NPR's Book of the Day
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NPR's Book of the Day
In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them –...
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Brandy Norwood and Arsenio Hall's memoirs look back on careers that defined the '90s
Two figures who defined ‘90s culture are out with new memoirs. First, Brandy Norwood is a Grammy-winning singer and made history as the first Black ac...
For her new novel about boy bands, Emma Straub took a page from New Kids on the Block
A few years ago, author Emma Straub saw a story about New Kids on the Block hosting a tropical cruise for their fans. That planted the seed for Straub...
'Labor' is a memoir by a doctor who traveled the country with a mobile OB-GYN clinic
Twenty years into her medical career, Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari, a board-certified OBGYN, had grown increasingly frustrated with the medical profession....
John Sayles on Henry Ford, Detroit and his new historical novel 'Crucible'
In the new novel Crucible, director and author John Sayles turns his attention to Henry Ford, Detroit, and automotive labor in the 1920s through World...
Patrick Radden Keefe on 'London Falling' and the mystery of Zac Brettler
In November of 2019, a young man leaped into the Thames River from a London apartment building and died. After 19-year-old Zac Brettler’s death, his p...
New children’s books center intergenerational relationships in life and the afterlife
Intergenerational relationships take center stage in two new children’s books. First, in The One About the Blackbird, a little boy learns to play guit...
Katrina Manson on 'Project Maven' and how the U.S. is using AI in warfare
Marine Corps colonel Drew Cukor says AI will completely change the way the United States fights wars – and maybe already has. The new book Project Mav...
In 'Kutchinsky's Egg,' a jeweler’s corrosive ambition leads to his family’s downfall
A famous jeweler in London once became obsessed with a single goal: To produce the world’s largest golden egg. He became fixated with one-upping the f...
'Anywhere Else' is a book of essays about a love-hate relationship with Florida
Writer Rachel Knox says there was a point at which she wanted to escape Florida. She moved away to New York, but eventually returned. Her new essay co...
Sen. Cory Booker on 'Stand' and his intentions for the 2028 election
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration, but lately he’s also expressed frustration with the Democratic Party. H...
The story behind cookbooks 'The Talisman of Happiness' and 'Will This Make You Happy'
Today’s episode features two cookbooks: One new, the other newly translated. First, a classic Italian cookbook (and classic wedding gift) has been tra...
Keith O'Brien on 'Heartland,' Larry Bird and the basketball career that almost wasn't
Larry Bird – one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA – once gave up his college basketball career to return to his hometown, French Lick...
In the epic 'Son of Nobody,' Yann Martel gives footnotes a starring role
Yann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s fo...
Geoff Bennett on the history of Black comedy from vaudeville to sitcoms
PBS Newshour co-anchor Geoff Bennett is out with a new book that presents portraits of Black artists who shaped comedy. Black Out Loud is a history th...
Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative process behind 'Project Hail Mary'
In Project Hail Mary, amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say...
In new memoirs, David Archuleta and Lindy West break with their pasts
Singer-songwriter David Archuleta and writer Lindy West are both out with memoirs that deal with letting go of the past. First, Archuleta was the runn...
Apple is turning 50. David Pogue’s new book tells its history.
Next month, tech giant Apple will turn 50, marking five decades since Steve Jobs and his co-founders set out to put powerful technology in the hands o...
In the novel ‘Black Bag,’ a classroom experiment invites questions about masculinity
The narrator in Black Bag is an unnamed and mostly unemployed actor until a professor offers him the starring role in an experiment. The narrator is a...
Fab 5 Freddy’s 'Everybody’s Fly' is a backstage pass to NYC’s new wave hip hop scene
Fred Brathwaite — aka ‘Fab 5 Freddy’ — is a pioneering multimedia artist credited with bringing hip hop to the mainstream in the 1980s. His new memoir...
Sarvat Hasin's new novel is about a magnetic friendship between 'Strange Girls'
In Sarvat Hasin’s novel Strange Girls, a Pakistani woman and an American woman meet at a London-based university in the 2010s. There, they quickly bec...
