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Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews NPR's brings you news about books and authors along with our picks for great reads. Interviews, reviews, and much more.

Books

Looking For Summer Reading Ideas? Fall In Love With Romance
Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

Life Kit

Looking For Summer Reading Ideas? Fall In Love With Romance

It's hard not to love romance books. They're flirty, steamy, and by definition, they end on a high note. Life Kit teamed up with NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast to get book recommendations to add to your summer reading list.

Looking For Summer Reading Ideas? Fall In Love With Romance

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A Woman Is Committed To An Asylum For Thinking In 'The Woman They Could Not Silence'

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear, by Kate Moore Sourcebooks hide caption

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Sourcebooks

Review

Book Reviews

A Woman Is Committed To An Asylum For Thinking In 'The Woman They Could Not Silence'

In a new book, The Radium Girls author Kate Moore follows the struggles of Elizabeth Packard who, locked up by her husband in 1860 for having opinions and voicing them, finds she's not the only one.

'Light Perpetual' Imagines Adulthood For 5 Fictional Kids Killed In WWII Attack
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

'Light Perpetual' Imagines Adulthood For 5 Fictional Kids Killed In WWII Attack

Fresh Air

In 1944 an attack on a London Woolworths killed 168 people. In his new novel, Francis Spufford explores what "might have been" for five young casualties of war.

'Light Perpetual' Imagines Adulthood For 5 Fictional Kids Killed In WWII Attack

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Ibram X. Kendi Recommends 6 Books To Help Your Kids Understand Race

Ibram X. Kendi Stephen Voss hide caption

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Stephen Voss

Author Interviews

Ibram X. Kendi Recommends 6 Books To Help Your Kids Understand Race

Ibram X. Kendi has been reading a lot of books about "the human rainbow" to his daughter — so we asked him to recommend some books kids can read to gain a better understanding of race in America.

Ibram X. Kendi Recommends 6 Books To Help Your Kids Understand Race

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A Father's Day Gift From Meghan To Harry Is Now A Kids' Book
Christian Robinson/Random House Children's Books

Picture This

A Father's Day Gift From Meghan To Harry Is Now A Kids' Book

For Prince Harry's first Father's Day, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, got him a bench — and wrote a poem about the moments she hoped her husband and their son would share together there.

A Father's Day Gift From Meghan To Harry Is Now A Kids' Book

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5 Books To Read On Social Justice That Go Beyond The Instructive
NPR

Review

Juneteenth

5 Books To Read On Social Justice That Go Beyond The Instructive

Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division, recommends five "incisive and innovative" books on social justice for Juneteenth.

5 Books To Read On Social Justice That Go Beyond The Instructive

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Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Rise Continues To Fascinate In 'Dissent'

It was Brett Kavanaugh's conservative cred that led Trump to nominate the jurist for the Supreme Court, which resulted in one of the most dramatic hearings in recent Senate history. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Review

Book Reviews

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Rise Continues To Fascinate In 'Dissent'

Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing for the top court still sticks in the minds of those all along the political spectrum; it's the subject of several books, including a new one by Jackie Calmes.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Directs Fiery Essay At Former Student — And Cancel Culture

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Paris in Jan. 2020. Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images

Arts & Life

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Directs Fiery Essay At Former Student — And Cancel Culture

Two literary stars from Nigeria are engaging in a very public feud — a fight that is both personal and also enfolds bigger questions about feminism, gender identity and social media.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Directs Fiery Essay At Former Student — And Cancel Culture

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'Forget The Alamo' Author Says We Have The Texas Origin Story All Wrong

Visitors walk around the outside of the Alamo in San Antonio. Jill Torrance/Getty Images hide caption

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Jill Torrance/Getty Images

History

'Forget The Alamo' Author Says We Have The Texas Origin Story All Wrong

Fresh Air

In a new book, Bryan Burrough and co-writers Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford challenge the historical lore of the Alamo — including the story that Davy Crockett refused to surrender.

'Forget The Alamo' Author Says We Have The Texas Origin Story All Wrong

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'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

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Macmillan

Review

Book Reviews

'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

Fresh Air

Scott Borchert's cultural history of the New Deal initiative known as the Federal Writers' Program teems with colorful characters, scenic byways and telling anecdotes.

'Republic Of Detours' Revisits A Group Of Quirky, Depression-Era Guides To The States

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A Taste Of Freedom

Beloved Black cookbooks for Juneteenth. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

A Taste Of Freedom

Juneteenth commemorates the day that enslaved Texans found out — more than two years after Emancipation Day — that they were free. It's also a day known for celebratory meals and red drinks. But as the holiday becomes more widespread, we wondered: Is there a risk that certain people (and corporations) will try to keep the food and lose the history?

A Taste Of Freedom

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In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

Ashley C. Ford's new memoir is Somebody's Daughter. Heather Sten/Macmillan hide caption

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Heather Sten/Macmillan

Author Interviews

In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

Fresh Air

For many years, Ford didn't know why her dad was in prison. As a teenager, she was shocked to learn he'd been convicted of rape. "With rape, there's no mistake about the intention to harm," she says.

In 'Somebody's Daughter' Ashley C. Ford Confronts The Crimes Of Her Father

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