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Behavioral economist Dan Ariely has found that very few people lie a lot, but a lot of people lie a little. He talks about his findings in his new book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie To Everyone — Especially Ourselves.

In his new book, Jeremy Waldron writes that the U.S. is the only liberal democracy in the world that doesn't restrict hate speech — and that needs to change. He says, "I don't believe it's the role of law to protect people from being offended," but protecting human dignity is another matter.

NPR editor Krishnadev Calamur didn't expect to like Hindoo Holiday. It looked like a tedious colonial book about India, full of dust and poverty and elephants. But the book's charm and silly characters made it a favorite guilty pleasure.

Margi Preus' Heart of a Samurai tells the story of Manjiro, a fisherman's son who dreams of becoming a samurai. When his boat is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, he embarks on a series of adventures that turn his dreams into reality.

Sam Kean's The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code delves into the history of genetics, in the anecdotal and engaging mode of his previous exploration of the periodic table, The Disappearing Spoon.

New York Times' reporter Rachel Swarns traces the first lady's family tree in her new book, American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama.

In Karen Thompson Walker's first book, climate change makes the Earth's rotation grow more and more sluggish, but this melancholy page-turner is more than just a disaster plot.

Gear up for this summer's Games with Chris Cleave's new novel about three Olympic cyclists. With careful pacing, complex characters and an ambitious plot, the author of Little Bee crafts a tale of sports racing that explores themes of time, ambition and love.

In Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety, Daniel Smith delves into his own experiences with crippling neuroses, which he believes can be controlled if not cured. Anxiety afflicts 18 percent of the adult U.S. population, so Smith's candid self-exploration may prove helpful to many.

The Fish That Ate the Whale tells the story of Sam Zemurray, a Jewish immigrant who came to the U.S. as a teenager and became one of the biggest players in the banana business. "He's like the American dream in the shape of a single life," says author Rich Cohen.