Not many parents would publicly admit that they thought about throwing their sleep-deprivation-inducing newborn off a balcony. But writer Michael Lewis decided that it was important to tell the ugly truth about the development of parental love. In his book "Home Game," he talks about learning to be a father to his three children. Lewis talks to The Takeaway about the joys and travails of being a dad.
Read an excerpt from his book, Home Game.

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the British writer who created the detective Sherlock Holmes. Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson are two of the best known characters in fiction, and they are still alive and well—a new film called “Sherlock Homes” starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as (a very attractive) Dr. Watson is coming out at the end of the year. Charles Rzepka, a Professor of English at Boston University who studies detective fiction and is co-editing the Blackwell Companion to Crime Fiction, joins The Takeaway with a look at Conan Doyle's best known character.

For a sneak peek at the new adventures of an old friend, here's the trailer for the film Sherlock Holmes:

On the campaign trail, President Barack Obama said that no one should graduate from university without having read poetry. He also promised that he would open up the White House to a wide range of people. Last night he made progress on both promises when the White House hosted a poetry slam (or more accurately, a poetry jam because it wasn’t a competition, but instead an open mic night that included slam poets, musicians and spoken-word artists. James Earl Jones read a piece and among the performers were two young spoken word poets from Youth Speaks, a non-profit organization in San Francisco for teens. One of the young poets, Joshua Brandon Bennett, joins The Takeaway to perform some of his poetry and talk about the experience. Also joining the conversation is Jeff Chang, journalist and author of Can't Stop, Won't Stop, the award-winning history of hip-hop.

To get a taste of what went on at the poetry jam, watch this clip of Joshua Bennett freestyling.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt decided that even unemployed writers needed to be put to work. So as part of the New Deal he created the Federal Writers Project and dispatched scribes to all corners of the nation to document, among other topics, food. "What America Eats" became a national compendium of what people were cooking and eating, region by region. Being a "locavore" is a fashionable lifestyle choice now. But in 1940 you ate locally because you had to—the lack of highways and freezers kept diners to a regional and seasonal menu long before it became chic. Notable writers including Eudora Welty who covered Mississippi meals and Zora Neale Hurston who tackled her favorite Floridian foods all weighed in on regional cuisine for the project. In his new book, "Food of a Younger Land," author Mark Kurlansky revives the unfinished America Eats project. He joins The Takeaway for a look back at the diet of a nation.

Click through for an Indiana Persimmon Pudding Recipe

Military marriages are suffering as Americans in uniform continue to fight two ongoing wars. In 2007 more than 13,000 marriages failed among active duty soldiers and marines. In her latest memoir, I Love a Man in Uniform, author Lily Burana gives these statistics a human voice. Although her marriage has survived the military stress test, she and her husband were in no way immune to the trials and tribulations that came with living on a military base, living through a deployment, and the awkward emotional fumbling that accompanied her husband’s return from combat in Iraq. Burana’s acclimation to the military world was exacerbated by her and her husband’s cultural differences. Burana, a former stripper and punk with a penchant for writing alternative prose fell for a straight-laced military man. She joins us for a look into the military world and what it means to be a modern-day military wife.

Novelist J.G. Ballard, famed for novels such as Crash and Empire of the Sun died over the weekend. His style was so distinctive that there's now an adjective, "ballardian" that describes his dystopian, bleak style. Patrik Henry Bass, a Takeaway contributor and literary editor at Essence Magazine, takes a look at Ballard and other writers who deserve their own adjectives.

Historian and author Philipp Blom’s latest endeavor makes the case that the period between 1900 to 1914 in Europe was, as the title of his new book calls it, The Vertigo Years. Those tumultuous times at the start of the last century were an era that was marked by revolution and war, but was also a time where cultural and technological changes happened at an accelerated pace. Blom joins The Takeaway from Vienna, Austria for a look at how the dizzying turn of the 20th century compares to these vertiginous times.

When there's a mini-mall on every corner, food stocked in every grocery store, and every creature comfort just a short jaunt away, it's hard to believe that our world could ever crumble. But our next guest Neil Strauss looks at 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the economic downturn and sees a world on the edge. He wrote a book called Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life and he joins us with tips on how to survive any global meltdown.

Much respect to the Moon Units and Apples of the world, but this article is not for you. Regards, Tallulah Does the Hula from Hawaii, who last year was made a ward of the court by a New Zealand judge so she could legally change her name — but you didn't make the list.

Continue reading...

Britain celebrated World Book Day last week, and put out a poll to go along with the celebration. People were asked if they had ever claimed to read a book when they hadn't and 65 percent of respondents said that yes they had. Patrik Henry Bass a former book editor and current senior editor of ESSENCE magazine, joins us to talk about why people lie about what they are reading.

