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At the beginning of January, the cover story of The New York Times Magazine declared: "George Saunders Has Written The Best Book You'll Read This Year." The stories in the author's latest collection, The Tenth of December, prove that The Times may well be right.

Dav Pilkey has just released his 10th Captain Underpants book. The series, packed with potty humor and goofy illustrations, delights reluctant readers and horrifies many grown-ups. Pilkey says he wanted to create books that would appeal even to readers who struggle, the way he did as a child.

Terry Francona led the Boston Red Sox to victory in the 2004 and 2007 World Series, but was let go after the team's late-season tailspin in 2011. Francona talks about the book he co-wrote with Dan Shaughnessy, Francona: The Red Sox Years.

For her new book, Gran Cocina Latina, chef Maricel Presilla visited homes and restaurants across Latin America to document their food. But one dish familiar to Americans, the sauce often served with Cuban-style yuca fries, has a surprising origin — Presilla herself.

Dorothy Wrinch was the first woman to ever receive a doctorate in science from Oxford University, and she was the first person to design a protein structure. But her name is largely unknown. I Died for Beauty, a biography of Wrinch by Marjorie Senechal, tells her story.

As religious as this country may be, many Americans are not religious at all. The group of religiously unaffiliated – dubbed "nones"-- has been growing. One-fifth of Americans say they're nones, as are one in three under 30. They're socially liberal and aren't looking for an organized religion.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal was the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, relieved of command after a controversy in 2010. In his memoir, My Share of the Task, he describes a culture gap between the military and civilian worlds that complicated the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

"Lives don't divide up into chapters," says novelist Will Self, whose latest, Umbrella, is a challenging read that layers narratives, places and characters for an intensely nonlinear experience. The book centers on a psychiatrist and one of his patients, a woman who's been comatose for 50 years.

Scientist and writer Bill Streever is fascinated by the extremes at both ends of the thermometer. In Cold, he visited some of the chilliest places on Earth. Now, in his latest book, Heat, he travels to the world's very hot spots.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is open about how she benefited from affirmative action, how she came to terms with her diabetes and the "out-of-body experience" of being appointed to the high court. Sotomayor spoke with NPR just before the release of her new autobiography.