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NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2016's Great Reads

December 6, 2016 • The Book Concierge is back and bigger than ever! Explore more than 300 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.

Book Reviews

George Saunders Re-Imagines A President's Grief With 'Lincoln In The Bardo'

Fresh Air

February 9, 2017 • The acclaimed short-story writer sets his first novel in the cemetery where 11-year-old Willie Lincoln was buried. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Lincoln in the Bardo "searing, inventive and bizarre."

George Saunders Re-Imagines A President's Grief With 'Lincoln In The Bardo'

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Book Reviews

Memory And Loss Haunt The Stories In 'The Refugees'

February 9, 2017 • Viet Thanh Nguyen's new collection looks at how it feels and what it means to be a refugee. It's a wonderful group of stories that prove fiction can do more than tell stories, it can bear witness.

Book Reviews

'Autumn' Champions Free Spirits And The Lifeforce Of Art

February 9, 2017 • Ali Smith kicks off a seasonally-themed quartet with this ultimately uplifting look at the lifelong friendship between a young woman and her unconventional childhood soulmate, an artistic gay man.

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Poetry To Pay Attention To: A Preview Of 2017's Best Verse

February 8, 2017 • 2017 is turning out to be a year of big change. Critic Craig Teicher highlights some of the poetry that can help guide readers through it.

Book Reviews

Nothing Is Quite What It Seems In Surreal, Unsettling 'Twenty Days'

February 8, 2017 • Giorgio De Maria's cult novel was first published in Italy in 1977. It's a spooky piece of magical realism that captures a chaotic time in Italian history, starting gently and getting seriously weird.

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

What's The Next Big Dystopian Novel? Margaret Atwood Has Some Ideas

February 7, 2017 • Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale landed on top of Amazon's best-seller lists this week, following other classics like 1984 and It Can't Happen Here. She has some thoughts on our next great dystopia.

Joyce Carol Oates' New Novel Begins With An Abortion Doctor's Murder

Joyce Carol Oates' other recent books include The Lost Landscape, The Sacrifice and Lovely, Dark, Deep. Dustin Cohen/Courtesy of Ecco hide caption

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Dustin Cohen/Courtesy of Ecco

Author Interviews

Joyce Carol Oates' New Novel Begins With An Abortion Doctor's Murder

February 7, 2017 • A Book of American Martyrs is told, in part, from the perspective of the murderer, a man who feels he's been called by God.

Joyce Carol Oates' New Novel Begins With An Abortion Doctor's Murder

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Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Soars To Top Of Amazon Bestseller List

February 7, 2017 • Margaret Atwood's feminist classic, The Handmaid's Tale, is the latest dystopian novel to hit the Amazon bestseller lists, following 1984 and It Can't Happen Here.

Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Soars To Top Of Amazon Bestseller List

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Author Interviews

'Black Edge' Recounts The Biggest Insider-Trading Scandal In History

Fresh Air

February 7, 2017 • Sheelah Kolhatkar discusses the investigation of billionaire hedge-fund trader Steven A. Cohen. She says the ways Wall Street elites accumulate wealth often negatively affect the rest of the country.

'Black Edge' Recounts The Biggest Insider-Trading Scandal In History

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It Was The Best Of Fries, It Was The Worst Of Fries: Charles Dickens, Food Scribe

Alex Reynolds/NPR

The Salt

It Was The Best Of Fries, It Was The Worst Of Fries: Charles Dickens, Food Scribe

February 7, 2017 • Charles Dickens, born Feb. 7, 1812, was likely inspired by his own hunger to write some of the finest descriptions of Victorian food and cooking that have ever been recorded in literature.

Book Reviews

Culture Clash, Survival And Hope In 'Pachinko'

February 7, 2017 • Min Jin Lee's sprawling family epic spans decades and two clashing cultures — Korea and Japan. It's honest, unadorned writing that acknowledges horror but ultimately carries a message of hope.

In 'Universal Harvester,' Mountain Goats Lyricist Reaps A Creepy Crop

Marian Carrasquero/NPR

Author Interviews

In 'Universal Harvester,' Mountain Goats Lyricist Reaps A Creepy Crop

February 7, 2017 • John Darnielle used some tricks of the horror trade to write his latest novel, which is set in 1990s Iowa and involves some cornfields. What's scary about cornfields? Mostly, the unknown.

In 'Universal Harvester,' Mountain Goats Lyricist Reaps A Creepy Crop

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Author Interviews

1 Character, 4 Different Lives In Paul Auster's '4 3 2 1'

February 6, 2017 • One character, four different lives. That's the idea behind Paul Auster's new novel, 4 3 2 1. From the day Archie Ferguson is born in 1947, he follows four separate fictional paths. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Auster about the book.

1 Character, 4 Different Lives In Paul Auster's '4 3 2 1'

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Author Interviews

Remembering Bharati Mukherjee, An Indian-Born American Writer

Fresh Air

February 6, 2017 • Mukherjee, who died Saturday in Manhattan, grew up in India, Switzerland and England. Her work explores the thoughts and experiences of immigrants from many countries. Originally broadcast in 2002.

Remembering Bharati Mukherjee, An Indian-Born American Writer

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