If you've faked reading some of the books mentioned in this segment and want to redeem yourself, cross them off the list below.

• Beloved, By Toni Morrison
• Kiss the Sky, By Farai Chideya
• Ulysses, By James Joyce
• Moving Violations, By John Hockenberry
• War and Peace, By Leo Tolstoy

POST-SHOW UPDATE: Hey there. This is Stephanie — I was collecting your responses today on which books you’ve said you read, but actually haven’t. Your responses overwhelmed us! Here’s the list of tomes you’ve fibbed about — along with the reasons why.

All of Dickens.
But I did listen to it on tape. Does that count?

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, by Barbara Tuchman.
Ironically, I have wanted to read this for years. I have started perhaps 10 times, but then…

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence.
It's because I could never get through enough of it to find a good part, so to speak.

Dante’s Inferno
I hope I don't burn in hell for that one.

War and Peace by Leo Tolsoy.
I did it to better my chances with a woman I really liked, but it was a really stupid move, because it invited follow-up questions.

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.
If as many people read this book as bought it, we’d be a nation of cosmologists by now.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
I tried to read it because I was dating a sea captain and he loved it, but after just two chapters, I thought why?

The Star Wars series.
I actually have read them — many more than most people know.

For 35 years judges in New York State have had to follow strict sentencing laws for drug offenders. Critics say the Rockefeller Drug Laws, named for the former governor, mete out long prison sentences to small time offenders, and that drug treatment would often be more effective. Now, state lawmakers are poised to reform the laws. Journalist Jennifer Gonnerman wrote about the experience of one woman sentenced under the Rockefeller Drug Laws in her book Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett. She joins Farai and John with a look at the laws and the proposed reforms.

The acclaimed graphic novel "Watchmen" is now a movie (opening Friday), and we love it, but we're having trouble convincing all of our listeners how great it really is. Can you help us convince everyone — in one minute of audio or video?

Call us at 1-877-8-MY-TAKE and we'll play back the most convincing phone messages. Or, link to your YouTube video in the comments section below...

Literature can be a source of comfort in difficult times. Poet Elizabeth Alexander, who read her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at the inauguration of President Barack Obama, joins John and Jerome to discuss how she uses poetry and literature to soothe her spirit during trying times.

Here is Elizabeth Alexander reading her poem at Barack Obama's Inauguration:

As the Obama administration continues to carefully move toward new diplomatic relations with Iran, a book has just been released that gives new insight into life in Iran during the era of President Ahmadinejad. The Takeaway talks with author Azadeh Moaveni about her new book Honeymoon in Iran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran.

Two hundred years ago, on February 12, 1809, a pair of cosmic twins entered the universe. Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. Across the Atlantic, Charles Darwin was born on an English estate. When they left this earth they made an everlasting mark on the principles of democracy and human evolution. Writer Adam Gopnik gives meaning and significance to this enduring convergence in his new book Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life. He joins us now for a celebration of the 200th birthday of two amazing men.

For more on these two men, read the New York Times science article, Crunching the Data for the Tree of Life, browse Darwin's complete works online, buy the two books that will share this year's Lincoln prize for scholarship on the 16th president, and peruse William Safire's review of Lincoln literature.

After 9/11, the word Muslim became synonymous with terrorist and un-American and Muslims in America faced a wall of prejudice. Eight years on, what does it mean to be an American-Muslim? Our guest, Dilara Hafiz spent three years writing The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook with her two teenage kids, Yasmine and Imran, trying to answer this question. Told by American publishers that the book would not sell well, and by Muslim publishers that they were too progressive, the book was released independently. It received rave reviews including a write-up in the New York Times and great sales numbers on Amazon. Simon and Schuster released the book nationwide yesterday.

Here is a video of Imran and Yasmine Hafiz introducing their book:



Other Muslim teens living in the United States have turned to the internet to reach out to the world. For example, a Youtube show called Being a Muslim Teen in America. Episode one is below:

Author John Updike passed away yesterday. There was no greater advocate of books than this author who created so many of them and read so many of them. For someone who thought of writing and literature as so fundamental, he was known for writing about the most ordinary of things in eloquent words. In commemoration of Updike's passing at age 76, we take a listen back at the man, his life, and his passion for books.

On Charlie Rose, John Updike discussed his greatest lament that writing was diminished and reading was declining. Watch the interview here:

At this moment in time, we’re going to interface with someone who will hopefully tell us why words adversely impact so many people. Are we annoying you yet? Jeremy Butterfield might know why. He’s the author of a new book called "A Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare," which features the most annoying words and phrases in the English language