NPR Book notes
Amazon Launches Sleeker Kindle
Ian Freed, a vice president at Amazon, says the new Kindle, which will become available at the end of August, fits in a coat pocket or a relatively small purse.
'Super Sad' And Satiric, Two Stories Of Doomed Love
Gary Shteyngart's dystopian novel narrates two doomed romances: one between a man and a woman, and one between a writer and his country -- or what he fears his country may become. By turns fierce, funny and frightening, Super Sad True Love Story deserves a place on the shelf beside 1984 and Brave New World.
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One Nightstand, Six Affairs: Novels Of Illicit Love
Hotels, pools, beaches, airplanes: all good places to ignite a summer fling -- or read about one. Here are six recent titles that will let you explore, from the safety of your deck chair, our human capacity for ecstasy and pain.
In E-Publishing Revolution, Rights Battle Wears On
In the most recent battle of the publishing revolution, a major literary agency has announced its plans to bypass traditional publishers and start selling some prominent titles as e-books through Amazon. Needless to say, publishers are fighting back.
'Advise And Consent': Scandal In The U.S. Senate
Thriller writer Richard North Patterson knows about engrossing political dramas -- he served as the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. As his favorite thriller, he recommends Allen Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning Advise and Consent, a political novel that still rings true after 50 years.
A Fan's Notes: Being A Non-Spoilery Nonreview Of The 'Scott Pilgrim' Movie
In which our comics blogger, who worried about how the Scott Pilgrim books would translate to screen, breathes a sigh of relief.
Summer Vacation Or Summer Digression?
For many school-aged children in America, summer means checking out of school for at least a couple months. But new research says long breaks from the classroom can set kids back. A group of moms -- Jolene Ivey, Dani Tucker, Loriene Roy -- join Ron Fairchild, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association, for a discussion about the pros and cons of summer break.
Conflict Widens In E-Books Publishing
A top literary agency announced a deal with Amazon to publish electronic version of some of its authors' older titles without going through traditional publishing houses. That has publishers on the defensive.
A Novel Approach: Free Books For Donations
The Concord Free Press has been publishing books and giving them away for the past two years. The Massachusetts-based publisher just asks readers to make a donation to a charity or a person in need and to chart the donation online. It also encourages readers to share the book with others.
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Paparazzi Take Center Stage In Hiaasen's 'Star Island'
Vacuous pop stars, a hygiene-challenged photographer and corrupt politicians all play a part in Carl Hiaasen's new satire of the industry that both makes and breaks celebrities.
Futurist 40 Years Later: Possibilities, Not Predictions
Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was first published in July 1970. The book includes insights into the effects of rapidly changing technology and "information overload." People may not be as shocked by change as 81-year-old Toffler had imagined, but he says there's still value in envisioning possibilities.
War Stories: A Reporter's Education In The Mideast
Megan Stack hadn't planned on becoming a war correspondent. But then Sept. 11 happened, and she found herself in the Middle East -- the beginning of a seven-year stint of wartime reporting. In Every Man in This Village Is a Liar, Stack reflects on the experience of reporting from war-torn countries.
'Tis The Season For 'The Thousand Autumns'
Stories about sober, upstanding Dutch trading clerks on assignment in Tokugawa-era Japan aren't exactly trendy in the publishing industry ... but that didn't stop David Mitchell. Critic Michael Schaub finds Mitchell's latest novel so inventive and complex that he expects it to easily qualify as one of the best books of 2010.
Teen Chef Is On The Case In New Mystery Series
In a new book, someone is killing the great chefs of Vancouver and Neil Flambe wants to know who. Flambe is a 14-year-old chef who runs his own restaurant and sleuths on the side. Host Liane Hansen speaks with author Kevin Sylvester about his new novel for young adults, Neil Flambe and the Marco Polo Murders.
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'Kook': Life's Lessons Learned On A Surfboard
After sailing the Antarctic Sea and traversing the deepest Tibetan gorge, Peter Heller became a "kook," or beginner surfer. It was while surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif. that he caught a glimpse of his next great adventure: a trip down the West Coast, in search of the perfect wave. In Kook he tells the story of that journey, and what he learned along the way.
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Jennifer Egan Does Avant-Garde Fiction -- Old School
Influenced by both The Sopranos and Marcel Proust, Jennifer Egan takes her readers on a swirling, playful ride through time in A Visit from the Goon Squad, a novel of linked short stories -- including one told as a PowerPoint presentation -- that defies categorization.
Comic-Con Grows Up
Forty years after a small band of comic book enthusiasts gathered in a subterranean lair, Comic-Con is now Comic-Con International. This weekend, the rich and beautiful will mingle with more nerds than you can shake a light saber at. Host Scott Simon previews the star-studded convention in San Diego with Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times, author of the paper's Hero Complex blog.
Scotch For Dessert: An Ad Man's Spirited Memoir
Before there was Mad Men, there was From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor, the cultish and colorful advertising memoir by 1960s ad man Jerry Della Femina that also served as inspiration for AMC's hit series.
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A London Cabbie's Summer Reading Picks
Will Grozier, who drives a taxi in London, is no ordinary cabbie. NPR's Scott Simon calls him "the best-read man that I have ever encountered in my life" -- which is why NPR occasionally calls Grozier up for reading recommendations. Here are Grozier's latest picks, five books that are equally suitable for diving into on the beach or sampling on a short taxi ride.
Gilded Romances Of Dashing Dandies, Brooding Beaus
Author Helen Simonson risks her literary pretensions to admit a lifelong secret attraction to the Regency romance novels of Georgette Heyer. The dampened muslin dresses, the highly polished boots -- for her, nothing beats these tales of heroines who require a man with a firm hand on the bridle.