Books
This terrifying horror novel proves: Nothing is old if you make it new
Nat Cassidy's wildly entertaining novel is a superb example of how to work with clichés. When the Wolf Comes Home might sound like a werewolf novel — but it's an entirely different animal.
Looking for a new book this week? Here are 5 wide-ranging options
A true smorgasbord is on offer for readers this week. Care for an inspirational memoir? Reminders of the precarious position of civilization? Early summer read? They're all here.
These 2 funny books give readers a reason to smile in tough times
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.
‘Buffy’ podcasters built a community — and they didn’t let divorce break it
Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcasters Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo write about their community of fans, and how it help them keep working together after a split, in Slayers, Every One of Us.
10 emerging writers win Whiting Awards
The awards, which come with a $50K purse, have helped launch the writing careers of many now well-known authors, including Colson Whitehead, Ocean Vuong, Alice McDermott and Jia Tolentino.
5 buzzy books out this week that look inward
A number of books out this week — a tale of tribal politics, a close-focus mystery, measured criticism and a unique relationship — are tied up in answering the question: How do we define ourselves?
Most Americans want to read more books. We just don’t.
When we worry about the declining rates of literacy and a lack of reading skills, it's often about children. But how often are adults reading these days? And what are we reading? A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds out.
‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ tops the ALA’s list of most challenged books
Organized pressure groups, not individual parents, are leading the fight to remove books from shelves, according to a new report from the American Library Association.
10 books we’re looking forward to this spring
A famed graphic novelist returns! A Southern-gothic crime-thriller inspired by The Godfather! An extremely in depth biography of Mark Twain! And more!
6 tales of mystery and mishap — all hitting book stores on April Fools’ Day
New on the shelves this week: An obit writer writes — and drunkenly publishes — his own obituary. A Hungarian teen stumbles into adulthood. And geriatric sleuth Vera Wong returns.
New ‘Hunger Games’ prequel reminds that sometimes past truths aren’t visible
Sunrise on the Reaping recounts the 50th annual Hunger Games, telling the story of Haymitch Abernathy. It's themes and events conjure images of today's U.S. political climate.
‘The Buffalo Hunter Hunter’ is Stephen Graham Jones’ horror masterpiece
The prose is gorgeous and the plot is complex. The author of The Only Good Indians returns again with a spellbinding yarn about one of the bloodiest, most significant parts of the nation's history.
New books this week: A foodie memoir, a missing child, witches illustrated, and more
Care and Feeding chronicles life in the culinary world. All the Other Mothers Hate Me follows a mom turned amateur detective. Plus, Karen Russell's first full-length novel since Swamplandia!
‘Last Seen’: After slavery, family members placed ads looking for loved ones
Formerly enslaved people would placed ads in newspapers hoping to find lost children, parents, spouses and siblings. Historian Judith Giesberg tells the stories of some of those families in a new book.
As measles cases rise, a new book warns parents not to underestimate the disease
As childhood vaccinate rates drop in the U.S. outbreaks of measles are rising. In his new book Booster Shots, Dr. Adam Ratner makes the case that this is a bad sign for public health.
Bestselling novelist Tom Robbins dies at 92
Robbins dazzled readers with the whimsy and imagination in his books, including Jitterbug Perfume, Skinny Legs and All and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
‘Injustice, Inc.’ uncovers how some in the legal system use poor families to get rich
Daniel L. Hatcher discusses his book, which looks at how state agencies exploit impoverished families to make money through the U.S. juvenile justice system.
How a Birmingham shop owner brings memories to life through books
Jim Reed has collected books and writings for more than 40 years and believes books keep memories alive.
Bragg’s Food Memoir is an Ode to ‘The Best Cook’
Alabama author Rick Bragg celebrates his mother's cooking in a new memoir -- The Best Cook in the World: Tales From My Momma’s Table.
The Queer Library: A New Home for LGBT Literature
The brainchild of Change Project founder Steven Romeo, every book is written by an LGBT author or contains LGBT content.
Interview: Michael Saag, M.D., Discusses His New Book
UAB researcher and physician Dr. Michael Saag is know around the world as an AIDS expert. He started working with AIDS in the early eighties, a time when the disease was masked in uncertainty. Since then, he's made AIDS research and improving patient treatment his life's work. This month, Dr. Saag published his memoir "Positive: One Doctor's Personal Encounters with Death, Life and the U.S. Healthcare System." Dr. Saag spoke with WBHM's News Director Rachel Osier Lindley about the book, what it's like to lose a patient and his deep concerns about the U.S. healthcare system.
