Rachel Syme
Rachel Syme is a frequent contributor to NPR Books. She is the former culture editor of The Daily Beast, and has written and edited for Elle, Radar, Page Six Magazine, Jane,theNew York Observer, The Millions, and GQ.
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The orphaned heroine of Vanessa Diffenbaugh's moving, if not somewhat saccharine, debut novel is privy to a secret language of flowers dating back to Victorian England.
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In her new book, Maggie Nelson considers why violence and gore enthrall and excite — and why cruelty is so pervasive in our culture.
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In Rosamund Lupton's debut novel, a young woman living in New York takes on the role of detective when her younger sister disappears in England.
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In The Steal, Rachel Shteir examines the cultural history and economic impact of shoplifting, an activity that 10 percent of all U.S. citizens admit to trying at one point or another.
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Any one of these five sizzling new nonfiction books could be the next Hollywood blockbuster. Our advice? Read them all before the Hollywood execs do.
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Poet Kelle Groom crams so much pain into her new memoir that it's almost hard to believe. But ultimately it's her spare and vital voice — not the tragic circumstances of her life — that makes I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of A Girl so exhilarating.
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The season of pleasure reading is upon us, and the publishing world has readied a handful of thrilling titles to be released just in time for the summer heat. After surveying the crop, here are our picks for fun reading in the sun.
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After ten years, author Francine Pascal has written an update to her classic Sweet Valley High series — and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is writing a movie about the original Sweet Valley books. Rachel Syme reports on the continuing phenomenon that is the Wakefield sisters.
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As a culmination of our March NPR Book Club reading of Cutting for Stone, we spoke to author Abraham Verghese, a doctor and writer, about his bestselling novel.
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Want to read about the woman who defined glamour and Hollywood royalty? Here are three suggestions for great reads about Elizabeth Taylor.