NPR Books Podcast
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This podcast, published by National Public Radio, consists of book reviews, news and author interviews - for people who love to read...
| Title | Podcast Description | Author/Reader | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penicillin, CIA Insiders, Humorist Sloan Crosley | 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' | National Public Radio | 00:27:23 |
| 'To Kill A Mockingbird' At 50, Bookless Libraries | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:24:23 |
| Cobain's Journals, 'Double Take' Author | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:18:36 |
| Summer Books, India's Faiths, Donner Party | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:19:35 |
| Summertime Escapes, Haunted River, M.J. Rose | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:21:27 |
| Facebook, Vampires, Native American Folk Tales | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:17:50 |
| 15 Summer Reads, Books for World Cup Fever, and more | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:21:40 |
| Rush Limbaugh, Emily Dickinson, more | 1) Zev Chafets talks about his new biography of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, 'An Army of One.' 2) The New York Botanical Garden has an exhibit that re-creates the gardens of poet Emily Dickinson. 3) Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Private Life,' by Jane Smiley. | National Public Radio | 00:19:25 |
| Bottled Water, Real Life Terror, Roddy Doyle | 1) Mohsin Hamid found parallels between his novel and the life of the suspected Times Square bomber. 2) Freshwater expert Peter Gleick defines 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. | National Public Radio | 00:21:45 |
| 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's latest book 'Known To Evil,' explores heroes and redemption. 3) Heidi Durrow recommends Nella Larsen's 1929 novel about two light-skinned, African-American women. | National Public Radio | 00:21:35 |
| Tony Judt on Lou Gehrig's Disease, Hellraisers and more. | 1) 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) In 'Hellraisers,' biographer Robert Sellers tells tales from the intersection of talent and wretched excess. | National Public Radio | 00:23:50 |
| Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer, 3 Minute Fiction, more | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:20:14 |
| Poisoner's Handbook, Desmond Tutu | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:23:41 |
| Alice In Wonderland, Lucille Clifton and more | 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 poet Lucille Clifton addressed tough issues of race and sexism. | National Public Radio | 00:21:43 |
| 'Union Atlantic,' 'The Whale' and more | 1) Investigation of 19 gruesome deaths takes readers from a small Swedish village 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; 3) A first novel 'Union Atlantic,' by much-honored short-story writer Adam Haslett, imagines a financial system on the verge of collapse. Yet he wrote it before the current financial crisis. | National Public Radio | 00:22:18 |
| Gladiators and Do-Good Vampires | 1) The autobiography of Dan Clark 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. | National Public Radio | 00:25:33 |
| Don DeLillo, Louise Erdrich and More | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:23:14 |
| Shedding Light on A-Bomb Decision; 'Game Change' and more | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:23:02 |
| Padgett Powell, Atul Gawande and Tracy Chevalier | 1) The author Padgett Powell's new book, 'The Interrogative Mood,' is composed entirely of questions. 2) Atul Gawande's new book about avoiding medical complications is called 'The Checklist Manifesto.' 3) Her new novel, 'Remarkable Creatures,' is about Mary Anning, a 19th century fossil hunter. | National Public Radio | 00:20:48 |
| Charle Dickens, Toni Morrison and more | 1) Charles Dickens' manuscript of 'A Christmas Carol' is marked up with changes he made when performing his famous story. 2) A few years before her death, Barack Obama's mother completed her doctoral dissertation. Nearly two decades later, S. Ann Dunham's fieldwork has been published - a fulfillment of her dream, courtesy of her daughter. 3) Alan Cheuse reviews 'Nadirs' by the 2009 literature prize winner, Herta Mueller. 4) Author Toni Morrison discusses 'Black Book,' a scrapbook that captures the African-American experience. | National Public Radio | 00:20:09 |
| Holday Reading Picks, Raymond Carver and Walter Kirn | 1) Reading recommendations from people who know - booksellers from around the nation. 2) Author Susan Jane Gilman reviews the new biography "Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life" 3) The novelist Walter Kirn discusses airlines, dollar signs, and his book Up In The Air. | National Public Radio | 00:21:23 |
| Story Specialists, Mad Scientists and News Satirists | 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 (with a wink). | National Public Radio | 00:23:24 |
| The Scariest American Stories And Guilty Pleasure Foods | 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 American stories. | National Public Radio | 00:20:02 |
| Wimpy Kids, Walmart and the Best British Writer You've Never Heard Of | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:20:04 |
| NPR Books: October 19, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:16:09 |
| NPR Books: October 9, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:29:55 |
| NPR Books: October 1, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:19:57 |
| NPR Books: September 17, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:23:20 |
| NPR Books: September 11, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:22:27 |
| NPR Books: September 3, 2009 | 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 | National Public Radio | 00:20:11 |
| NPR Books: August 20, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:19:36 |
| NPR Books: August 13, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:17:17 |
| 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 about the specific beach you're sitting on. | National Public Radio | 00:32:40 |
| NPR Books: July 24, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:19:15 |
| NPR Books: July 16, 2009 | 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." | National Public Radio | 00:24:52 |
| NPR Books: July 10, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:19:27 |
| NPR Books: July 2, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:20:49 |
| NPR Books: June 25, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:21:21 |
| NPR Books: June 19, 2009 | 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. | National Public Radio | 00:20:39 |
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