The Best of NPR Books for August 20, 2015

This week: Mona Eltahawy, Alison Bechdel, New Orleans, the Jaffna Public Library, and romance manga. View this email in your browser update preferences

This week, our "Muslim Artists, Now" series continues with authors Mona Eltahawy and Rafia Zakaria, cartoonist Alison Bechdel discusses coming out in order to counter her closeted father's secrecy, and we revisit a police shooting on New Orleans' Danziger Bridge. Plus, Sri Lanka's Jaffna Public Library rises from the ashes, and a roundup of summer romance manga. Muslim Artists, Now Muslim Feminists Rewrite Boundaries On The Street And At Home Mona Eltahawy says as a female in Saudi Arabia you have two options: "To lose your mind or become a feminist." Rafia Zakaria says it's crucial to reclaim the identity of the modern Muslim woman. Read this story Hurricane Katrina: 10 Years Of Recovery And Reflection 'Shots On The Bridge' Unpacks A Tangled Story Of Deceit And Tragedy Ronnie Greene's new book explores a case dating back to the days after Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans police officers shot six unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge in East New Orleans. Read this story Theater Lesbian Cartoonist Alison Bechdel Countered Dad's Secrecy By Being Out And Open The musical and graphic novel Fun Home describe Bechdel's coming out, and her dad's closeted homosexuality. She says, "In many ways ... my professional career has been a reaction to my father's life." Read this story Parallels Up From The Ashes, A Public Library In Sri Lanka Welcomes New Readers The Jaffna library once held irreplaceable, ancient manuscripts, lost when it was torched in 1981. Fully restored, the beloved landmark today is filled with readers. Read this story Summer of Love Love Lines: A Summer Sampler Of Romantic Manga Our Summer of Love rolls on with a roundup of romance manga. Japanese comic books can be a daunting field to enter — but we've picked three of the sweetest for your summer reading pleasure. Read this story

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