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5:12pm

Mon November 26, 2012
Books

Independent Bookstores Find Their Footing

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 6:18 pm

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP

In recent years, the start of the holiday shopping season has meant nothing but gloom for independent bookstores. But this year, the mood seems to be lifting, and a lot of booksellers are feeling optimistic. Even President Obama kicked off his Christmas shopping at a neighborhood bookstore in Northern Virginia.

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4:33pm

Mon November 26, 2012
Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of November 22, 2012

Credit Three Lions / Hulton Archive/Getty

Jon Meacham's Thomas Jefferson paints a rich portrait of the third president. It debuts at No. 1.

3:35pm

Mon November 26, 2012
Author Interviews

Mantel Takes Up Betrayal, Beheadings In 'Bodies'

Credit Francesco Guidicini /

This year, Hilary Mantel made history when she won a Man Booker Prize for her novel Bring Up the Bodies. She had previously been awarded the prize — England's highest literary honor — for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and is now the first woman to receive the award twice.

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1:34pm

Mon November 26, 2012
The Salt

Sandwich Monday: The Butter & Sugar Burger

This is something that exists in Asia:

NPR still stubbornly refuses to pay for our travel — something about "sullying NPR's image abroad" and "Ian, how many times do we have to tell you, you don't really work here" — so we had to make our own version.

A disclaimer: We tried putting one together according to the specs of the image above, but no one could get down even a single bite. We lowered the butter content slightly.

Peter: I like the crunch of the sugar. It's like your teeth start decaying immediately.

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12:27pm

Mon November 26, 2012
Movie Interviews

'Life Of Pi' Life-Changing For Young Star

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 1:37 pm

The new film Life of Pi tells the story of a teenage Indian boy who survives a shipwreck, only to find himself in another ordeal: stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The movie is based on the best-selling novel of the same name, and is being mentioned as an Oscar contender by many critics.

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12:24pm

Mon November 26, 2012
Author Interviews

Jonathan Kozol On Kids That Survive Inner Cities

Originally published on Tue November 27, 2012 10:36 am

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, we'll meet the star of the new film "Life of Pi," based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel. The film is getting rave reviews for its amazing special effects, as well as the performance of the young man we are going to meet in a few minutes for whom this was his first professional acting job. That's coming up.

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7:03am

Mon November 26, 2012
You Must Read This

Strange Fruit And Stranger Dreams In The Deep South

Steve Stern's most recent book is called The Book of Mischief.

I'm about to make insane claims for a book, so the skeptics among you can stop reading now. It's called The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You — an outrageous title, I know. Plus, it's an epic poem, over 500 almost entirely unpunctuated pages in its original edition. Are you still with me? Then trust me, it's like no other book in our literature.

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7:02am

Mon November 26, 2012
Book Reviews

Short Stories To Savor On A Winter Weekend

Originally published on Sat December 29, 2012 5:38 pm

Credit Nishant Choksi

Hortense Calisher, a virtuoso of the form, once called the short story "an apocalypse in a teacup." It's a definition that suits the remarkable stories published this year by three literary superstars, and two dazzling newcomers with voices so distinctive we're likely to be hearing from them again. These stories are intense, evocative delights to be devoured singly when you have only a sliver of time, or savored in batches, at leisure, on a winter weekend.

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4:50am

Mon November 26, 2012
Author Interviews

Memoir Traces How Cartoonist Lost Her 'Marbles'

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 9:45 am

When you think of mental illness, you don't often think of comics; but for cartoonist Ellen Forney, the two came crashing together just before her 30th birthday. That's when she found out she has bipolar disorder, a diagnosis that finally explained her super-charged highs and debilitating lows.

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4:49am

Mon November 26, 2012
The Salt

No Innocent Spice: The Secret Story Of Nutmeg, Life And Death

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 2:42 pm

Ah, nutmeg! Whether it's sprinkled on eggnog, baked into spice cake or blended into a latte, this pungent spice can evoke memories of holidays past. We tend to link it to celebratory times.

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