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James Franco doesn't just spend his time acting in the movies. The star of Milk, Howl and 127 Hours is also an accomplished writer and graduate student. He explains how he juggles his many roles — and why he continues to take on new challenges.

Federal, state and local governments, along with many private companies, are struggling to get their finances in order, and many are looking at one major cost: pensions. Many pensions in the U.S. aren't sustainable, economist Dambisa Moyo says, and they've made American corporations uncompetitive.

Ten years ago Friday, 43 drivers lined up to race NASCAR's Daytona 500. One of them was Dale Earnhardt, who died in a crash in the last lap. Fellow racer Michael Waltrip, who won that race, details the day's events in a new book: In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything.

It can be a frightening feeling, being out of place. Entering someone else's world and having to learn the ropes is a daunting task. Granta editor Ellah Allfrey recommends three books about encountering other cultures, from the extraterrestrial to the multicultural.

In 2010, U.S.-born workers lost more than 1 million jobs while foreign-born workers gained more than a half-million nationwide. Experts in Phoenix say foreign-born people are more likely to get employed faster because they are more willing to take any job, at any pay. Researchers say the trend could change the national workforce long-term.

Palestinian leaders are acutely aware the earthquake that's rumbling across the Middle East could soon arrive on their soil. The Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is trying to ease the pressure by promising general elections later this year. The prime minister has dismissed the Cabinet and will appoint a new one. Will this be enough?

How can we understand the experiences of those who have lived through war? What do they have to teach us? Author Hilary Thayer Hamann's favorite book attempts to answer these questions, and reinforces just how beautifully implausible life during conflict can be. It's The War by Marguerite Duras.

Allison Pearson follows up I Don't Know How She Does It with I Think I Love You, a screwball comic novel about the lengths a girl will go to for her teen idol.

Scientists are predicting that average sea levels could rise as much as 3 feet by the end of the century. However, the country's deep religious beliefs have residents of the tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean torn between God and science.

In The Lover's Dictionary, young adult author David Levithan tackles the grownup material of love and squalor, piece by piece, in a dictionary format. Over the course of the novel, the small details about two lovers combine to create a heartbreaking (and often uplifting) whole.