Kimberly Public Library

It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.

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"We've had time to act — and essentially we haven't acted," says science journalist Michael Lemonick. He describes the threats posed by climate change in his new book, Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future.

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Cinda Johnson is an expert in youth disabilities and emotional disorders. But she never suspected her teen daughter Linea would have bipolar disorder. Linea's life took a downturn when she began feeling depressed and even suicidal. Linea and Cinda chronicle their story in the new memoir Perfect Chaos. They speak with guest host Jacki Lyden.

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In former television writer Maria Semple's second novel, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, 15-year-old Bee searches for her missing mother, an eccentric former architect. Semple mixes police and FBI reports, school documents and catty emails, all with commentary from Bee.

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When author Vaddey Ratner was just a child, the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and destroyed her aristocratic family. Her new novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan, draws on her terrible experiences — and the poetry and stories from her father that helped her survive.

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Frommer's is one of the best-known travel guide-book companies. The search giant is trying to offer more robust travel related results and sell more ads. Last year, Google bought the Zagat restaurant review brand as well.

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There's nothing scarier than having someone you love turn on you. For author D.W. Gibson, that someone was Roald Dahl, who, in addition to children's books, wrote short stories that are truly terrifying. Is there a book that haunts your dreams? Tell us about it in the comments.

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Our comics blogger shares thoughts on the passing of the profoundly influential creator and mentor Joe Kubert.

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We spend roughly a third of our lives asleep, but know very little about what happens while we slumber. In Dreamland, journalist David Randall presents what he's learned about sleep deprivation, dream interpretation and the explanations for his own bizarre sleep habits.

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Every year, incoming college freshmen get their first assignment: a "common read." Colleges and universities assign the same book for students to read over the summer in preparation for discussions on campus. Many schools are assigning Sonia Nazario's book on immigration.

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In Peter Heller's debut novel, The Dog Stars, a man named Hig survives a superflu that kills most of humanity. Heller, a travel and adventure writer, says that when his novel took a post-apocalyptic turn, he found himself relying on his real-life scrapes and survival skills.

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The Psychopath Test is a fascinating look into the minds of the deranged, but author Carol Rifka Brunt says she read it not to understand the psychology of madness, but to prove she wasn't mad herself. When have you compared yourself to books or characters in them? Tell us in the comments.

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In Victoria Kneubuhl's mysteries, dashing detectives Ned and Mina explore the darker side of a sunny tourist paradise — Honolulu. In their debut, Murder Casts a Shadow, Ned and Mina set out to discover who killed a crooked museum curator, and get drawn into a deeper mystery about the death of Hawaii's last king.

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