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Nancy Pearl is a regular commentator about books on NPR's Morning Edition and NPR affiliate stations KUOW in Seattle and KWGS in Tulsa.

The New York Times calls her “the talk of librarian circles.” Readers can’t get enough of her recommendations while bookstores and libraries offer standing room only whenever she visits. Since the release of the best-selling Book Lust in 2003 and the Librarian Action Figure modeled in her likeness, Nancy Pearl has become a rock star among readers and the tastemaker people turn to when deciding what to read next.

Having worked as a librarian and bookseller in Detroit, Tulsa, and Seattle, Pearl's knowledge of and love for books is unmatched. In 1998, she developed the program "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book," which spread across the country. The former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book, Pearl celebrates the written word by speaking at bookstores and libraries across the country and on her monthly television program Book Lust with Nancy Pearl on the Seattle Channel.

In 2004, Pearl became the 50th winner of the Women’s National Book Association Award for her extraordinary contribution to the world of books. In the moments when Pearl finds herself without a book, she is an avid bicyclist and happy grandmother of two. She lives in Seattle with her husband Joe.

Middle East

3:01 am

Mon May 21, 2012

Change Comes To Saudi Arabia, In Slow Motion

Credit Chuck Holmes / NPR

In the Saudi capital Riyadh, two women stroll into a cosmetics shop in a luxury mall. The desire for greater personal freedoms has prompted Saudi rulers to relax some restrictions.

By Chuck Holmes

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 9:13 am

The shock waves of the Arab Spring continue to reshape countries like Egypt and Syria. But the kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains largely unaffected. King Abdullah and the Saudi ruling family are in firm control of the country's massive oil wealth and Islam's two holiest sites — Mecca and Medina.

2:59 am

Mon May 21, 2012

Mineral-Rich Mongolia Rapidly Becoming 'Minegolia'

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Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The mine at Oyu Tolgoi, Turquoise Hill in Mongolian, will be one of the world's largest copper mines in about five years. An employee holds up a small sample of the oxidized copper that gave the mine its name.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The country's mineral riches — copper, gold and coal — are bringing new wealth to Mongolia. The illuminated storefront at the bottom left is a Louis Vuitton shop in downtown Ulan Bator.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Passengers wait for trains at Ulan Bator's central station. Mongolians are flocking to the mines in search of better-paying jobs.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The mining industry is also fueling new construction. Laborers work on a construction site on the outskirts of Ulan Bator.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Oyu Tolgoi, a massive mine in Mongolia's South Gobi province, begins producing copper ore in June, 2012. Within five years, it's expected to become the world's third largest copper mine. An employee at Oyu Tolgoi — which means "Turquoise Hill" — holds up a chunk of oxidized copper.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Even while it was under construction, Oyu Tolgoi accounted for about 30 percent of Mongolia's GDP, according to mine officials. But many Mongolians are wary of how the mining explosion has begun to affect their country, where two out of every five people are herdsmen.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

In South Gobi province, a local politician (right) and a herder sit inside a traditional yurt, or ger, and discuss the lack of water in the area. Herdsmen worry that mines — which require massive amounts of water to process ore — will deplete already diminishing supplies.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Most Mongolians live in gers, traditional housing that can be taken down and reassembled in under an hour. Many have solar panels and satellite dishes.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The cowboys in Mongolia — where horses were first domesticated — are considered some of the best horsemen in the world. Mongolian horses are shorter and furrier than Western versions. It's another part of traditional Mongolian life that is fading away.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

For centuries, Mongolians have relied on herding for their livelihood, depending on animals such as these cashmere goats and sheep for food, fuel and income.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Mutton is a staple of the Mongolian diet. A woman buys meat from a butcher in Ulan Bator's central market.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The herdsmen's livestock also supply Mongolia's cashmere manufacturers, traditionally one of the country's main industries. At the Gobi cashmere factory in Ulan Bator, workers sort through newly arrived piles of goat fur, sorting by color and texture.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A seamstress performs delicate work on a piece of cashmere cloth at the Gobi factory. The cashmere industry is also feeling the effects of mining — as inflation has driven up the cost of raw materials, and water shortages and shrinking pastureland threaten herds.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The circular machines on the factory floor are used to make ribbed cloth and sweaters.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

