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Eric G. Wilson, author of Against Happiness, has embraced his inner gloom and wishes more people would do the same. He talks to Melissa Block about why the world needs melancholy and the link between sadness and artistic creation.

Though his faith has waned over the years, author John Marks finds a metaphor for his own struggle with belief in the shadowy, invisible world of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The godfather of cartoon counterculture takes on the Bible in his new comic, The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Reviewer Susan Jane Gilman says R. Crumb's latest effort is serious — and brilliant.

Thomas McMahon's novel isn't long, but writer Sue Miller says it manages to accomplish frequent hilarity, tender sexiness and sheer erudition. With intelligence and humor, McKay's Bees wonders about all that is funny, sad and amazing in the world.

The city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, has packed a lot of history into its few centuries of existence. Author Charles King traces the city's ups and downs in a new book, Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams.

From Spanish lullabies and moonlit nights, to the fluttering wings of a persistent little barn owl, NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin a mellow mix of new releases.

Leaders of four separatist and partially Russian-occupied regions said they would hold referendums on whether to formally join Russia, starting as soon as Friday.

Writer Barbara Kingsolver is fascinated by the tension inherent in living on the border between two cultures. Her latest novel, The Lacuna, tells the story of a young man born of a Mexican mother and an American father.

Blasting for President Trump's border wall in Arizona is underway in a national monument that's home to Native American burial sites. A local archaeologist explains the significance of the area.

Writer Kaleb Nation admits that he buys books for their covers — that's why he first picked up Gayle Forman's If I Stay. But he was quickly drawn into the story of Mia, a young cellist who must choose whether to return to her destroyed life, or simply let it all go.