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Book News: Newly Found Pearl Buck Novel To Be Published This Fall 
  Wed, 22 May 2013 07:29:00 -0400 
    Also: shameless book blurbs; new plays from Ayad Ahktar; and a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone draws a record price at auction.


A Different Kind Of Immigrant Experience In 'Americanah' 
  Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400 
    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's latest, Americanah, follows the trials and tribulations of Ifemelu, a middle-class Nigerian immigrant to America. Reviewer Jennifer Reese calls Americanah a "rich and gloriously detailed tapestry ... hung on the sturdy scaffolding of a sweet love story."


Book News: Stephen King's New Bogeyman? Digital Publishing 
  Tue, 21 May 2013 07:15:00 -0400 
    Also: the legacy of Kierkegaard; the creator of Lyle Crocodile has died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.


American Voices On 'The Unwinding' Of America's Values 
  Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400 
    George Packer's The Unwinding explores the social and economic upheavals that have transformed the U.S. over the past 30 years. In a nuanced work of literary journalism, colorful characters from across the class divide tell their own stories of a social contract in tatters.


Exclusive First Read: 'Big Brother' By Lionel Shriver 
  Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400 
    Read an exclusive excerpt of Lionel Shriver's latest, Big Brother. Shriver is no stranger to controversial topics, from school massacres to the American health care system. Big Brother is a comedic take on obesity and its effect on an Iowa family.


After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive 
  Tue, 21 May 2013 03:09:00 -0400 
    On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.


Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings' 
  Tue, 21 May 2013 03:08:00 -0400 
    Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.


Black In America: A Story Rendered In Gray Scale 
  Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400 
    Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah is about a young Nigerian woman who moves to the U.S. It's a story of relocation, far-flung love and life as an outsider. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says that despite the author's talent, much of the storytelling feels flat.


Christine Ha: From MasterChef To Home Kitchen 
  Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400 
    When Christine Ha won MasterChef in 2012, she blew the reality TV show judges away with her Vietnamese influenced cooking. But what really impressed viewers was that she had total control in the kitchen, even though she's blind. Host Michel Martin speaks to Christine Ha about her new cookbook Recipes from my Home Kitchen.


Book News: J.K. Rowling Tells 'Harry Potter' Backstories 
  Mon, 20 May 2013 07:15:00 -0400 
    Quidditch was invented "in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend," writes the Harry Potter creator. Other book news: Ireland puts an entire short story on a postage stamp; Daniel Handler on Midwestern literature; and the best books coming out this week.


May 20-26: A Coup, An Ancient Battle And One Steamy Diary 
  Mon, 20 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400 
    In softcover nonfiction, Jenny Rosenstrach examines dinnertime, Kate Summerscale recounts a scandalous Victorian trial, and John Dramani Mahama looks back on his childhood in Ghana. In fiction, Victor Davis Hanson reimagines an ancient battle, and Marie NDiaye follows three women from Senegal to Europe.


Decades Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due 
  Sun, 19 May 2013 16:09:00 -0400 
    John Williams' Stoner sold just 2,000 copies when it was originally published in 1965. It's now acknowledged as a classic work, is a best-seller across Europe and the No. 1 novel in the Netherlands.


Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs' 
  Sun, 19 May 2013 16:09:00 -0400 
    "Women's anger is very scary to people," author Claire Messud says. Her new novel, The Woman Upstairs, features a seething main character, a young woman whose anger is unsettling.


Three-Minute Fiction: 'Ten Ring Fingers' And 'Ghost Words' 
  Sun, 19 May 2013 06:54:00 -0400 
    NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass.


Siblings' Separation Haunts In 'Kite Runner' Author's Latest 
  Sun, 19 May 2013 05:41:00 -0400 
    Khaled Hosseini's new novel, like his two earlier works, is set partly in Afghanistan — but this time, political turmoil isn't a major element of the plot. Instead, And The Mountains Echoed is a story of a family's loss that spans decades and continents.

LDL Staff Picks

Elvis and the Dearly Departed
3 of 5 stars true
If you are or ever were an Elvis fan you will appreciate these books by Peggy Webb. Elvis is a hound dog (of course) who thinks he is the real Elvis. ~LDL Staff
Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fast-Food-Fueled Car, and a Cross-Country Trip in Search of a Greener Future
3 of 5 stars true
Two friends set across the United States in their previously diesel-fueled car that was converted to run on cooking oil in order to examine alternatives for cleaner energy. The friends learn that Al Gore lives in an energy-hogging mansio...
Winter Garden
3 of 5 stars true
This book is beautifully written and I learned a great deal about what happened in Russia during the reign of Stalin. My favorite book, of late. ~LDL Staff
Poison Study
4 of 5 stars true
Fast-paced, this book is hard to put down. ~LDL Staff

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