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In 'The Maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect

The Maid by Nita Prose Ballantine Books hide caption

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Ballantine Books

In 'The Maid,' a devoted hotel cleaning lady is a prime murder suspect

January 5, 2022 • In Nita Prose's debut, a guest at a fancy urban hotel lies dead and the main suspect is Molly Gray, a devoted member of the cleaning staff who recognizes she has "trouble with social situations."

'Fiona and Jane' is a life-sized story of true friendship

Fiona and Jane, by Jean Chen Ho Viking hide caption

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Viking

'Fiona and Jane' is a life-sized story of true friendship

January 4, 2022 • Jean Chen Ho's debut work of fiction focuses on a long-standing friendship that rings, sometimes terribly, true, as the girls-turned-women face the trials and tribulations of life.

Rep. Jamie Raskin searches for answers in 'Unthinkable' journey of trauma and grief

Harper

Rep. Jamie Raskin searches for answers in 'Unthinkable' journey of trauma and grief

January 4, 2022 • In a new memoir, the Democratic congressman recounts a year of loss and grief after the death of son Tommy — and a motivation to right the wrongs that occurred on Jan. 6.

In 'The Four Humors,' a woman delves into the past on a journey of self-discovery

The Four Humors, by Mina Seçkin Catapult hide caption

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Catapult

In 'The Four Humors,' a woman delves into the past on a journey of self-discovery

December 24, 2021 • Turkish American writer Mina Seçkin's debut is an engrossing exploration of national identity, the meaning of family and loss, and what happens when a family hides its central secret.

For queer Seoulites in 'Love in the Big City,' pride and shame intertwine

Grove Atlantic

For queer Seoulites in 'Love in the Big City,' pride and shame intertwine

December 23, 2021 • Sang Young Park's novel can be read as an anthropological approach to Seoulite queer lives in the 21st century: Its four linked stories capture the experience of being both visible and unacknowledged.

'Small Things Like These' add up to a seismic change in 1980s Ireland

Grove Atlantic

'Small Things Like These' add up to a seismic change in 1980s Ireland

December 22, 2021 • In Claire Keegan's feminist take on Dickens, a boy born to an unwed teen builds a life as a coal merchant, husband, and father to five daughters, and faces crises of faith and conscience.

'A Marvellous Light' infuses magic and adventures into 19th century England

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Tordotcom

'A Marvellous Light' infuses magic and adventures into 19th century England

December 22, 2021 • The 19th century historical fantasy wherein magic is a layer over the already complicated strata of society is a fairly common genre, but Freya Marske makes it feel fresh in this treat of a book.

'All Her Little Secrets' asks whether we can reinvent ourselves

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William Morrow

'All Her Little Secrets' asks whether we can reinvent ourselves

December 21, 2021 • Wanda M. Morris' All Her Little Secrets is a carefully constructed thriller wrapped in a narrative about racism, gentrification, and being the only Black person in an all-white environment.

'Mothers, Fathers, and Others' addresses the realities of motherhood

Mothers, Fathers, and Others: Essays by Siri Hustvedt Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Simon & Schuster

'Mothers, Fathers, and Others' addresses the realities of motherhood

December 20, 2021 • Siri Hustvedt's essays bring into focus the profound contradictions of motherhood — often eclipsed by the cultural idealization of mothers as the model of self-sacrificing nurturance.

In 'Sea State,' life gets rocky when a journalist gets involved with her subject

Harper Collins

In 'Sea State,' life gets rocky when a journalist gets involved with her subject

Fresh Air

December 20, 2021 • Tabitha Lasley spent six months in Aberdeen, Scotland, interviewing men who work on offshore oil rigs. Along the way, she had an all-consuming affair with one of the very first men she interviewed.

In 'Sea State,' life gets rocky when a journalist gets involved with her subject

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James Tynion continues to surprise in 'Something Is Killing the Children'

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BOOM! Entertainment, Inc

James Tynion continues to surprise in 'Something Is Killing the Children'

December 16, 2021 • The monster-fighting series has become a huge hit since its 2019 launch, so Boom! is releasing the first 15 episodes in this deluxe hardcover.

Literary fiction dominates Maureen Corrigan's 2021 Best Books list

NPR

Literary fiction dominates Maureen Corrigan's 2021 Best Books list

Fresh Air

December 13, 2021 • Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan says 2021 was a spectacular year for literary fiction. As such, her annual Best Books list is exclusively composed of novels and short story collections.

