Ari Shapiro on singing for Bono, cooking for Nina Totenberg, and what novels teach him.

Send us Fan MailTender hearted children growing up in oppressive and claustrophobic societies dominate the two novels chosen by the journalist and musician, Ari Shapiro. The first is Douglas Stuart’s acclaimed sophomore novel, Young Mungo; the second is Belinda Huijuan Tang’s A Map for the Missing. As one of the hosts for NPR’s flagship program, All Things Considered, listeners will  be familiar with Shapiro's flair for bringing a lively curiosity to the world around us, whether it be reporting from India on rising sea levels, or Afghanistan in the company of the President. But while he has met more than his fair share of world leaders, scientists, and business executives, when he wants to really understand the world, he most often turns to novels. “The conversations that help me see the world most clearly are generally not with researchers, policy makers, or so-called experts,” Shapiro writes in his new book, The Best Strangers in the World. “They aren’t with the people journalists crassly call ‘newsmakers’ at all. They’re with artists–especially writers.”