So-called ger villages — actually a mix of yurts and more permanent shelters — spread out onto the hills surrounding Ulan Bator. Some plots are legally purchased; others are occupied by squatters. Most residents have left lives as herders to look for jobs in Mongolia's capital. One-third of Mongolia's population lives in Ulan Bator.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A ger district resident walks the dusty streets on the outskirts of Ulan Bator. As Mongolia's mining industry continues to grow, the future of the country's traditional ways is unclear.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

The Central Asian nation of Mongolia is undergoing vast change, thanks to a booming mining industry. A guard in Ulan Bator, the capital, surveys central Sukhbaatar Square; behind him stands a giant statue of Genghis Khan, the country's founder.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Horses were first domesticated in the area that is Mongolia today. The original cowboys, Mongolians ride on wooden saddles and are some of the best horsemen in the world. They're a part of Mongolia's traditional culture, which is under pressure from the mining boom.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Clothing designer Ariunaa Suri works in her office at the Gobi cashmere company in Ulan Bator. Before mining, cashmere was Mongolia's main export.

By Frank Langfitt

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:47 am

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Mongolia, the land of Genghis Khan and nomadic herders, is in the midst of a remarkable transition. Rich in coal, gold and copper, this country of fewer than 3 million people in Central Asia is riding a mineral boom that is expected to more than double its GDP within a decade. The rapid changes simultaneously excite and unnerve many Mongolians, who hope mining can help pull many out of poverty, but worry it will ravage the environment and further erode the nation's distinctive, nomadic identity.

First of four parts

2:55 am

Mon May 21, 2012

Nancy Pearl Unearths Great Summer Reads

Credit Harriet Russell

By Nancy Pearl

Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 9:43 am

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Unlike a lot of people I know, my summer reading doesn't differ significantly from the reading I do the rest of the year. I'm always looking for new authors, older titles I might have missed, books I want to reread, and a nice mixture of fiction and nonfiction. While I understand the concept of beach reading, for me it doesn't mean light reading, but rather choosing books whose ultimate destruction by sand and water won't concern me overly much because I know that I can easily replace them.

2:35 am

Mon May 21, 2012

Secret Donors Still Find Ways To Remain Anonymous

By Peter Overby

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 11:00 am

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The latest deadline for the presidential candidates and the major superPACs to disclose their finances was Sunday night. The public and the media can find out who has been giving to the candidates, and how that money was spent. But there's a lot of political spending that isn't being reported.

Outside money groups are spending millions of dollars, and the donors remain anonymous. Two recent court rulings could force those groups to file public disclosures, but there already seems to be a way around that.

Credit Doby / NPR

Joe Neel is NPR's deputy senior supervising editor and a correspondent on the Science Desk.

As a leader of NPR's award-winning health and science coverage, Neel focuses on stories about medical research and health-care delivery. Neel assigns stories to reporters and correspondents, helps them produce the stories and edits the pieces for broadcast or publication on NPR.org. He is a frequent guest or contributor to NPR's programs, blogs, and podcasts.

Currently, Neel oversees the Monday "Your Health" segment on Morning Edition. He supervises the NPR-Kaiser Health News-Member Station Reporting Project on Health Care in the States, which aims to strengthen and deepen local coverage of health care issues. Neel directs coverage of breaking news in health and science including the swine flu pandemic, medical relief efforts after the Haitian earthquake and cholera outbreaks, and health concerns after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Neel led the network's coverage of the debate over the 2010 health care overhaul in Congress and he continues to direct coverage of the law's implementation and efforts to overturn it. He edited series including "Are You Covered? A Look at Americans and Health Insurance." In recent years, Neel launched NPR's "Your Health" podcast and helped launch and grow "Shots," NPR's health blog.

