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Lit by Mary KArrJoin the Readers & Writers Book Club

Our current discussion is around the memoir Lit, by author Mary Karr. We will talk with the author in late September
Join the book discussion

Literature Features:

Books & Literature Home page
Book Reviews
Author interviews
Recent Books Recent regional books received at NCPR
Recommended by listeners and staff The 2010-01 Winter Reading List
Merriam-Webster Online
Find Out of Print Books

Authors
Transcending Hardships By Saving Others In 'Constellation'
May 25, 2013 — In his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra takes readers to the war-torn republic of Chechnya. People disappear, informers betray and those with humanity endure great hardships.
'Steal The Menu': A Chronicle Of A Career In Food Coverage
May 25, 2013 — When Raymond Sokolov began writing about food, it was considered a specialty portfolio. Today, celebrity chefs abound in the U.S. and Britain, with cookbooks, TV shows and groupies. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sokolov about his new book, Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food.
Gateway Arch 'Biography' Reveals Complex History Of An American Icon
May 25, 2013 — The gleaming stainless steel arch in St. Louis is, officially, a monument to westward expansion. But in The Gateway Arch: A Biography, Tracy Campbell argues that the monument's meaning is more complicated. He tells NPR about the controversies, the clout and the costs behind the 630-foot structure.
Prepare For Takeoff With 'Cockpit Confidential'
May 25, 2013 — In his new book, pilot and columnist Patrick Smith explains why you have to turn off your cellphone for takeoff and landing, and why your ideas about autopilot are probably all wrong. He wants people to "re-appreciate the act of air travel. It's not as horrible as everybody thinks it is."
A Race Against Time To Find WWI's Last 'Doughboys'
May 24, 2013 — In 2003, Richard Rubin set out to talk to every American veteran of World War I he could find. With help from the French, he tracked down dozens of centenarian vets and recorded their stories in a new book called The Last of the Doughboys.
more author interviews from NPR

The program is supported by the donations of NCPR listeners and with the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts Literature Program and by the The Corning Foundation.

Corning gift
Canton Plant Manager Joseph W. Neubert presented North Country Public Radio Underwriting Director Sandy Demarest with a $6,000 check representing Corning Incorporated Foundation’s ongoing support of NCPR's local and national news coverage and its contemporary literature series Readers & Writers on the Air. Corning Foundation has been a stalwart supporter of NCPR's mission since 1982.

Finding Readers & Writers books

The books to be discussed are available at public libraries throughout northern New York and western Vermont or may be purchased at discount prices at the following participating bookstores. Please identify yourself as a listener to North Country Public Radio's literature series when you request the discount:

The St. Lawrence University Bookstore, Canton, NY
Borders, Plattsburgh
The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY
The Peace & Justice Store, Burlington, VT
The Potsdam Food Co-op,
Potsdam, NY
The University Bookstore,
Potsdam, NY
Fact & Fiction Bookshop,
Saranac Lake, NY
The College Store at SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
Old Forge Hardware, Old Forge, NY
Hero's Welcome, North Hero, VT

 

Readers & Writers with hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson airs on an irregular schedule.

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Recent program audio | R&W bookstores

About Readers & Writers

Ellen RoccoReaders & Writers, NCPR's conversation on contemporary literature, invites into the studio visiting authors, and invites listeners to call in to join the conversation.

The program is hosted by NCPR station manager Ellen Rocco, and Chris Robinson of Clarkson University. Members of the St. Lawrence University English Department faculty sometimes join Ellen on the program.

 Recent Readers & Writers programs
Show             
Terry Tempest Williams.
Terry Tempest Williams.

Readers & Writers: Terry Tempest Williams, "When Women Were Birds"

by Readers & Writers, in Canton, NY
Apr 30, 2013 — Our guest is well-known essayist and poet Terry Tempest Williams, talking about her most recent book, When Women Were Birds, Fifty-Four Variations on Voice - a collection of short essays on memory, faith and voice. Williams' work is steeped in the landscape and lore of Utah and the West where she has lived and worked most of her life. Ellen Rocco, Chris Robinson and Betsy Kepes join the conversation  Go to full article

Readers & Writers: George Bilgere, "The White Museum"

by Readers & Writers, in Canton, NY
Apr 26, 2013 — Our guest is George Bilgere, author of The White Museum, Haywire, The Good Kiss and other collections of poetry. A new collection, Imperial, is due out this fall from University of Pittsburgh Press.

