MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• A Double Dose Of Cosmic Horror In 'A Lush And Seething Hell'
  John Hornor Jacobs' new book combines two novellas that stake his claim to the territory of cosmic horror. Both gorgeously written and unsettlingly conceived, they dig at how fragile our humanity is.
• 'Orpheus Girl,' Painful and Beautiful, Puts A Modern Twist On Myth
  Author and poet Brynne Rebele-Henry transplants the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice to modern-day Texas, for a wrenching tale of two young women whose love lands them in a religious re-education camp.
• In 'Me,' Elton John Pulls Back The Curtain On A Storied Life
  In a wide-ranging interview with NPR about his memoir, the rock star shares that at 72 years old, he's finally ready to look back. He offers thoughts on his royal friends, drug use and cell phones.
• Not My Job: We Quiz 'Watchmen' Star Regina King On Luxury Watches
  Oscar winner Regina King — who has appeared in Jerry Maguire, If Beale Street Could Talk and The Boondocks — is now starring in the HBO superhero series Watchmen.
• A Puppeteer Gets Swept Up In Political Theater In 'Kingdom For A Stage'
  In her new book, Heidi Heilig continues the tale of family, rebellion and necromancy begun in For a Muse of Fire. Heilig tackles difficult issues deftly, and sets up readers for a rousing conclusion.
• 'Jexi' Is Siri-Ously Bad
  Adam DeVine plays a lonely nerd whose phone takes over his life in this lazy, generic satire.
• 'We've Got More To Say About You': Olive Kitteridge Is Back, And Complex As Ever
  Elizabeth Strout won a Pulitzer Prize for her 2008 novel that spun together 13 connected stories of love, loss and loneliness. She returns to the small town of Crosby, Maine in Olive, Again.
• Edna O'Brien On 6 Decades Of Writing 'Very Difficult Stories' About Women
  In Girl, a young woman in Nigeria is abducted by Boko Haram — and that's just the beginning. For nearly 60 years, its Irish author has written about women "both as victims and as fighters, combined."
• 'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Reflects On Meth And Morals
  Gilligan's AMC show centered on a chemistry teacher who created a meth empire. In 2011, Gilligan told Fresh Air that he pitched the series by saying, "You take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface."
• 6 Years Later, 'El Camino' Proves Just As Exciting And Original As 'Breaking Bad'
  The Netflix film picks up right where Breaking Bad left off, with Jesse (Aaron Paul) speeding off after escaping from his captors. From there, El Camino is a wild and spellbinding ride.