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The Thread® - Books and Literary News
Brittany Luse, NPR, Jessica Placzek, NPR, Liam McBain, NPR, Corey Antonio Rose, NPR and Veralyn Williams, NPR

Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

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A couple kissing, bell hooks, Rebekah Weatherspoon and Gale Greenlee
Kelvin Murray/Getty Images; Karjean Levine/Getty Images; Bria Celest; Gale Greenlee

This week, we're asking: do the fantasies we read in romance novels say anything about what we want in our real-life relationships? Devoted readers share how the genre has impacted their love lives. Host Brittany Luse also sits down with writer Rebekah Weatherspoon to learn how she builds a world of desire.

Then, we talk to Dr. Gale E. Greenlee, teacher-scholar in residence at the bell hooks center in Berea Kentucky, about lasting impact of bell hooks' work, and how she changed the way we think about love.

You can follow us on Twitter @ItsBeenAMin or email us at ibam@npr.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.