'Insomnia' Is Both A Celebration And Lament Of Sleeplessness
Marina Benjamin's book is more impressionistic and personal than scientific: Don't look here for an explanation of the chemistry or biology of nocturnal wakefulness.
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'A Tale Of Two Murders' Asks Whether Justice Was Done In A Famous, Century-Old Trial
In the 1920s, Edith Thompson was executed along with her lover, who was found guilty of murdering her husband. Laura Thompson looks at how social conventions may have lead to an unjust outcome.
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In 'Let's Go,' Wilco Frontman Jeff Tweedy Details His Struggles And Joys
The singer-songwriter tells the story of how a kid from a Midwestern, working-class family became an idol to country-punk and alternative rock fans — and the obstacles and celebrations along the way.
(Image credit: Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
Stolen Stories: A Literary Con Man Climbs To Success In 'Ladder To The Sky'
A charismatic young writer poaches plot points from the lives of established authors in John Boyne's new novel. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls A Ladder to the Sky "erudite and ingeniously constructed."
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
For November, 3 Perfect Sweater-Weather Romances
Leaves are turning, the wind has a snap to it — it's finally fall, and we've got some great romance novels for you to cozy up with as the days get shorter and darker.
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'City Of Ash And Red' Will Pull You Into Its Nightmare
Hye-young Pyun's new novel, about an exterminator on a work trip to a nameless dystopian country, has overtones of Kafka, Stephen King and J.G. Ballard. It's grim, it's gross, and it's unputdownable.
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
Michelle Obama Tells The Story Of 'Becoming' Herself — And The Struggle To Hang On
The former first lady's new book is a story about her history, how that influenced who she is — and learning to adapt after agreeing to let that life be hijacked by politics.
(Image credit: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
'An Unexplained Death' Tells The Tale Of An Unsolved Mystery — And Being Remembered
Mikita Brottman takes readers through a years-long journey of obsessive curiosity, trying to get to the truth of what happened after a body is discovered her apartment complex, formerly an old hotel.
(Image credit: NPR)
This 'Unholy Land' May Not Even Be Real
Lavie Tidhar's new novel asks the questions we've all asked occasionally: How sure are you that the world you see around you every day is real? How sure are you that it's the only one, the real one?
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Through Personal Testament, 'Why Religion?' Explores Belief In The 21st Century
Distinguished scholar of Christianity Elaine Pagels sets out to explain why religion is still around today, through the lens of her lived tragedies — the deaths of her son and husband 30 years ago.
(Image credit: NPR)
'We Begin In Gladness' Brings A Message Of Poetry's Importance In Today's World
Through the arc of the poet's career, Craig Morgan Teicher shows that while we are often too distracted to appreciate each other and our universe — poetry demands that we pause and listen.
(Image credit: NPR)
'Those Who Knew' Is An Explosive Moral Molotov Cocktail
Idra Novey's taut second novel focuses on the silencing of assault victims and the remorse that comes from not speaking up to power. It's not as winning as her first, but there's plenty to admire.
(Image credit: Heather Kim/NPR)
Enter 'Sandman': Anniversary Edition Celebrates 30 Years Of Dream-Spinning
Neil Gaiman's most famous creation first appeared in the comics 30 years ago, but the Sandman is still shaping our dreams — and his stories look and feel just as cool now as they did in 1989.
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'Punks Not Dead,' And Neither Is This Intrepid Granny
David Barnett and Martin Simmonds' comic about a troubled teen haunted by the ghost of Sid Vicious really gets going when it introduces centenarian (but immortal) ghost-buster Dorothy Culpepper.
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'Let The People See': It Took Courage To Keep Emmett Till's Memory Alive
Historian Elliott J. Gorn's new book revisits the 1955 death and public funeral of the African-American teen. Critic Maureen Corrigan says it's a timely story about the fragility of collective memory.
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
'The Proposal' Knocks It Out Of The Park
Jasmine Guillory's new romance kicks off with her heroine rejecting an over-the-top public proposal at a ball game — luckily, there's a hot, sensitive doctor on hand to help her with the backlash.
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'Little' Considers Power, Personhood, And Wax Artistry
Edward Carey's new novel is about the life of wax museum pioneer Madame Tussaud — but it's also about the French Revolution, about humans, bodies, art and loneliness, and it's deeply, painfully sad.
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
In 'Red Moon,' Too Much Information Eclipses The Story
Kim Stanley Robinson's new book kicks off with a murder on the moon — which sounds exciting, but Red Moon spends too much time wandering off on digressions about science, technology and politics.
(Image credit: Cameron Pollack/NPR)
In 'Paradise Rot,' Jenny Hval Traces A Surrealistic Sexual Awakening
In this tactile novel, the celebrated Norwegian musician Jenny Hval places two entropic lovers within a converted Australian brewery to explore sexuality, decay and freedom.
(Image credit: Barry Lewis/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Getting Too Old For Narnia In 'Light Between Worlds'
Laura Weymouth's new novel follows two sisters struggling with the aftermath of their adventures in a magic land. That struggle is the vivid heart of the book, but its Narnia-lite doesn't quite work.
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