The Best of NPR Books 8-1

This week, our Summer Books series continues with great reads about city life. Plus, a look at the nation's first black high school, Crime in the City visits the Jersey Shore, writer Anthony Marra recommends Bohumil Hrabal's I Served the King of England, and a Q&A with Marcus Sakey, author of the twisted sort-of-superhero tale Brilliance. View this email in your browser update preferences

City Slickers: 5 Books About The Urban Experience Millions of people worldwide are leaving rural areas for urban ones. NPR Cities Project editor Franklyn Cater highlights five books that examine and celebrate 21st century life in the metropolis. Read this story Critics' Lists: Summer 2013 In Nation's First Black Public High School, A Blueprint For Reform Journalist Alison Stewart chronicles the history of Dunbar High School in her new book, First Class. She says the Washington, D.C., school — which has graduated Army generals, Cabinet members and musicians — can serve as a model for urban schools today. Read this story Critics' Lists: Summer 2013 Bodies On The Boardwalk: Murder Stirs A Sleepy Jersey Shore When he was a kid, writer Chris Grabenstein loved tourist towns, so he set novels in one of his favorites — the Jersey shore. He says one of the great joys of writing is coming up with an interesting place to drop the body, like a roller coaster or a tilt-a-whirl. Read this story Critics' Lists: Summer 2013 A World A Few Degrees Of Whimsy Away From Our Own Bohumil Hrabal's novel, I Served The King Of England, about a Czech waiter who barely survives World War II, may sound dire but author Anthony Marra says that if you allow yourself to be sucked in, you'll enter a story so ethereal you'll practically float. Read this story Critics' Lists: Summer 2013 What If The X-Men Were Real? Q&A With Marcus Sakey, Author Of 'Brilliance' Marcus Sakey's new novel, Brilliance, imagines an America where superhumanly talented savants are hunted by a rogue government agency. Sakey says the titular "brilliants" are "objectively superior to the rest of us. Which is a scary concept to normal people." Read this story

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