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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.

Andy Ricker spent years eating in roadside restaurants, noodle stands and home kitchens across Thailand before opening his first restaurant, Pok Pok, in Portland, Ore. But he avoids using words like "traditional" and "authentic" when talking about this food. He'd rather call it "accurate."

At first glance, poet Tess Taylor was skeptical of Brenda Hillman's 17-year, four-book series of poems on the elements. But Taylor fell for the strange and spiraling verses in Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, which was longlisted for the National Book Award. "I commend you to this lively, defiant, blazing book," she says.

The Orange Is The New Black author says that cooking behind bars allowed her to bond with fellow inmates, and points out where her experiences, and those depicted in the hit Netflix series, differ.

Anita Elberse's new book, Blockbusters, examines the strategy behind making and marketing megahits. She tells NPR's Renee Montagne that content companies — publishers, movie studios and the like — can create blockbusters by dedicating most of their budgets to a select few likely winners.

Charles Krauthammer once was a psychiatrist and a self-described "Great Society liberal." Now he's a Pulitzer Prize-winning, nationally syndicated conservative columnist. His new book, Things That Matter, presents a selection of his writings from three decades spent observing politics and culture.

Many independent health insurance brokers were supposed to be able to sell subsidized health care plans starting Oct. 1. But complications with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act have derailed the plan, and the federal government hasn't said when the problems will be fixed.

The women of Jezebel.com have released a new illustrated encyclopedia of "lady things" from Clueless to Clytemnestra. Reviewer Annalisa Quinn says that although The Book of Jezebel is positioned as lighthearted and unambitious, it has a serious aim — which it does not quite achieve.

Janet Hamlin was the only courtroom sketch artist allowed at the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals in 2006. Her work has been collected in a new book, Sketching Guantanamo — and she tells NPR's Renee Montagne that getting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nose right ended up being a challenge.

The author of The Secret History returns with a novel about art, love and loss that's drawn comparisons to Oliver Twist and the Harry Potter series. Reviewer Meg Wolitzer says The Goldfinch marks a departure from Tartt's previous work, but it's a rich, absorbing read — all 771 pages of it.