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The principal cellist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is celebrating the return of his missing 320-year-old cello. The $3.5 million Stradivarius was stolen from his front porch three weeks ago. Footage from a surveillance camera shows a man on a bicycle riding off with it. A nurse who found the instrument in a garbage dumpster could collect a $50,000 reward. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports.

French arts performers plan to strike as the Cannes Film Festival gets under way Wednesday in France. Actors, dancers, electricians and cameramen say government reforms have cut some of their unemployment benefits. Festival organizers scrambling to make sure the event is not shut down. NPR's Renee Montagne reports.

Ann Patchett has written a memoir of her friendship with the late writer Lucy Grealy, who died from facial bone cancer in 2002. Grealy wrote about surviving the pain of her treatments -- surgeries and chemotherapy -- in Autobiography of a Face. Patchett writes about Grealy's courage and her love of life in Truth and Beauty: A Friendship. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Patchett.

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the hugely popular "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series. The Full Cupboard of Life, set in Botswana, is the fifth book in the series. Detective Precious Ramotswe is also back. She helps people in her close-knit community deal with the little incidents of life. Hear Smith and NPR's Scott Simon.

Alan Cheuse reviews Symptomatic, by Danzy Senna, a novel about a young California woman of mixed race who falls into a psychic tug of war with a colleague in New York City. It is published by Riverhead Books.

Some audiophiles with compact discs older than 10 years are noticing pin holes, oxidation, or flaking in the aluminum layer of their CDs. "CD rot" is not a common problem, but it does challenge claims that CDs are indestructible. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

In modern China, writing generally has not been something done for pleasure. It has been a way to challenge readers to revitalize the country or to try to mold souls politically. Under Chairman Mao, literature was pure propaganda. But now, as China opens up to the west, literature is losing its political role, and critics say, its edge. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

Anti-smoking activists want to put an "R" rating on films that show actors smoking. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada is among those who want the Motion Picture Association of America to change its ratings system and recognize what he calls "gratuitous smoking." NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

The rock band Phish, noted for its devoted followers and free-ranging concerts, announces that it will break up after their summer tour. Band members posted a notice on the group's web site Tuesday notifying fans of the decision. The group is scheduled to go on tour supporting its new album, out in June. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and critic Peter Shapiro.

William Pryor's latest book, Virginia Woolf and the Raverats, takes readers inside the friendship between writer Virginia Woolf and the artists Jacques and Gwen Raverat. Their years of correspondence, many published for the first time, focused on art and mortality. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and Pryor.