NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2017's Great Reads
The Book Concierge is back and bigger than ever! Explore more than 350 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.
Books
The 2017 NPR Book Concierge: Get Your Read On
NPR launches its 2017 Book Concierge on Tuesday, pulling together a year's worth of favorite reads from staff and critics. NPR Books editor Petra Mayer talks about some of this year's selections.
Do Politics Matter In Poetry? New Biography Explores The Case Of Ezra Pound
A central figure in 20th century poetry, Pound was also an outspoken fascist. In The Bughouse, Daniel Swift investigates whether or not the poet's politics and madness matter to his work.
'Nuclear War Planner' Reflects On The Cold War And Assesses The Current Threat
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in hopes they would help end the Vietnam War. He looks back on his early days as a national security analyst in The Doomsday Machine.
In 'Hiddensee,' Gregory Maguire Gets Under The Shell Of 'The Nutcracker'
Author Gregory Maguire made his name rewriting fairy tales. Now, he's taken on The Nutcracker — a beloved holiday classic, yes, but one that Maguire says makes no sense as it's usually performed.
Girl Meets Frog Monster In 'Mrs. Caliban'
This season's secret weapon in literary banter will be Mrs. Caliban, a peculiar, wonderful, overlooked 1983 novella by Rachel Ingalls, about a housewife whose life is upended by a suave frog monster.
Chris Matthews On The 'Raging Spirit' Of Bobby Kennedy
NPR's Scott Simon talks with veteran political commentator and MSNBC host Chris Matthews about his new book, Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit.
Emily Wilson's 'Odyssey' Scrapes The Barnacles Off Homer's Hull
Wilson — the first woman to translate The Odyssey — has created a fresh, authoritative and slyly humorous version of Homer's epic that scours away archaisms while preserving nuance and complexity.
Debut Author Channeled Her 'Darker Bits' Into A Man Booker Shortlist Novel
Fiona Mozley's book Elmet explores masculinity in both male and female characters. "When we sort of see a woman possessing unexpected or fantastical physical strength it's questioned more," she says.
'Dawn Of The New Everything' Argues For Human-Centered Technology
Virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier's book is part memoir, part history of the development of VR, and an unexpected but welcome comparison of the promises of VR with those of artificial intelligence.