News on Books

Dorothy Parker's posthumously published collection is Poems; Camilla Barnes' debut novel is The Usual Desire to Kill. Both affirm: sharp humor can be grounded in pain.

As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the growing possibility of a sci-fi future in which humans become a multiplanetary species. Specifically, that we could live on Mars.

Biologist Kelly Weinersmith and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith have spent four years researching what life on Mars would look like if we did it anytime soon. In their book A City On Mars, they get into all sorts of questions: How would we have babies in space? How would we have enough food? They join host Regina G. Barber and explain why it might be best to stay on Earth.

Check out Kelly and Zach Weinersmith's book A City On Mars.

Have another space story you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

NPR's Miles Parks speaks with writer Emily Henry about her new novel, "Great Big Beautiful Life."

Reid's book, Medgar and Myrlie, tells the stories of the civil rights leader from Mississippi and his wife, who became an activist after Medgar's 1963 assassination. Originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2024.

In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and pose as citizens.

NPR's A Martinez speaks with Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who is exploring a bid for California governor, about his new book, Califailure: Reversing the Ruin of America's Worst-Run State.

In a new memoir, French Gates writes about the end of her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and her ongoing philanthropic work, directing funds and attention to women's health initiatives.

These books confront readers with the recent past and distant future, bring them to southeastern Africa and an alternative Japan, and bedeck their pages with subversive cartoons and lush landscapes.

NPR's Leila Fadel visits Pooja Bavishi, the author of Malai, a South Asian-inspired frozen desserts cookbook, at her D.C. shop where they sample ice cream and make their own treat.

Josh Gad joins us to talk about his new memoir In Gad We Trust: A Tell Some. He also gets into what life was like growing up in South Florida, the one time he refuses to use his Olaf voice and winning three national titles in teen oratory competitions.