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Now is the time when critics make their year-end lists. Unfortunately, you cannot please everyone, and if enough people read your list, you will eventually run into these 20 unhappy people.

Daily Beast and Newsweek Editor Tina Brown looks at writing about life under totalitarian regimes, recommending a new novel about North Korea, an article on "dictator chic," and one that chronicles and contextualizes the history of the Inquisition.

Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer speaks with Wendy Welch and Jack Beck, owners of Tales of the Lonesome Pine bookstore in Big Stone Gap, Va. They are looking for someone to watch their shop while embarking on a two-month book tour. Wendy has written a memoir about owning a brick and mortar bookshop in a small, rural community.

Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader, nominated for an Emmy for his character Stefon, an obsessive clubgoer, says he needs a character to be funny. Hader tells Fresh Air that he doesn't know how people do standup — and that watching old films as a child sparked his interest in Hollywood.

The Mars rover Curiosity has a lot of technology built into her, but she's also got something extra: a social media presence.

Actor Gillian Anderson could watch the animated movie Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa a million times. "I cannot stop laughing when I see this film," she says.

Host Rachel Martin talks to Alex Cornell, who has come up with a scheme for finding the optimal seat at a table with multiple guests. In other words, how to position yourself for the best chance of interesting conversation.

Names are possessions that we carry with us all our lives. But we seldom think about what goes into choosing the right one. At 24, Silas Hansen decided to change his birth name — Lindsay — as he told his family and friends that he's transgender.

Valentine's Day is a great time for love and romance. But it can also bring up complicated questions about relationships. If you've been texting incessantly, when is the right time for an actual date? And is there such a thing as being too romantic? Host Michel Martin talks to etiquette experts about romance dilemmas.

Writer-director Roman Coppola could watch Woody Allen's Stardust Memories a million times. "It's a film that is endlessly imaginative and has wonderful surprises at every corner," he says.