Depression-Era Evil: Horror In A Haunted Land

editor — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Julia Keller's latest novel is A Killing in the Hills.

When the actor James O'Neill played the title character in a stage version of The Count of Monte Cristo, it was a piece of "good bad luck," his son Eugene O'Neill later said. James O'Neill could never escape the shadow of the role that made him famous.

A related kind of "good bad luck" befell Davis Grubb in 1955, when a movie was made of the novel he had published two years earlier, The Night of the Hunter.

Pterrifying Pterodactyl Meets Sexy Detective

Rosecrans Baldwin — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:51:00 +0000

Rosecrans Baldwin's latest book is Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down.

Most of what you read about contemporary Paris is pretty cliched stuff — baguettes, cigarettes and the cast of Gossip Girl drinking white wine on the Seine.

But if you like your Francophilia with a bit more punch, imagine stepping back into the early 20th century: 1911. It's Paris during the Belle Epoque, the city's golden age. World War I hasn't begun, but the city is being attacked — by a bloodthirsty pterodactyl controlled by a scientist endowed with supernatural powers.

A Story Of Slavery, Loss And Hope In 1850s Ohio

editor — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:32:00 +0000

In the aftermath of the Compromise of 1850, a controversial bill that included the Fugitive Slave Act, the journey to freedom became increasingly difficult for enslaved people. In Tracy Chevalier's newest novel, Ohio and its intricate network of Underground Railroad activity provides a rich background for this period.

After her betrothed abandons her to pursue a woman outside the Quaker community, Honor Bright follows her sister Grace to the U.S.

A Child Of The Slums Becomes A 'Queen' Of Chess

NPR Staff — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:22:00 +0000

Phiona Mutesi is a teenager living in Katwe, the biggest and possibly toughest slum in Uganda's capital city. She's also a rising star in competitive chess.

Her story is told in the book The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess and One Extraordinary Girl's Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster.

But when she first started the game, Mutesi wasn't hungry for glory; she was just hungry.

Dec. 31-Jan. 6: A Whodunit, A Mountain Survival And A JFK Affair

editor — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Fiction and nonfiction releases from P.D. James; Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel; Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan; and Mimi Alford.

Death Of The (Predatory) Salesman: These Days, It's A Buyer's Market

NPR Staff — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:46:00 +0000

The familiar image of the salesman in American culture hasn't always been a flattering one. Just think of Alec Baldwin as the verbally abusive "motivator" of two real estate salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Daniel H. Pink, author of the new book To Sell is Human, says that this relentless, predator-style approach to selling has become outdated.

Exclusive First Read: 'A Memory Of Light,' By Robert Jordan And Brandon Sanderson

editor — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Normally, we avoid dropping our readers into the middle of an established series, but we're making an exception for A Memory of Light, the final volume in one of the most epic, sprawling works of fantasy ever written — Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time." In progress since 1990, it now stretches to 14 volumes. Jordan himself, tragically, did not live to finish the series; his widow, Harriet, chose fantasy author Brandon Sanderson to complete the last few books after Jordan's death in 2007.

Tamari Greens, Miso Yams: Chef Gives Vegans Multicultural Flavor

NPR Staff — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Veganism has long been thought of as a bland, fringe diet typically associated with hippies or trend-setting Hollywood types. But chef Bryant Terry is trying to chip away at that stereotype.

In his 2009 book, Vegan Soul Kitchen, Terry took the meat and dairy out of a food tradition generally known for its pork, fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and egg custard pies.

'The Book Of Gin' Distills A Spirited History

NPR Staff — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Unlike a good martini, the story of gin isn't smooth; it's long, complex, sordid and, as Richard Barnett has discovered, it makes for tantalizing material.

Margaret Atwood's Brave New World Of Online Publishing

NPR Staff — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:56:00 +0000

If you're a Margaret Atwood fan — and you've got some spare change under the couch cushions — just a few dollars will get you a stand-alone episode of the new novel she's writing in serial form.

It's called Positron, and Atwood is publishing it on Byliner, a website launched last year that's one of many new sites billing themselves as platforms for writers.

So what inspired the best-selling, Booker Prize-winning author of The Blind Assassin and The