During his tenure as editor, NPR's health reporters and correspondents have won numerous awards, including the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society for Professional Journalists, the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Journalism Prize, and the Association of Health Care Journalism award. Neel won the prestigious Kaiser Family Foundation Media Fellowship in 2007.

In 1994, Neel started filing stories about medicine and health as a freelancer for NPR and joined staff two years later.

Neel earned bachelor degrees from Washington University in St. Louis in both biology and German literature and language. He studied biology at the Universitaet Tuebingen in Germany.

Shots - Health Blog

12:33 am

Mon May 21, 2012

Poll: What It's Like To Be Sick In America

By Richard Knox

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 8:21 pm

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In the lull between the Supreme Court arguments over the federal health overhaul law and the decision expected in June, we thought we'd ask Americans who actually use the health system quite a bit how they view the quality of care and its cost.

Most surveys don't break it down this way.

When the results came back, we found that people who have a serious medical condition or who've been in the hospital in the past year tended to have more concerns about costs and quality than people who aren't sick. No big surprise there.

12:03 am

Mon May 21, 2012

A Dire Sign Of The Obesity Epidemic: Teen Diabetes Soaring, Study Finds

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Credit M. Spencer Green / AP

Paris Wood, 14, has her measurements taken as part of a Chicago anti-obesity program.

Credit Leslie Capo / LSU Health Sciences Center

Karlton Hill, 15, was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 12. He works hard to manage the disease: He jogs and does pushups every day; he takes metformin is very careful about what he eats.

By editor

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 8:30 am

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Karlton Hill was only 12 years old when when he found out he had diabetes. Even though he was only in seventh grade, Karlton knew what diabetes was; he had watched the disease destroy his great-grandmother's life.

"I was really upset. I cried," he says. "I didn't want any of this to happen to me. I was like, 'Why is this happening to me?' "

Public health experts have been worrying for years that the obesity epidemic would lead to an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes among kids.

10:47 pm

Sun May 20, 2012

Bee Gee Robin Gibb Dies Of Cancer At 62

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Credit Tracy Brand / AP

Robin Gibb performs at the Dubai International Jazz Festival in 2008.

Credit Ed Perlstein / Redferns

Robin Gibb (center) performs with brother Bee Gees Maurice (left) and Barry in 1979. Gibb died Sunday at the age of 62.

By Elizabeth Blair

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 8:35 am

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Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees has died.

Gibb died Sunday after a long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery, according to a statement on his official website.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time," the statement said.

Robin and his brothers Barry and Maurice Gibb racked up dozens of hit songs in their five decade career. Robin Gibb, who had cancer, was 62.

5:17 pm

Sun May 20, 2012

In This Russian Trial, The Defendant Is A Dead Man

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Credit Mikhail Voskresensky / Reuters/Landov

Friends and relatives take part in the funeral ceremony of Sergei Magnitsky at a cemetery in Moscow in 2009. The tax lawyer was arrested after he began investigating fraud at Hermitage Capital, which had been seized by the Russian tax police. He later died in prison.

Credit Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

Magnitsky's mother, Nataliya Magnitskaya, holds a photo of her son in Moscow, in 2009.

By Mike Shuster

Originally published on Sun May 20, 2012 7:45 pm

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The Russian government is about to put a dead man on trial.

Sergei Magnitsky was a tax lawyer for the investment fund Hermitage Capital, at one time the largest foreign investment firm in Russia.

In 2007, Hermitage Capital was seized by the Russian tax police, and through a number of shady maneuvers, they extracted more than $230 million in illegal tax refunds for themselves.

Magnitsky decided to investigate, angering those who had stolen the company. They had him arrested, and he died in prison in 2009.

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