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Back in 1973, Erica Jong was tired of the silent, seething housewife, so she introduced a new kind of female protagonist: one who loved sex and wasn't ashamed to admit it. Jong joins NPR's Susan Stamberg to talk about hook-ups, Fifty Shades of Gray, and of course, the "zipless f - - - ."

George Johnson's The Cancer Chronicles was inspired by his wife's battle with uterine cancer. It traces the history of the disease back to the very first tumor ever discovered — in a dinosaur bone. Reviewer John Wilwol says Johnson "writes clearly and colorfully without dumbing down his material."

Authors Shane Salerno and David Shields spent nine years doing research for Salinger, a new book about one of America's most revered writers. Salerno talks to Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Wade Goodwyn about Salinger's life and the stories behind his work.

Reviewer Susan Jane Gilman wasn't impressed by the title of Someone, but she says Alice McDermott's novel is nowhere near as generic as its name. Nothing extraordinary happens to the Irish-American protagonist, but with spare poetry and deep compassion, McDermott makes familiar territory seem new.

Paul Yoon's new novel, Snow Hunters, follows a Korean War POW who starts a new life in Brazil. Yoon drew on his own family's experiences to write the book, and reviewer Alana Levinson says his "ruminations on the role of memory in shaping our identity speak perfectly to the experience of war."

Claire of the Sea Light is award-winning author Edwidge Danticat's newest work of fiction. She spoke to host Rachel Martin about how experiences of her own childhood in Haiti are reflected in her young protagonist.

In the new book God Bless America: The Surprising History of an Iconic Song, author Sheryl Kaskowitz explores the lyrical evolution of Irving Berlin's enduring song and explains how its early popularity reflected the anxiety of the pre-war period and sparked a surprising anti-Semitic and xenophobic backlash.

Read an exclusive excerpt of Scott Lynch's long-awaited new Gentleman Bastard book, The Republic of Thieves. In this installment, dashing thieves Locke and Jean are hired to help fix an election in the city of Karthain. The twist? The opposition has hired their own dirty trickster — Locke's long-lost love, Sabetha.

Author Simon Singh's new book teases out the mathematical references hidden in The Simpsons. Singh tells NPR's Scott Simon that the show's writing team includes several trained mathematicians — and that the logical bends and breaks of writing comedy can be very appealing to the mathematically minded.

In his new book Tip and the Gipper, MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews reflects on his time as a top aide to Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill during Ronald Reagan's presidency. He compares O'Neill and Reagan's unlikely friendship to today's approach of "government by tantrum."