He is probably best known to the public radio audience through his frequent (37 times) contributions to The Writer's Almanac, through his 2011 appearance on A Prairie Home Companion, or through his own radio program Wordplay, an offbeat mix of poetry, comedy, and an ongoing exploration of the possibilities of the spoken word. Ellen Rocco and Dale Hobson host.  Go to full article
Readers & Writers road show at Fort Drum. Left to right: Chris Robinson, Ellen Rocco, author Siobhan Fallon, and Phil LaMarche. Photo: Joel Hurd
Readers & Writers road show at Fort Drum. Left to right: Chris Robinson, Ellen Rocco, author Siobhan Fallon, and Phil LaMarche. Photo: Joel Hurd

Readers & Writers: Siobhan Fallon, "You Know When the Men Are Gone"

by Readers & Writers, in Fort Drum, NY
Apr 23, 2013 — Author Siobhan Fallon talks with Ellen Rocco, Chris Robinson and Phil LaMarche about her collection of stories on the lives of military families, You Know When the Men are Gone, before an audience at Fort Drum's Robert C. McEwen Library. This collection of loosely related stories is set at Fort Hood, in Texas, and deftly explores how army families are affected by the absence of their soldiering husbands and fathers.  Go to full article

Cabin Fever Reading Call-in

by Readers & Writers, in Canton, NY
Canton, NY, Mar 26, 2013 — What books are helping you stay sane until the sun returns? Callers, visitors and NCPR staff share their picks with Readers & Writers co-hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson, and with guest book maven John Ernst. A compiled list of titles will be available at this location within a few days of broadcast.  Go to full article

Canton students talk about a 500-page novel

by Readers & Writers
Mar 01, 2013 — Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell, is the subject on the latest edition of the Readers & Writers book club. We had nine Canton students, two teachers and Betsy Kepes, our NCPR book reviewer, in to lead the conversation. Don't let the number of pages scare you away--it's a remarkable book and generated a lively conversation.  Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Rebecca Solnit, A Paradise Built in Hell

by Readers & Writers
Canton, NY, Feb 15, 2013 — Our guest is National Book Award winner Rebecca Solnit, author of A Paradise Built in Hell. Even if you haven't read the book, you will relate to the thread of her thesis: that people generally respond well in the face of disaster. Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson host.  Go to full article

Complete interview: Phil LaMarche

by Readers & Writers
Dec 06, 2012 — Chis Robinson of the Readers & Writers Book Club talks with Phil LaMarche, author of American Youth.  Go to full article

Books: "American Youth"

by Readers & Writers
Canton, NY, Dec 06, 2012 — "Readers and Writers" co-host Chris Robinson talks with Phil LaMarche about his book, American Youth. LaMarche is a professor of English at SUNY-Canton and directs the Living Writers Series.

His debut novel has won wide acclaim. It's the tale of a teenager in southern New England who is confronted by a terrible moral dilemma following a firearms accident in his home. This tragedy earns him the admiration of a gang of boys at his school. It's been called a classic portrait of a young man struggling with the idea of identity and responsibility.  Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Louise Penny, "The Beautiful Mystery"

by Readers & Writers
Canton, NY, Nov 16, 2012 — Our guest is Louise Penny, author of the award-winning Quebec mystery series, featuring inspector Armand Gamache and the idyllic town of Three Pines. Like all the previous books in the series, the latest, The Beautiful Mystery, is on bestseller lists across North America. It's also been nominated for CBC Radio's Canada Reads series. Jackie Sauter and Betsy Kepes host.  Go to full article

Gift Books and Winter Reading Call-in

by Readers & Writers
Canton, NY, Nov 08, 2012 — Our annual winter books call-in is hosted by Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson, with guest book maven John Ernst. Callers and visitors share their favorite picks for holiday giving and reading on long winter nights. A compiled list of recommendations will be available soon at the Readers & Writers Book Club.  Go to full article

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