Two new murder mysteries: 'Ruby Falls' and 'The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives'
Two new murder mystery novels let readers into hidden worlds: one underground and the other among the wives of serial killers. First, Ruby Falls begin...
Daisy Hernández argues 'Citizenship' has never been a fixed legal status
Author Daisy Hernández grew up in New Jersey in a community she describes as “the United Nations of Latinos,” with parents from Cuba and Colombia and...
Cara Bastone's 'No Matter What' is a romance novel that begins with a separation
Cara Bastone says she wanted to write a book filled with miscommunications that couldn’t be solved with a quick conversation. In her novel No Matter W...
In 'The Mixed Marriage Project,' Dorothy Roberts works through her dad's archive
After the death of her father, sociologist and law professor Dorothy Roberts decided to sort through his boxes. What she found was an archive of notes...
'The Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?
Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s i...
'We the Women' and 'Rise, Girl, Rise' are stories about revolutionary women
To mark Women’s History Month, today’s episode features new books focused on women who have paved the way for gender equality. First, journalist Norah...
'One of Us' is a British political drama based on the Boris Johnson era
In today’s episode, Elizabeth Day describes the protagonist in her new novel One of Us as the “quintessential outsider.” Martin Gilmour came from a di...
To understand consciousness, Michael Pollan looked at plants, AI and himself
While researching a previous book, a mushroom trip in Michael Pollan’s garden left him curious about the boundaries of consciousness. His latest proje...
In 'Bad Asians,' a friend group threatens its reputation with a viral video
Lillian Li says Bad Asians was drawn from her upbringing in a hypercompetitive Chinese-American community. In the novel, four 20-somethings, who grew...
In new memoir, Gavin Newsom reflects on his political rise
As California’s governor – and a topic of discussion among some as a possible 2028 presidential candidate – Gavin Newsom is an exceedingly public figu...
'The Irish Goodbye' and 'Frog' are micro-memoirs and essays about everyday life
In today’s episode, two authors tackle everyday experience through short-form writing. First, The Irish Goodbye is a collection of micro-memoirs by th...
'An American Marriage' author Tayari Jones is out with a new novel 'Kin'
Tayari Jones, author of the 2018 novel An American Marriage, says her next book was supposed to be about gentrification in the American South. But whi...
Andrew Krivak’s novel 'Mule Boy' takes readers inside a Pennsylvania coal mine
Author Andrew Krivak grew up hearing stories about his grandfather, who died in a coal mine collapse in the early 1900s. These stories inspired Mule B...
Jason Zengerle says Tucker Carlson is more 'movement leader' than media persona
Journalist Jason Zengerle spent years observing right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson. His new book Hated by All the Right People asks: Does Car...
Author was struck by story of mixed-race orphans behind 'Keeper of Lost Children'
Keeper of Lost Children is the latest work of historical fiction by Sadeqa Johnson. The novel is told from three vantage points and follows the story...
A psychoanalyst and a priest share insights in 'Love's Labor' and 'Work in Progress'
New books by a psychoanalyst and a priest have something in common: They draw on the experience of holding other people’s stories. Stephen Grosz says...
Reshona Landfair, formerly 'Jane Doe,' recounts abuse by R. Kelly in new memoir
Reshona Landfair met R. Kelly when she was a pre-teen in 1996. Starstruck, Landfair says she fell victim to his grooming tactics, followed by years of...
'The Renovation' is a novel with a surrealist take on prison structures big and small
There are many ways that a home renovation project can become a nightmare for all involved. But in The Renovation, narrator Dilara’s remodeling woes a...
'Fly, Wild Swans' weaves Jung Chang’s family history with the history of China
Jung Chang’s memoir Wild Swans, published in 1991, told the story of three generations of women in her family as they survived upheaval in 20th-centur...
'Clutch' follows a college friend group trying to maintain their bond in midlife
The new novel Clutch follows five women who have known each other since college as they navigate the challenges of midlife. Author Emily Nemens recent...