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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

The American Library Association's list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir.

The American Library Association's list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir. American Library Association hide caption

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American Library Association

Book News & Features

The 11 most challenged books of 2025, according to the American Library Association

The ALA says 4,235 titles were challenged at U.S. libraries — the second-highest year on record. Forty percent of the challenged works involved LGBTQ+ subjects or the experiences of people of color.

Author Interviews

Malala Yousafzai on life before and after being shot by a Taliban gunman

As a teen, Yousafzai risked her life speaking out against the Taliban. "At the time, what scared me more was a life without an education as a girl," the Nobel-winner told Terry Gross at a live event.

FA: Malala Yousafzai

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Movie Interviews

Filmmaker John Waters -- aka the 'Pope of Trash' -- turns 80

Once called the "King of Bad Taste," Waters is known for his off-beat cult films Pink Flamingos and Polyester, as well as the more mainstream Hairspray. Originally broadcast in 2014 and 2019.

FA: John Waters

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Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?
Archive Photos/Getty Images

The Sunday Story

Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?

Dozens of Tuskegee Airmen went missing in action during World War II. Most of them have not been found. Who were these men and what happened to them? In her book, "Forgotten Souls," NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson tells their stories.

Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Why haven’t they been found?

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Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?
Archive Photos/Getty Images

Up First from NPR

Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?

Dozens of Tuskegee Airmen went missing in action during World War II. Most of them have not been found. Who were these men and what happened to them? In her book, "Forgotten Souls," NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson tells their stories.

Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Why haven’t they been found?

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Move over, Mr. Ripley. 'I Am Agatha' is a delightfully duplicitous debut
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

Move over, Mr. Ripley. 'I Am Agatha' is a delightfully duplicitous debut

Nancy Foley's deviously-plotted novel centers on an aging artist in New Mexico. Brutally dismissive of anyone who disagrees with her, Agatha is a perfectly engaging (if unreliable) narrator.

FA: Book Review: I Am Agatha

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After The Flood
Liveright

Review

Book Reviews

'After the Flood' argues Bob Dylan's late career is just as potent as his early years

Much of our image of Dylan derives from his early protest music, but Robert Polito's book makes the argument that the most recent 30 years of Dylan's career have been just as creative as the first 30.

FA: Book Review: After the Flood

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Tim Blake Nelson

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Tim Blake Nelson

From "O Brother, Where Art Thou" to "Watchmen" to "Poker Face,” Tim Blake Nelson is the actor you call when you want a character’s face to tell a lifetime of stories. But Nelson’s storytelling isn't limited to acting; lately, he's turned to writing novels, including his latest book, “Superhero: A Novel.” He talks to Rachel about his delinquent childhood in Tulsa and the dangers of prioritizing the present.

Tim Blake Nelson

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Arsenio Hall speaks onstage during the Emmy Awards on Jan. 15, 2024

Arsenio Hall speaks onstage during the Emmy Awards on Jan. 15, 2024. Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America

Author Interviews

Even when Arsenio Hall's show was a hit, 'everyone wanted it to be something else'

Hall's late-night show gave hip-hop a home on TV and helped propel Bill Clinton to the White House. "I wanted to do this show that didn't exist when I was a kid," he says. Hall's memoir is Arsenio.

FA: Arsenio Hall

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Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

'Stay Alive,' about daily life in Nazi Berlin, shows how easy it is to just go along

Historian Ian Buruma chronicles the lives of ordinary Berliners — including his own father — during World War II. Stay Alive is about the past, but has powerful lessons for the present.

FA: Book Review: Stay Alive: Berlin 1939-1945

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'The Keeper' is a grand finale to Tana French's Cal Hooper crime series
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

'The Keeper' is a grand finale to Tana French's Cal Hooper crime series

Set in a quaint Irish village, The Keeper follows The Searcher and The Hunter, and solidifies the crime series' status as a contemporary classic.

FA: Book Review: The Keeper by Tana French

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InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial on September 21, 2022 in Waterbury, Connecticut. Jones is being sued by several victims' families for causing emotional and psychological harm after they lost their children in the Sandy Hook massacre.

Infowars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., on Sept. 21, 2022. Several victims' families successfully sued Jones for causing emotional and psychological harm after they lost their children in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images North America

Author Interviews

Former Alex Jones employee says: 'It was nonsense, it was lies'

Josh Owens spent four years as a video editor and field producer for Jones' Infowars media company. "It was all about making things look cinematic," he says. Owens' memoir is The Madness of Believing.

FA:Josh Owens

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Anthony Palmini is a voice actor for "romantasy" books like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Quicksilver by Callie Hart.

Anthony Palmini is a voice actor for "romantasy" books like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Keren Carrion/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrion/NPR

He's the voice of romantasy audiobooks' biggest heartthrobs. He's never been busier

From Rhysand in A Court of Thorns and Roses to Kingfisher in "Fae and Alchemy," Anthony Palmini is a voiceover star for romantasy's bestsellers — a book genre that continues to explode.

Romantasy audiobook actor

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