The Best of NPR Books 1-23

This week, an exclusive First Read (and listen!) of The Office writer B.J. Novak's new short story collection, Armistead Maupin winds down Tales of the City, and we take a trip through America's self-help culture.  Plus, an appreciation of Kenneth Fearing's classic noir, The Big Clock, and Smart Bitch Sarah recommends the perfect read to accompany recent scandalous headlines from France. View this email in your browser update preferences

First Reads Exclusive First Read (And Listen!): B.J. Novak's 'One More Thing' The Office writer B.J. Novak expands his scope from Dunder Mifflin to the range of human experience in a new short story collection. We've got an exclusive excerpt — with readings by Novak himself, Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson. Read this story Author Interviews One Last Tale Of The City In 'Anna Madrigal' Armistead Maupin's famous series Tales of the City winds down with one last story about Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane. Maupin tells NPR the series originally grew out of his attempts to write a nonfiction piece about the heterosexual pickup scene at his local Safeway. Read this story You Must Read This A Half-Century Later, Fearing's 'Big Clock' Still Ticks On If you liked the movie No Way Out, writer and editor Adam Sternbergh has one message for you: The book was so much better. Kenneth Fearing's 1946 noir novel The Big Clock, which inspired the Kevin Costner thriller, is just as tightly plotted and suspenseful — but it's also a moving meditation on mortality and time. Read this story Author Interviews Skeptic Takes A Tour Of Self-Help's 'Promise Land' Despite being the daughter of a child psychologist and self-help author, Jessica Lamb-Shapiro has spent most of her life recoiling from the self-help industry. But eventually, her curiosity got the best of her. She tells Fresh Air about self-help's high- and low-brow iterations and the ways the industry helped her address her fears. Read this story This Week's Must Read For Cheating Husbands, A Little Dose Of Revenge On Tuesday, France's president held an uncomfortable news conference, beginning with a question about his personal life. Rumor has it he's been cheating on the French first lady with a younger actress. In light of this affair, author Sarah Wendell recommends revisiting an old classic: The First Wives Club. Read this story

This email was sent by: NPR, 1111 N. Capitol St. NE, Washington, D.C., 20002. Privacy Policy This message was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us based on your NPR.org email subscriptions. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you may unsubscribe at any time.