Brooklyn Rider

In this episode: Best-selling author Amy Tan talks about her first book in eight years, The Valley of Amazement, tells us what playing in a band with Stephen King is like, and, she plays a few favorite songs for Soundcheck's Pick Three series.

Then, this week's Writers Club: Women In Music series continues with NPR Music's Ann Powers and RookieMag music editor Jessica Hopper, who share their favorite books about women in music.

And, the borders between musical styles come crashing down as the globetrotting banjo player Bela Fleck and the adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider play a live set in the Soundcheck studio.

In this episode: The string quartet Brooklyn Rider performs selections from their new album, A Walking Fire, in our studio.

Plus: We hear from a few more listeners about how they deal with noise in their day-to-day lives -- and, we bring you an excerpt from a recent BBC 4 radio series called "Noise: A Human History." In the final episode of the series, "The Search for Silence," Professor David Hendy of the University of Sussex explores how humans have attempted to manage and escape noise throughout the ages. 

Also: Two weeks ago, the New York violinist, vocalist and composer Caroline Shaw became the youngest person to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. She talks about her award-winning composition.

And: more from our occasional series That Was A Hit?!?