Nonfiction: How Chester B. Himes Became the Rage in Harlem, and Beyond
Lawrence P. Jackson’s biography, “Chester B. Himes,” traces the seminal crime novelist’s path from prison to international success.
Nonfiction: A Parent Confronts Conformity in the Classrooms of China
In “Little Soldiers,” Lenora Chu investigates both the roots of the Chinese education system and its effects on children, including her own.
Bookends: Is Free Speech an Absolute Right, or Does Context Matter?
The writers Adam Kirsch and Francine Prose discuss what free speech means in the context of Charlottesville and beyond.
Knausgaard Comes Up Short: In 'Autumn,' Less Isn't Always More
Karl Ove Knausgaard — famed for his epic memoir My Struggle -- goes for short and sweet in Autumn, a meditative seasonal reflection. But while there are lovely moments, the book strays into banality.
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Nonfiction: An Educator Makes the Case That Higher Learning Needs to Grow Up
In “The New Education,” Cathy N. Davidson argues that colleges must do more to adjust to social and economic realities.
Fiction: ‘Motherest’ Wrestles With the Contradictions of Parental Love
The narrator of Kristen Iskandrian’s novel, “Motherest,” hoped college would be an escape from an unhappy home. Now she must make a home for her baby.
The Long View: A Racist World, Described by Those Who Knew It
Rereading Maya Angelou, Richard Wright and other mid-20th-century writers is to see anew that Appomattox was as much a beginning as an end.
If You Want Groundbreaking Noir, Try Looking 'In A Lonely Place'
The 1950 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame was adapted from a lesser-known 1947 novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, who belongs in the crime-writing pantheon. The novel's just been re-released.
What to Read Before You Head to Botswana
Three books on the land, people and culture of the region.
Books Become A Bridge Out Of Grief In 'The Futilitarians'
Anne Gisleson was reeling from a series of family tragedies when she began meeting with friends to discuss books and life in post-Katrina New Orleans. Her new book chronicles a year of those meetings.
(Image credit: Christina Ascani/NPR)
Fiction: Inside Lizzie Borden’s House of Horror
In her novel, “See What I Have Done,” Sarah Schmidt turns the story of Lizzie Borden and the Fall River murders into a grisly exploration of madness.
Nonfiction: A Pioneering Neuroscientist Reports From ‘the Border of Life and Death’
In “Into the Gray Zone,” the neuroscientist Adrian Owen describes finding signs of consciousness in the brains of vegetative patients.
Nonfiction: In ‘Campus Confidential,’ a Professor Laments That Teaching Is Not the Priority of Teachers
Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor at Georgetown, explains that at colleges and universities, you don’t get what you pay for.
Match Book: Dear Match Book: Where Can I Find Brotherhood Through Books?
A brotherless reader seeks the fraternal bond through fictional works starring male siblings with fierce and complex attachments.
Books News: Teaching Kids Coding, by the Book
The growing emphasis on teaching kids computer literacy and programming skills has started to shape children’s fiction.
Nonfiction: Don’t Panic, Liberal Arts Majors. The Tech World Wants You.
George Anders’s “You Can Do Anything” and Randall Stross’s “A Practical Education” argue for the value of a liberal education in today’s economy.
Fiction: Three Deadly Days: One Town’s Experience of the Holocaust
Rachel Seiffert’s novel “A Boy in Winter” probes the bonds and betrayals in a Ukrainian town as it succumbs to Hitler’s armies.
Sweet, Generous 'Wild Things' Is A Playful Survey Of Kid Lit
Bruce Handy's new book takes an emotional, intuitive look at the world of children's books, from Goodnight Moon to Charlotte's Web, which he calls "a mastery novel of ideas" about life and death.
(Image credit: Christina Ascani/NPR)
When Self-Criticism Was an Order, These Portraits Were Revolutionary
“Cultural Revolution Selfies,” a new book by Wang Qiuhang, includes subversive images, taken during China’s Cultural Revolution, of the photographer himself.
In 'The Stone Sky,' Some Worlds Need To Burn
N.K. Jemisin won Hugo Awards for the first two volumes of her Broken Earth trilogy. The Stone Sky is a powerful, timely finale to this story of a world built on oppression and exploitation.
(Image credit: Christina Ascani/NPR)
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