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Lily Tuck is one of the five National Book Awards finalists -- each of them women, each of them writing in New York City. Tuck led the life of a very obscure novelist until she was nominated for Letters from Paraguay. Tuck tells Martha Woodroof about her account of two lovers tangled in a mid-19th century war that wiped out 90 percent of Paraguay's male population.

A survey by a group called The Catalogue for Philanthropy finds the poorest American states score the highest on their "generosity index" for 2004 -- an annual scorecard ranking states by how much their residents give to charities in proportion to how much they have. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and George McCully, a trustee of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation and project coordinator for The Catalogue for Philanthropy.

In Sri Lanka, the death toll from the tsunami is now above 28,000. In the village of Ahangama, volunteers delivered blankets and bags of rice to survivors. The government declares a national day of mourning, but many people didn't need an official declaration. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

Bosch: Legacy, which premiered Friday, and The Lincoln Lawyer, which starts next Friday, exemplify a certain kind of show. They fall within well-established genres, but have a little creative heft.

Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Carol Brey-Casiano, president of the American Library Association, about the impact of Google's plan to digitize the resources of five major libraries.

The weekly HBO program Real Time with Bill Maher begins its new season Feb. 18. Previously, Bill Maher created and hosted the late night political round-table show Politically Incorrect.

German heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling was publicly associated with the Third Reich but was not a Nazi and refused an award from Adolph Hitler. Commentator Frank Deford talks about the man and the conflicts that beset him. Schmeling, known for his classic fights against Joe Louis, died last week at the age of 99.

While its eventual fate is an open question, Jonah Staw says his new company may be worth $100 million dollars in three years. NPR's Ketzel Levine talks with Staw about Little MissMatched, the business Staw started after leaving a marketing career.

Walter Arvinger is a free man after 36 years behind bars. The Baltimore man, arrested for murder in 1968, was recently granted clemency and released with the help of a University of Maryland professor and some of his law students. NPR's Robert Siegel examines the case.