NPR's Book of the Day

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Episodes

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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 – we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less.

Episodes

Andy Corren's memoir 'Dirtbag Queen' expands on a viral tribute to his mother

In 2021, Andy Corren published an obituary for his late mother in The Fayetteville Observer . "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday," he wrote. His colorful, candid remembrance went viral on Twitter, and now Corren has expanded the tribute into a memoir. Dirtbag Queen recounts the author's experience of growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a single, Southern, unconventional mother of six children. In today's episode, Corren speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about ...

Feb 04, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast

A new novel follows the love lives of three generations of Palestinian American women

Betty Shamieh was the first Palestinian American playwright to have a play produced off-Broadway. She describes her debut novel, Too Soon , as a "Palestinian American Sex and the City." The novel follows three Palestinian American women across generations as they navigate love and identity. In today's episode, Shamieh speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about using comedy as a way to humanize characters who may be dehumanized in the real world, the 10 year writing process for the book, and how she didn...

Feb 03, 2025•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast

'Final Girl Support Group' and 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' center women in horror

Grady Hendrix is one of the biggest names in horror fiction today. He's published 11 horror novels and won a Bram Stoker Award for his non-fiction book on the history of horror fiction. In this episode, we revisit a 2021 conversation between Hendrix and former NPR host Audie Cornish about his book Final Girl Support Group with a discussion on society's obsession with violence and its perpetrators, rather than the victims. Then, we hear Hendrix speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about his latest nove...

Jan 31, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Rusty Sabich comes out of retirement in Scott Turow's thriller 'Presumed Guilty'

After a long career as a prosecutor, a defense attorney and a judge, 77-year-old Rusty Sabich is retired. But when a young woman named Mae Potter goes missing, Rusty comes out of retirement to defend the lead suspect who happens to be his soon-to-be stepson. Presumed Guilty is the latest novel from Scott Turow, who's been writing about this character since he published Presumed Innocent in 1987. In today's episode, Turow joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on second chances, ...

Jan 30, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast

'Unassimilable' makes a radical case against assimilation for the Asian diaspora

A new book titled Unassimilable: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie makes a radical case against assimilation for the Asian diaspora. The project was inspired by the author's upbringing in San Gabriel Valley, an ethnoburb right outside of Los Angeles, which Mabute-Louie describes as a place "where Asian immigrants go to never assimilate." In today's episode, the author joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about what un-assimilability looks like in prac...

Jan 29, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast

'Parks 2' is a book of photos and essays focused on the National Parks

Photographer Brian Kelley has been collecting National Park ephemera for years. He wanted to find a way to share the maps, brochures and memorabilia he's collected from his visits, which resulted in the 2019 project Parks . Now, Kelley is out with a sequel, Parks 2 , a coffee table book that shares more of his personal archive of National Park designs. In today's episode, Kelley speaks with NPR's Sarah McCammon about what inspired him to start his collection, the history of design technology, an...

Jan 28, 2025•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast

Han Kang's latest novel 'We Do Not Part' deals with hidden chapters of Korean history

In this interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Han Kang says the idea for her latest novel came to her in a snowy, haunting dream. The Nobel Prize-winning author's We Do Not Part is itself dreamlike. The novel follows narrator Kyungha as she tries to rescue a friend's beloved pet bird in the midst of a snowstorm that has hit South Korea's Jeju Island. As the story goes on, Kyungha is confronted with the taboo, hidden history of a 1948 massacre that took place on the island. In today's episode, Simon ...

Jan 27, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast

New novels from Emma Knight and Anita Desai explore the dual identities of mothers

Two new novels tackle themes of motherhood and family secrets. First, in Emma Knight's The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus , 18-year-old Pen has just arrived as a student at the University of Edinburgh. For Pen's whole life, she's sensed that her parents were hiding something from her and she believes the answers might lie in Scotland. In today's episode, Knight joins NPR's Mary Louise Kelly for a conversation about her debut novel. They discuss the first character that came to Knight and her u...

Jan 24, 2025•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast

'How to Change' is a behavioral economist's guide to habit formation

The beginning of a new year often represents a clean slate for people hoping to make a change. But by this point in January, many have let go of their resolutions. It can be difficult to make goals stick, especially when they require actions that aren't inherently rewarding. Katy Milkman, a behavioral economist at the University of Pennsylvania, has spent her career researching what it takes to achieve our goals. Her 2021 book How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You...

Jan 23, 2025•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast

'Amazing Grapes' was Pulitzer-winning illustrator Jules Feiffer's final book

Jules Feiffer, illustrator of The Phantom Tollbooth , died last week at age 95. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and cartoonist began drawing and writing for a living when he was 17. And just last year, Feiffer came out with his first graphic novel for middle grade readers. That book, Amazing Grapes , kicks off with a father's departure, which sets in motion a series of adventures across dimensions for his three children. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Feiffer and NPR's S...

Jan 22, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast