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Summer Reader Poll 2019: Funny Books

LOL — This Year's Summer Reader Poll Is All About Funny Books

June 11, 2019 • Take these books ... please?! Our famous Summer Reader Poll is back, and this year we're celebrating funny books. What makes you laugh — or giggle, or even just snicker quietly? We want to know!

LOL — This Year's Summer Reader Poll Is All About Funny Books

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Monstress, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

Image Comics

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Book Reviews

You've Heard 'Monstress' Is Great. But Just How Great Is It?

July 9, 2019 • Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda's epic, gorgeous tale of a young woman with a monster inside her has won countless awards and been heaped with praise — but does it truly break new ground?

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Book Reviews

Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins?

Fresh Air

July 9, 2019 • Alexi Zentner's new novel follows a high school football star's efforts to separate himself from his racist family. It's an unsparing story about race, class and the limits of individual possibility.

Smart And Propulsive 'Copperhead' Asks: Can You Outrun Your Family's Sins?

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Book Reviews

'The Vagabonds' Details The Publicity-Encouraged Road Trips Of Edison And Ford

July 9, 2019 • Jeff Guinn weaves in a portrait of America's burgeoning love affair with the automobile. But his book rests heavy on the men's positive attributes, while shying away from their "unfortunate flaws."

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Book Reviews

In 'For The Good Of The Game,' Bud Selig Tells Of The MLB Steroid Era

July 9, 2019 • The baseball commissioner's charming, informative memoir is about the best you can hope to read from a powerful professional sports insider — even if Selig is too defensive on steroids.

In 'The Book Of Collateral Damage,' An Accounting Of What Baghdad Lost

Yale University Press

Author Interviews

In 'The Book Of Collateral Damage,' An Accounting Of What Baghdad Lost

July 9, 2019 • The novelist and poet Sinan Antoon, raised in Iraq and now living in New York, returned home following the 2003 U.S. occupation. That experience inspired his new work of fiction.

In 'The Book Of Collateral Damage,' An Accounting Of What Baghdad Lost

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Author Interviews

Dapper Dan, Telling Stories In Leather, Fur And Logos

July 8, 2019 • The legendary hip-hop designer is now partnering with the big fashion labels who originally shut him down for bootlegging their logos. He's got a new memoir out, called Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem.

Dapper Dan, Telling Stories In Leather, Fur And Logos

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Motorcycle Crash Shows Bioethicist The Dark Side Of Quitting Opioids Alone

Travis Rieder, author of In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle With Opioids, says none of the doctors who prescribed opioids for his waves of "fiery" or "electrical" pain taught him how to safely taper his use of the drugs when he wanted to quit. Stockbyte/Getty Images hide caption

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Shots - Health News

Motorcycle Crash Shows Bioethicist The Dark Side Of Quitting Opioids Alone

Fresh Air

July 8, 2019 • When medical bioethicist Travis Rieder tried to taper off pain medication after a roadway accident, he was disappointed by his doctors' reaction: "Everybody had a reason to send me to somebody else."

Motorcycle Crash Shows Bioethicist The Dark Side Of Quitting Opioids Alone

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Book Reviews

Debut Book Tells Of The Real-Life Longings And Frustrations Of 'Three Women'

July 8, 2019 • Lisa Taddeo's first book is a work of deep observation, long conversations, and a kind of journalistic alchemy. She spent years with her subjects — and the investment pays off.

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Book Reviews

In 'Very Nice,' Even The Dog Is Unfaithful

July 8, 2019 • Marcy Dermansky's new novel is a tart lemonade of a summer read, full of outspoken characters, libidinous activity — much of it unwise — around a swimming pool, and a beautiful standard poodle.

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Book Reviews

'Hawking' Profiles The Ever-Fascinating Scientist — Minus The Nefarious Equations

July 8, 2019 • There's little to surprise in this story, especially if you know a bit about the subject's life and his ideas. But author Jim Ottaviani finds a nice balance between the personal and the theoretical.

Microsoft Closes The Book On Its E-Library, Erasing All User Content

A man reads a book on his e-book reader device. In July, Microsoft will be deleting its e-book library and ceasing all e-book sales. Joerg Sarbach/AP hide caption

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Technology

Microsoft Closes The Book On Its E-Library, Erasing All User Content

July 7, 2019 • The move comes as a result of Digital Rights Management, an approach that allows companies to prevent piracy. Every purchased book will disappear this month.

Microsoft Closes The Book On Its E-Library, Erasing All User Content

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Summer Reader Poll 2019: Funny Books

For July, 4 Romances That'll Keep You Laughing

July 7, 2019 • Few things go together better than romance and comedy — so in honor of this year's Summer Reader Poll, all about funny books, we've got four romances that will bring a smile to your face.

Capturing The Undersung Blues People Of The Rural South

Luthier Freeman Vines sits with his hand-carved guitars in the tobacco field by his house, 2015. Tim Duffy/Courtesy of Music Maker hide caption

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Photography

Capturing The Undersung Blues People Of The Rural South

July 7, 2019 • Tim Duffy started Music Maker Relief Foundation to support blues musicians lost to time and poverty. He's also photographed their portraits for a new book, compilation album and museum exhibition.

Capturing The Undersung Blues People Of The Rural South

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Author Interviews

New Novel Asks: What Would You Do To Get Your Kid Into 'The Gifted School'?

July 6, 2019 • The school is fictional but the anxiety is real — the plot bears striking resemblance to actual college admissions scandals. "There's a sense that parents will stop at nothing," says Bruce Holsinger.

New Novel Asks: What Would You Do To Get Your Kid Into 'The Gifted School'?

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