KBAQ Book of the Month
Why Beethoven Threw the Stew
Why Beethoven Threw the Stew (by Steven Isserlis)
KBAQ's Randy Kinkel recommends "Why Beethoven Threw the Stew". A funny and factual guide to the lives, quirks and foibles of six of the great composers of classical music, written by Master Cellist Steven Isserlis. Written for kids, but in a way that adults can also enjoy and learn from, it's the KBAQ book of the month for June. Great for reading aloud!
Full story
NPR Book Reviews
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Le Clezio, Portrait Of A Gentle Writer
Though born in France, Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustav Le Clezio is a nomadic writer, whose work has been defined by his life of travel around the world. For him, storytelling means melting into the background.
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Publisher Of Palin Biography Hits Jackpot
A small publisher in suburban Seattle has hit the big time with a biography of Sarah Palin. Epicenter Press published <em>Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down</em> months before Palin hit the national spotlight.
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The Booker Prize: Our London Cabbie's Review
Who needs the Booker Prize committee when we have our own Will Grozier? The London cabbie reviews the short list of books ahead of Tuesday's announcement of the Man Booker prizewinner.
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Memoir Lives Life As A Widow
Anne Roiphe was so dependent on her husband she literally didn't know how to open the front door without him. In her memoir of widowhood, she also remembers how he told her, years before he died, that he felt their marriage had been so strong, she would be able to find happiness again.
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A Furious Voice, Forged In The 'Fire' Of Prejudice
Jamaican-American novelist Michelle Cliff's essays — urgent, stripped of lyrical excess, discomfiting but illuminating — bear witness to a rough life that has shaped a radical, powerful and essential artist.
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Photographer Captures MLK's 'Most Daring Dream'
Photographer Robert Houston chronicled Martin Luther King's 1968 Poor People's Campaign. Now his images can be seen in the exhibit, "Most Daring Dream," at Morgan State University. For more, Farai Chideya talks with Aaron Bryant, curator of Houston's exhibition.
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French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize
French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, says there are two periods in Le Clezio's work: it was more experimental in the 1960s and '70s, and later it featured traveling and exoticism.
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Celebrating Grace Paley's Uniquely Feminine Voice
Writer Alix Kates Shulman remembers the 1960s as an age where men dominated the literary scene — that is, until Grace Paley's quirky urban voice and modernist short stories began to challenge the notion of what constituted great reading.
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Chef Jeff's Redemption Story
Jeff Henderson rose from Los Angeles' mean streets to become the executive chef at two top Las Vegas hotels, and wrote a best selling memoir. Now he aims to pass on what he's learned to other struggling young adults in a new reality TV show titled <em>The Chef Jeff Project</em>.
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French Novelist Wins Nobel Prize In Literature
The Swedish Academy praised Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays, non-fiction and children's literature. His work is often about wanderers, people on a quest for meaning and grappling with national histories.
-
Controversy Embroils Nobel Literature Prize
Even before the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature was announced Thursday morning, it was drawing attention — for the wrong reasons. Last week, a Nobel official seemed to nix the possibility of an American winner when he said, "Europe still is the center of the literary world ... not the United States."
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Novels Stitch Tightly Woven Tales Of Freedom
Alan Cheuse reviews two historical novels, both with protagonists immersed in sewing and slavery: Breena Clarke's <em>Stand the Storm</em> and Frances de Pontes Peebles' <em>The Seamstress.</em>
-
'Goldengrove' Traces The Contours Of Grief
Nico, the 13-year-old narrator of Francine Prose's new novel, struggles to deal with the loss of her older sister. With her parents barely able to cope, Nico must navigate grief and growing up alone.
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Grief — And Growing Up — In 'Goldengrove'
When her sister drowns, 13-year-old Nico must navigate grief and growing up at the same time. Francine Prose's <em>Goldengrove</em> captures the confusion of adolescence tenderly and without condescension.
-
Le Carre Tackles Terror In 'A Most Wanted Man'
John le Carre, a one-time British intelligence officer, has been writing spy stories for more than 40 years. In his latest novel, he explores the complexities of the war on terror.
