Maggie Smith's new poetry collection considers the human tendency to search for universal truths — but she looks for those truths in things we can see every day, as ordinary as rosebushes and rocks.
Writer Anthony Veasna So was a rising figure in the literary scene until he died in December. His stories captured the fullness of queer, Cambodian American life.
It's a particular pleasure to see our splintered country through the eyes of Margarita Gokun Silver, a determined and appreciative emigree, in 'I Named My Dog Pushkin.'
Sometimes books can be a literal escape, not just a figurative one. Our critic Alethea Kontis recommends three fantasy novels that helped her along the way as she escaped an abusive relationship.
Six Crimson Cranes and The River Has Teeth — two new July YA novels — both focus on monstrous mothers and folkloric family magic. But apart from that, they couldn't be more different.
This summer, Code Switch is laser-focused on books that teach us about freedom. Today, we're in conversation with a romance novelist whose own identity helped inform a rich cast of characters.
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with writer Jaime Lowe about her new book, Breathing Fire, which tells the stories of the incarcerated women who are part of California's wildfire crews.
Sweat is an "evolutionary marvel," says Sarah Everts, the author of The Joy of Sweat. In her new book, Everts delves into the science of perspiration and how this trait has enabled humans to thrive.
You don't have to be an Olympian to hit a wall — by late July, nothing's exciting anymore, not even the blow-up pool. We've got three books that can help your kids get their reading groove back.
Poet Adrian Matejka used to be a DJ — and when he got stuck in pandemic-induced misery, it was music that lifted him up and helped him finish writing his latest book, Somebody Else Sold the World.
August can sometimes be a stretch of the doldrums when it comes to publishing — but this month there are so many fascinating books on the horizon, we added an extra to our usual list of five.
It protects from drizzles and thunderstorms but not a hurricane. In other words, if you are exposed again and again to infected people, there's some risk you could get sick.
Messy and floundering in late midlife, Dana Spiotta's heroine is roiling — along with the rest of the country — amid the 2016 election and the rise of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements.
On the latest episode of Code Switch, Cisneros talks about why she became obsessed with houses, what it was like to finally buy one, and—spoiler alert—what it felt like to fall out of love with it.
This month, romance columnist Maya Rodale brings us three tales of danger and mystery, political intrigues, airship pirates, angry Scotsmen, and of course, the essential ingredient: passion.
