Arts

On Tuesday's Morning Edition, NPR's Neda Ulaby has a story about Chuck Lorre, the producer whose name is attached to three of the five highest-rated comedies on American television last season: The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men, and Mike & Molly.

I'm often asked how I choose the books that I'm going to talk about on Morning Edition's "Under the Radar" segments. Simple: I just pick some of the titles that I've most enjoyed since the last time I was on, without concern for whether they're fiction or nonfiction, genre or not, or aimed or classified as being for children or teens.

In recent years, the start of the holiday shopping season has meant nothing but gloom for independent bookstores. But this year, the mood seems to be lifting, and a lot of booksellers are feeling optimistic. Even President Obama kicked off his Christmas shopping at a neighborhood bookstore in Northern Virginia.

Jon Meacham's Thomas Jefferson paints a rich portrait of the third president. It debuts at No. 1.

This year, Hilary Mantel made history when she won a Man Booker Prize for her novel Bring Up the Bodies. She had previously been awarded the prize — England's highest literary honor — for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and is now the first woman to receive the award twice.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, we'll meet the star of the new film "Life of Pi," based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel. The film is getting rave reviews for its amazing special effects, as well as the performance of the young man we are going to meet in a few minutes for whom this was his first professional acting job. That's coming up.

Hortense Calisher, a virtuoso of the form, once called the short story "an apocalypse in a teacup." It's a definition that suits the remarkable stories published this year by three literary superstars, and two dazzling newcomers with voices so distinctive we're likely to be hearing from them again. These stories are intense, evocative delights to be devoured singly when you have only a sliver of time, or savored in batches, at leisure, on a winter weekend.

When Philip Hensher realized he didn't know what his best friend's handwriting looked like, he decided to write a book. Host Rachel Martin speaks with Hensher about that book, The Missing Ink: The Lost Art of Handwriting.

Chefs these days stock all sorts of high-tech tools, from liquid nitrogen to $500 blenders. But in kitchens throughout the world, there's one piece of technology that's been the same since the Stone Age: the mortar and pestle.

On-air challenge: Every answer consists of a made-up two-word phrase in which the first word starts with CH, and the second word is pronounced the same as the first except with an SH sound. (The spelling may or may not change.) For example, given the clue "some Central African fish," the answer would be "Chad shad."

Princess Marty says the most important thing a princess has to do is smile and be in character — always.

"You can never ruin it for a child, even if you're coming home from work ... and you're in your big dress," she says. "If a child sees you, you have to be a princess for them. You can't say, 'Sorry kid, I'm off the clock.' "

Her highness — known outside the big dress as Mary Alice LeGrow — is a professional party princess. She uses her best princess voice and dresses up in full regalia to charm children.

Michael Tomor, Director of the El Paso Museum of Art and David Grabarkewitz, Artistic Director of El Paso Opera talk about the joint presentation of The Birth of Opera in Celebration of The Golden Age Exhibit.

El Paso Museum of Art and El Paso Opera Partner to Present The Birth of Opera, in Celebration of The Golden Age Exhibit – Rembrandt, Rubens, and Golden Age Painting in Europe 1600-1800 from the Speed Art Museum, through January 6, 2013…more than 70 paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries by Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English artists.

Saturday, Dec 1, 8 pm & Sunday, Dec 2, 2 pm

Call (915) 532-1707 or visit www.Elpasoartmuseum.org

Marilyn Guida, Education Curator of the El Paso Museum of Archaeology, along with guest curator, Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva, Chair of UTEP’s History Department, talk about the current Walking with the Ancestors: From Mesoamerica to the Southwest exhibition.

El Paso Museum of Archaeology 4301 Transmountain Road
Walking with the Ancestors: From Mesoamerica to the Southwest –extended to March 24.

(915) 755-4332 or visit www.elpasotexas.gov

Three members of the Alazan Artists - Margaret Heath, Ileene Steele and Lois Rayome – preview the group’s 4th annual Desert Lights Sale.

Alazan Artists 4th annual "Desert Lights Sale" at 150 Sunset - nursery and special events center.
Sunday, December 2, 3 – 7pm