Books & Literature

Maureen Corrigan reviews Free Love, by Tessa Hadley.

Hanya Yanagihara's much anticipated 700-page novel is a deliberately difficult work, made of up dazzling moments that tend lose their luster when pressed together.

Set in the claustrophobic world of academia, Mark Prins' debut novel is saturated with references to Classical mythology and, like the best thrillers, is ingenious in its sinister simplicity.

Christopher Mims' new book, Arriving Today, takes a close look at the global supply chain, following a hypothetical USB charger from a Vietnamese factory where it's made to its delivery to a home in Connecticut. That journey traverses 14,000 miles and 12 times zones, and involves a complex network of barges, shipping containers, trucks, warehouses, robots and workers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked Raskin to serve as the lead manager in the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Looking back now, Raskin sees Pelosi's request as a lifeline. He has a new memoir.

The Foo Fighters frontman (and Nirvana drummer) talks about his journey from playing small punk clubs to giant stadiums in his memoir, The Storyteller. He reflects on how he taught himself drums, his friendship with Kurt Cobain, and reinventing himself after Cobain's death. "I was heartbroken," he says. "I didn't really know if I ever wanted to play music again, until I realized that music was the one thing that had healed me my entire life." Originally broadcast Nov. 24, 2021.

Tabitha Lasley's memoir Sea State is a peculiar and entrancing blend of memoir and reportage.

The Tony Award-winning actor previously wrote about his childhood in Scotland and his abusive father. Cumming's new memoir centers on love, sexuality, career and mental health.

Tate's whirlwind writing, which appeared in The Village Voice and Rolling Stone, often referenced pop culture, literary theory and the latest slang. He died Dec. 7. Originally broadcast in 1992.

Rice, who died Dec. 11, grew up in New Orleans and hit it big in 1976 with her first novel, Interview with the Vampire. She followed up with more than a dozen novels. Originally broadcast in 1990.

Moehringer grew up with an absent dad and found a home, of sorts, in the bar where his uncle worked. His memoir has been adapted into a film directed by George Clooney. Originally broadcast in 2012.

Cho's new memoir, “Tastes Like War", is about her experiences growing up with an American father and Korean mother, and about her mother’s struggles with mental illness.

This was a spectacular year for literary fiction, so my "Best Books" list is exclusively composed of novels and short story collections — and I wish I could triple its length, but I'll keep it to 10.

Dole, who died Dec. 5, represented Kansas in the Senate for 27 years, and was the Republican nominee for president in 1996. He spoke to Fresh Air in '05 about his experiences fighting in World War II.

Tucci has always connected to his roots through food, so he was devastated when cancer treatment put him on a feeding tube. He's now cancer-free, with a new memoir. Originally broadcast Oct. 5, 2021.

Ryan Busse went to work for the firearms manufacturer Kimber America, where he was so good at marketing the weapons that he became a rising star of the industry. But over the years, he became disillusioned when he saw the NRA refuse to consider gun controls after mass shootings. His new book is 'Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America'.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan says Kevin Birmingham's biography of the novel Crime and Punishment is packed with cinematic episodes.

Journalist Dawn Turner revisits her own past, and tells the story of her sister, who died at 24 from chronic alcoholism, and her childhood best friend, who served 20 years in prison for murder.

Cleland was a decorated Army veteran who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam. After the the war, he dedicated his life to public service. He died Nov. 9. Originally broadcast in 2009.

The world knows Will Smith as a musician, a comedian and blockbuster movie star — perhaps even the most bankable star in the world. But in his new memoir, called Will, Smith explores another identity, one that has fueled his unwavering work ethic: that of a coward. Smith says that when he was 9, he stood by, watching helplessly as his father beat his mother. It was a moment that shaped his identity.