I Saved Every Letter You Wrote Me: The Library of Congress Digitizes Hamilton
If you've seen the hit musical Hamilton — or even if you've only heard about it — you might want to know more about the founding father who was the United States' first Secretary of the Treasury. And...
View ArticleIn 'A Legacy Of Spies,' John Le Carré Goes Back Out In 'The Cold'
George Smiley is back. For the first time in 25 years, John le Carré has written a new novel featuring the spy at the center of some his most popular books. The new release, A Legacy of Spies , is a...
View ArticleChris Jackson And The Book Industry's Attempts To Diversify
When Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, We Were Eight Years in Power, was released last week, there was a big party — bigger than most book parties, because this event was also celebrating the launch of a new...
View ArticleAmy Tan Revisits The Roots Of Her Writing Career In 'Where The Past Begins'
Amy Tan loves jazz and classical music. "I have a Steinway, which was my life's dream," she says, sitting at her grand piano in the middle of her New York living room. When Tan listens to a piece of...
View Article'Mad Men' Creator Says Writing A Novel Is Nothing Like TV Writing
Binge-watching your favorite TV show is sometimes compared to reading a really good novel in a single sitting: You tell yourself you'll watch just one more episode. Before you know it, you've watched...
View ArticleAs She Turns 90, Suspense Still Thrills Author Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark has made a good living off of murder. She creates characters that readers can identify with, then puts them in scary situations — and her fans love it. Known as the "queen of...
View ArticleIn 'The Power,' Women Develop A Weapon That Changes Everything
It seems fitting that 2017 has been bookended by two novels about women and power. When the year began, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale , which depicts a future where women are stripped of all...
View ArticleHow The Man In The Apartment Hit Big With 'The Woman In The Window'
Take a little Hitchcock and a touch of Gone Girl . Add in a mysterious author and rumors of a very big price tag. Stir them all together and you come up with a rare bird: A debut novel that hits number...
View ArticleA Debut Author Imagines Herself Into Other Lives In 'Asymmetry'
Asymmetry is a book whose title tells the tale: It's made up of two disparate stories with no apparent connection, and a third story that just hints at the link between the two. Debut author Lisa...
View Article'It Just Felt Very Wrong': Sherman Alexie's Accusers Go On The Record
Writer Sherman Alexie last week issued a statement admitting he "has harmed" others, after rumors and allegations began to circulate about sexual harassment. Without providing details, Alexie said...
View ArticleNovelist Peter Carey Confronts Dark History In 'A Long Way From Home'
In his latest book, A Long Way From Home , Australian novelist Peter Carey takes on his country's racist past, but he gets there by a circuitous route. The book begins as a kind of madcap adventure, as...
View Article'The Italian Teacher' Paints A Troubled Father-Son Relationship
Great artists are known to have big egos — they can suck up all the air in a room if given half a chance. And living in the shadow of such greatness can stunt a person's growth, which is exactly what...
View ArticleNovelist Richard Powers Finds New Stories Deep In Old Growth Forests
Novelist Richard Powers lives in a house perched on a hillside, just on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "It's very much a tree house," he says with a laugh. "That's why I live...
View Article'Snow Child' Conveys Alaska's Wild Magic In Musical Form
There's a well-known Russian folktale, "Snegurochka," that tells the story of an elderly couple who yearn to have a child; they create a little girl out of snow, and she comes to life. In her novel The...
View ArticleGillian Flynn's 'Sharp Objects' Is A Whodunit ... And A Who Is She?
Gillian Flynn's wildly successful Gone Girl helped spawn a batch of best-selling mystery novels featuring complex female protagonists. That was sweet revenge for Flynn, whose first novel, Sharp Objects...
View ArticleV.S. Naipaul, Controversial Author And Nobel Laureate, Dies At 85
Perhaps best known for his novel A Bend in the River , V.S. Naipaul was a controversial figure in the literary world. The Nobel Prize-winning writer died on Saturday at his London home, the author's...
View Article'We The Animals' Becomes A Film, And The Author Approves
Writers often have ambivalent feelings when their book are adapted for film. They may enjoy the fame and fortune a movie can bring, but remain loathe to give up control over their creation. Some have...
View Article'The Times They Are A-Changin" Still Speaks To Our Changing Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem . Imagine you...
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