"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it."
—James Bryce (1838-1922) British diplomat, historian, known as First Viscount Bryce of Dechmont
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How To Sell A Book? Good, Old Word Of Mouth
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:01:00 -0400
In autumn, the publishing industry kicks into high gear -- rolling out their "big books" -- the titles they hope readers will buy through the all-important holiday season. NPR's Lynn Neary follows the path of Emma Donoghue's novel, Room, a book that has generated some serious buzz.
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Three Books For Surviving Graduate School
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:00:00 -0400
The last thing a grad student needs is another reading list, but don't worry -- this one will help. Author Adam Ruben recommends three titles that will help you get through the languorous slog of post-baccalaureate education.
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One Woman's Journey From Homeless To Harvard
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
As a child, Liz Murray dealt with the typical stresses of growing up. But she also grappled with going days without food and living on the streets. Despite these obstacles, Murray finished school and went on to attend Harvard University. Murray talks about her memoir, Breaking Night.
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Fair Or Not, 'Freedom' Has Earned Its Accolades
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:00:00 -0400
Why all the adulatory attention, critics ask, for Jonathan Franzen's latest domestic drama about marriage and family? Even though Franzen gets more praise for doing what many fine female writers do "backwards and in heels," critic Maureen Corrigan says Freedom has earned its high praise.
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Franzen On The Book, The Backlash, His Background
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:43:00 -0400
Jonathan Franzen's new novel Freedom has been called "a masterpiece" by Time Magazine and has received rave reviews from critics. Franzen talks about the runaway success of his previous novel The Corrections, and the strong reaction elicited by Freedom.
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New In Paperback, Sept. 6-12
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:00:00 -0400
As summer ends, it's time for brainy reads you may have missed in hardcover. Wolf Hall, set in the court of Henry VIII, won the 2009 Booker Prize. Former nun Karen Armstrong takes on the atheists in The Case for God. Barbara Ehrenreich pops the bubble of American optimism with her usual wit -- and more.
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Children's Book Finds Hope In Haiti's Rubble
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400
Nine months after the quake in Haiti, Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat is sharing the earthquake story with an audience that was largely shielded from it -- children. Eight Days is a book about a boy who gets buried in the rubble and is not rescued until eight days later.
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The Paradox Of 'Lady Matador's Hotel'
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:00:00 -0400
Alan Cheuse reviews The Lady Matador's Hotel by Cristina Garcia. The novel weaves the stories of six residents of a hotel in an unnamed Central American capital. One of the guests is a Japanese Mexican-American matadora in town for a bullfight.
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Arianna Huffington Sees A 'Third World America'
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
When Arianna Huffington immigrated to the United States in 1980, she knew there was no place she'd rather live. Three decades later, she says that's still true -- but that America has gone astray. Huffington discusses her new book, Third World America, and her plan to rescue the middle class.
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Fresh Air Remembers Comedian Robert Schimmel
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:48:00 -0400
The 60-year-old comedian, who often joked about his own life in his raunchy stand-up routines, died Friday from injuries suffered in a car accident. Fresh Air remembers Schimmel with highlights from a 2008 interview in which he discusses his memoir Cancer On $5 A Day.
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'Skippy Dies' In Dublin: A Funny Flashback Follows
Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400
The titular event happens just a few pages into Paul Murray's novel; the rest of the story is an extended flashback, following the doomed Skippy, his geeky roommate and their cadre of bored, irreverent friends as they tease girls, dodge bullies and attend Catholic school in a rundown Dublin neighborhood.
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Modern Lessons From Hillel
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:00:00 -0400
Not much is known about the life of the rabbi and Talmudic scholar Hillel, who lived 2,000 years ago, but his teachings have shaped Judaism. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's forthcoming book Hillel: If Not Now, When? argues that Hillel has as much to teach the 21 Century as he did his own.
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Investigating The Real Detective Charlie Chan
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400
The fictional, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective is best known today as a stereotypical relic from a less sensitive time. Yunte Huang tells the story of the real man who inspired the caricature in Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.
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Gary Shteyngart's Nerd Passion For 'Zardoz'
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:00:00 -0400
Writer Gary Shteyngart may have no idea what Zardoz is about, but that doesn't stop him from knowing the science-fiction novel by heart. For a nerd like him, nothing compares to the post-apocalyptic world full of floating heads and immortal beings.
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The Joys Of Reading Many Books At Once
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0400
Many people are serial readers -- they read a book cover-to-cover before putting it down. Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller, however, is a poly-reader -- juggling four or more books at a time. And in an age of rampant multi-tasking, Keller asks, why not?
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