Why Beethoven Threw the Stew (by Steven Isserlis)
KBAQ's Randy Kinkel recommends "Why Beethoven Threw the Stew". A funny and factual guide to the lives, quirks and foibles of six of the great composers of classical music, written by Master Cellist Steven Isserlis. Written for kids, but in a way that adults can also enjoy and learn from, it's the KBAQ book of the month for June. Great for reading aloud!
Full story
NPR Book Reviews
-
Le Clezio, Portrait Of A Gentle Writer
Though born in France, Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustav Le Clezio is a nomadic writer, whose work has been defined by his life of travel around the world. For him, storytelling means melting into the background. -
Publisher Of Palin Biography Hits Jackpot
A small publisher in suburban Seattle has hit the big time with a biography of Sarah Palin. Epicenter Press published <em>Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down</em> months before Palin hit the national spotlight. -
The Booker Prize: Our London Cabbie's Review
Who needs the Booker Prize committee when we have our own Will Grozier? The London cabbie reviews the short list of books ahead of Tuesday's announcement of the Man Booker prizewinner. -
Memoir Lives Life As A Widow
Anne Roiphe was so dependent on her husband she literally didn't know how to open the front door without him. In her memoir of widowhood, she also remembers how he told her, years before he died, that he felt their marriage had been so strong, she would be able to find happiness again. -
A Furious Voice, Forged In The 'Fire' Of Prejudice
Jamaican-American novelist Michelle Cliff's essays — urgent, stripped of lyrical excess, discomfiting but illuminating — bear witness to a rough life that has shaped a radical, powerful and essential artist. -
Photographer Captures MLK's 'Most Daring Dream'
Photographer Robert Houston chronicled Martin Luther King's 1968 Poor People's Campaign. Now his images can be seen in the exhibit, "Most Daring Dream," at Morgan State University. For more, Farai Chideya talks with Aaron Bryant, curator of Houston's exhibition. -
French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize
French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, says there are two periods in Le Clezio's work: it was more experimental in the 1960s and '70s, and later it featured traveling and exoticism. -
Celebrating Grace Paley's Uniquely Feminine Voice
Writer Alix Kates Shulman remembers the 1960s as an age where men dominated the literary scene — that is, until Grace Paley's quirky urban voice and modernist short stories began to challenge the notion of what constituted great reading. -
Chef Jeff's Redemption Story
Jeff Henderson rose from Los Angeles' mean streets to become the executive chef at two top Las Vegas hotels, and wrote a best selling memoir. Now he aims to pass on what he's learned to other struggling young adults in a new reality TV show titled <em>The Chef Jeff Project</em>. -
French Novelist Wins Nobel Prize In Literature
The Swedish Academy praised Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays, non-fiction and children's literature. His work is often about wanderers, people on a quest for meaning and grappling with national histories. -
Controversy Embroils Nobel Literature Prize
Even before the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature was announced Thursday morning, it was drawing attention — for the wrong reasons. Last week, a Nobel official seemed to nix the possibility of an American winner when he said, "Europe still is the center of the literary world ... not the United States." -
Novels Stitch Tightly Woven Tales Of Freedom
Alan Cheuse reviews two historical novels, both with protagonists immersed in sewing and slavery: Breena Clarke's <em>Stand the Storm</em> and Frances de Pontes Peebles' <em>The Seamstress.</em> -
'Goldengrove' Traces The Contours Of Grief
Nico, the 13-year-old narrator of Francine Prose's new novel, struggles to deal with the loss of her older sister. With her parents barely able to cope, Nico must navigate grief and growing up alone. -
Grief — And Growing Up — In 'Goldengrove'
When her sister drowns, 13-year-old Nico must navigate grief and growing up at the same time. Francine Prose's <em>Goldengrove</em> captures the confusion of adolescence tenderly and without condescension. -
Le Carre Tackles Terror In 'A Most Wanted Man'
John le Carre, a one-time British intelligence officer, has been writing spy stories for more than 40 years. In his latest novel, he explores the complexities of the war on terror.
