Rare and Commonplace Flowers, a Brazilian bestseller, tells the story of two women. Elizabeth Bishop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, sought artistic inspiration in Brazil. There she met and fell in love with Lota de Macedo Soares, a self-trained Brazilian architect. This dual biography, brilliantly researched, and written in a lively, novelistic style, follows their relationship from 1951 to 1967, the time when the two lived together in Brazil. The fact that these two women had an intimate relationship caused an uproar when it first came to public notice.

The...

Music In and On the Air is a wonderful collection of radio pieces from Pulitzer Prize winning critic Lloyd Schwartz. The book explores contemporary classics, musical theatre and film, and includes almost all the reviews Schwartz has presented since becoming the classical music critic for NPR's Fresh Air. Offering up reflections on performers and composers, from Bolet to Horowitz, Cole Porter to Elvis Costello, Casals to Toscanini-Schwartz brings us closer to music in the air. Host Terry Gross said it best: "Lloyd is my favorite classical music critic and I've been privileged to present him on...