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Goli Taraghi writes about life in Iran — about love, loss, alienation and exile. She is particularly equipped to the task, as her own exile from the country began in 1980 at the outset of the Iranian Revolution. She discusses her latest collection of short stories, The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons.

Our latest pick for NPR's Backseat Book Club is The Red Pyramid, a tale of two kids who must rescue the world from Egyptian gods. Author Rick Riordan, a former schoolteacher, combined his obsession with books with his passion for mythology to write this book about ordinary kids doing heroic things.

During World War II, even successful generals could be fired. But after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, no one was fired. A new book from Thomas Ricks examines the changes in our military over the past 60 years.

Sometimes "the one that got away" is a book that actually was easy to overlook. And sometimes it's something you ignore until you just can't anymore. NPR's Lynn Neary finally comes to terms with the publishing sensation that is Fifty Shades of Grey.

It's been a good summer for author Jhumpa Lahiri. Her new novel, The Lowland, has been nominated for two major literary prizes. But reviewer Ellah Allfrey says that while the book is elegantly structured, she wished for more humanity from the characters.

Acclaimed British author William Boyd was tapped last year to write the latest James Bond novel. The new book, called Solo, takes 007 on his first trip to Africa. Boyd says the Bond of the novels is quite different from the Bond on the screen — and that he sees a definite overlap between spies and novelists.

Phyllis Chesler met Abdul-Kareem — a young, wealthy Muslim — in college. They fell in love, got married and, in 1961, traveled to his native Afghanistan together. There, Chesler soon found herself a virtual prisoner — an Afghan wife with no rights. An American Bride in Kabul is her memoir of that experience.

Lauren Beukes' new thriller The Shining Girls traces a time-traveling serial killer as he jumps through the decades, pursued by the only one of his victims to survive. Critic Alan Cheuse calls the book "a frightening journey in time and punishment."

Just before her 30th birthday, Ellen Forney received a diagnosis that finally explained her super-charged highs and debilitating lows: bipolar disorder. In Marbles, a new graphic memoir, Forney recalls both the pain and the humor of her path to stability.

Paul Young wrote his first book, The Shack, as a story to share with family and friends about faith and redemption. He printed 15 copies at an Office Depot but has gone on to sell 18 million copies. Now he's written a new book, this time for the world, about faith and transformation.