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President Barack Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress for the first time last night before a national audience. He outlined an ambitious plan to repair the national economy, and reemphasized his commitment to health care, and education as top priorities. But some Republicans are skeptical of Obama's agenda.

From the commercially and critically successful Marie NDiaye, Three Strong Women moves from Senegal to France and back. The rich prose, translated by John Fletcher, links the lives of the three titular women — Norah, Fanta and Khady — as they navigate their struggles.

Anthony Heilbut's essay collection, The Fan Who Knew Too Much, features reflections on the Queen of Soul, soap operas and Jewish immigrants. The highlight of this sometimes harsh collection, says Michael Schaub, is a history of LGBT contributions to gospel.

Who says books are doomed? Photos celebrate not only books but also the shelves we put them on.

Saturday would have been Janis Joplin's 70th birthday. Joplin was dubbed the first queen of rock 'n' roll, and her voice is singular. She was rough around the edges, vulnerable and charismatic, and she paved the way for countless women in rock. This piece originally aired on Morning Edition on June 7, 2010.

Stubbs gave voice to emotion — to love, to hurt, to desire, to loneliness. Songs like "I Can't Help Myself," "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "Baby I Need Your Lovin' " made him one of Motown's most recognizable voices. He died Friday in Detroit.

Not 24 hours after the FBI released images of two suspects in Monday's blasts, one of the suspects is dead and the other is still at large.

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the drummer for The Roots, has been a musician since he was a teen. In Mo' Meta Blues, he explains how his musician father groomed him for a life in show business.

There are countless biographies of Ernest Hemingway, but none of his beloved fishing boat, Pilar. A new book by Paul Hendrickson looks at the great writer's relationship with the boat.

On Tuesday night, finalists for the National Book Awards read from their nominated works at The New School in New York City. The National Book Foundation will announce the winners Wednesday night.

Science fiction's job is to give us a map of where we're headed. From Jules Verne to William Gibson, sci-fi authors describe their visions of the future, and how people might live in it. We ask Intel's futurist for his list of favorite sci-fi books.

The debate in Washington, says the former president, is "all about 'is the government good or bad or taxes always good or bad?' "