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As winter nears, we look for ways to be warm and comfortable. One of the best ways to do that, says food writer Nigella Lawson, is to indulge in rich, tasty foods that some might call guilty pleasures. For instance: Why not make French toast that tastes like a doughnut?

In the early 1960s, writer Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer created The Phantom Tollbooth, which quickly became a kid-lit classic. Now, 50 years later, the two have finally collaborated once more — this time, on a picture book called The Odious Ogre. They speak to NPR's Liane Hansen about their partnership and their new project.

Music infuses veteran novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's first collection of short stories and award-winning author Connie Willis views London's Blitz during WWII from the distant future while Alain de Botton watches the world pass by at Heathrow Airport — and more.

Whimsical and richly illustrated, Maira Kalman's graphic diary is an optimistic yearlong exploration of American history and government. And the Pursuit of Happiness is an unorthodox tribute to the United States — from musings on the Department of Homeland Security to Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Ben Franklin.

Garden writer Bonnie Blodgett didn't know what her sense of smell meant to her — until she lost it. Her new book, Remembering Smell, describes what it's like to live in the world without being able to smell it — from the sweet aromas of springtime to the stench of sour milk.

English rose from humble beginnings to become a language that's spoken by people from every corner of the Earth. In Globish, Robert McCrum tells the story of how a mongrel language slowly took the world by storm.

Alan Furst's latest World War II thriller is packed with convincing details and heart-pounding plot. Furst draws readers into the world of a Macedonian police detective seized by a conviction to undermine the coming Nazi rule by helping one Jewish fugitive at a time.

In Our Kind of Traitor, former British intelligence officer John le Carre uses his unmatched knowledge of crime and psychology to spin a smooth and satisfying spy thriller about multinational money laundering and greed.

On her first studio album since 2008, the 74-year-old firebrand's voice remains relevant, full of spit and vinegar and fun.

What happens when a veteran L.A. soul and jazz instrumentalist discovers the music of Ethiopia? The answer: a world of influence and possibility.