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It might be the Heartland of America, but writers from the middle of the country are often overlooked. An Iowa resident herself, author Jennifer Wilson recommends the best books from that cold, comforting place known as the Midwest.

Novelist Ellen Meister explores how a single character might live parallel lives in alternate dimensions, while philosopher Sam Harris explores how science should shape human values. Also, an attempt to re-create the perfect peasant bread, and in-depth profiles of Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott.

Say farewell to prissy princesses. Author Heather Havrilesky recommends three page turners with plucky female protagonists. These satisfying sisters will lift your spirits and open your eyes.

Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo is back, along with filmmaker Albert Brooks, whose first novel is about America in the year 2030. There's also Jo Ann Beard's debut novel about a 14-year-old in the 1970s; James Tate's selected poems; and technology writer Stephen Baker's look at the computer that competed against humans on Jeopardy!

Nokuthula Ngwenyama's Flow is on a 13-city tour of performances by the celebrated Takács Quartet.

Each week, Pop Culture Happy Hour guests and hosts share what's bringing them joy. This week: The movie The Book of Clarence, the show Lego Masters, Niecy Nash-Betts' Emmy acceptance speech, and more.

'Tis the season to be thankful — especially for those pioneering patriots, our nation's founders. Author David O. Stewart recommends three page-turners that tell the true story of early America.

These five books take us inside the minds of a founding father and the father of the iPod; the vexing artists who brought us Starry Night and Slaughterhouse-Five; and the couple whose scientific discoveries changed the world in awesome, and awful, ways.

This week brings four novels about love: childhood love in immigrant Brooklyn; married love in dot-com San Francisco; intergenerational love and tension in Philadelphia; and an academic father's sometimes obtuse love for his three daughters. In nonfiction, football star Michael Oher describes his experiences in foster care.

This week, an up-close look at the lives of Manhattan chef Gabrielle Hamilton, rapper Ice-T, novelist J.D. Salinger, best-selling author Stieg Larsson and his partner Eva Gabrielsson, and the great philosophers.