Science has a way of getting inside our heads — especially when it comes to the powers of the mind. Author and neurologist Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa recommends three brilliant brain-teasing books.

NPR's go-to librarian would like you to meet some friends of hers — from six novels and one work of history. As you read, these artfully developed characters will become more and more real. Pearl says that when the stories ended, she was left longing for the people she'd met between the pages.

Here's a little Christmas secret: Dusting desserts with powdered sugar makes them look more expensive. Chef Nigella Lawson talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about her tricks for economical holiday hosting.

A new cookbook pays tribute to a master chef, the late Martin Ginsburg, husband of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Frozen lime souffle, anyone?

Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion is a mythic figure. In Ben-Gurion: A Political Life, Israeli President Shimon Peres talks about his mentor.

Teresa Urrea was a real Mexican saint who was exiled to the U.S. 'Queen of America' tells the fictional story of her rise to pop star status and her desperate attempt to stop the machine of stardom.

The Artist of Disappearance contains three novellas set in modern India. Anita Desai's somber stories read like three symphonic movements in a minor key. Desai talks with NPR's Scott Simon about her writing, and about working with her daughter, novelist Kiran Desai.