Literary fiction dominates Maureen Corrigan's 2021 Best Books list

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From Steph Curry to 'Squid Game,' this year-end list will surprise and delight you

Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts after the Phoenix Suns missed a basket during a game Dec. 3. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images hide caption

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Pop Culture

From Steph Curry to 'Squid Game,' this year-end list will surprise and delight you

Fresh Air

December 10, 2021 • As the year draws to a close, critic John Powers singles out seven revelatory people or things that made 2021 a little brighter. At the top of his list? Basketball star Steph Curry.

From Steph Curry to 'Squid Game,' this year-end list will surprise and delight you

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Two poets chronicle their friendship and isolation during the pandemic

Karthika Nair (left) and Marilyn Hacker (right) Koen Broos/Julie Fay hide caption

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Koen Broos/Julie Fay

Books

Two poets chronicle their friendship and isolation during the pandemic

December 10, 2021 • Marilyn Hacker and Karthika Nair were under lockdown in Paris only miles apart from each other. A Different Distance compiles the almost daily poems they wrote from March 2020 to March 2021.

Two poets chronicle their friendship and isolation during the pandemic

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'The Veiled Throne' keeps the flame of the Dandelion Dynasty burning on every page

The Veiled Throne, by Ken Liu Gallery/Saga Press hide caption

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Gallery/Saga Press

'The Veiled Throne' keeps the flame of the Dandelion Dynasty burning on every page

December 10, 2021 • A thousand pages is a lot. But there's Ken Liu's voice to hold onto in this third installment of his epic — beautifully deployed and fully in command of the language of his imaginary universe.

A visual feast: 5 favorite art books of 2021

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

A visual feast: 5 favorite art books of 2021

December 9, 2021 • Most readers spend a lot of time happily immersed in words. But for a change of pace, these gorgeous art books provide hours of blissful visual diversion.

3 YA graphic novels that highlight the timelessness of teenage themes this autumn

Meghan Collins Sullivan/NPR

3 YA graphic novels that highlight the timelessness of teenage themes this autumn

December 7, 2021 • Among the flood of titles aimed at the high-school set this fall, a few stand apart for their unorthodox stories, deft artwork and potent themes.

In debut poetry collection, Amanda Gorman looks at America today through its past

Call Us What We Carry: Poems, by Amanda Gorman Viking hide caption

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Viking

In debut poetry collection, Amanda Gorman looks at America today through its past

December 6, 2021 • The youngest presidential inaugural poet writes about how looking at our history tells us what our bodies are made of – and of how collective memory of strength re-energizes us in our darkest moments.

Granddaughter of cult leader tells her story of escape in 'Sex Cult Nun'

Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult, by Faith Jones William Morrow hide caption

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William Morrow

Granddaughter of cult leader tells her story of escape in 'Sex Cult Nun'

December 5, 2021 • Faith Jones, a successful lawyer, is the granddaughter of David Berg, founder of The Family. She tells of how she was raised in the cult from infancy until managing to leave it in her early 20s.

12 books NPR staffers loved in 2021 that might surprise you

Catie Dull/NPR

Books

12 books NPR staffers loved in 2021 that might surprise you

November 30, 2021 • Books We Love, formerly known as NPR's Book Concierge, is back for 2021. Here are a handful of books that NPR staffers named as some of their favorites of the year.

'The Ghost Tracks' is heartwarming horror fiction

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Inkshares

'The Ghost Tracks' is heartwarming horror fiction

November 29, 2021 • Celso Hurtado's YA horror novel combines a real San Antonio legend with classic elements of YA narratives to tell a story of friendship that explores the possibility of the supernatural.

'Jade Legacy,' final in the Green Bone Saga trilogy, is about endings

Jade Legacy, by Fonda Lee Orbit hide caption

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Orbit

'Jade Legacy,' final in the Green Bone Saga trilogy, is about endings

November 29, 2021 • The Damocles threat Fonda Lee has let dangle over this entire series is that no one in these pages is ever safe — the world she has created is dangerous and everyone in it has a place where they end.

Here are the Books We Love: 360+ great 2021 reads recommended by NPR

NPR

Books

Here are the Books We Love: 360+ great 2021 reads recommended by NPR

November 24, 2021 • Books We Love (formerly known as NPR's Book Concierge) is back with a new name and 360+ new books handpicked just for you by NPR staff and trusted critics.

Ann Patchett reflects on love and relationships in new essay collection

These Precious Days: Essays, by Ann Patchett Harper hide caption

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Harper

Ann Patchett reflects on love and relationships in new essay collection

November 23, 2021 • Even when nominally about something else, the essays in These Precious Days are about the weight and grief of relationships. "I was asking what mattered most in this precarious and precious life."

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