NPR's Book of the Day

'If I Survive You' navigates family and identity in the Jamaican diaspora

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Escoffery's debut collection of short stories follows the American-born son of Jamaican immigrants finding his place in the world and within ...

Two books examine how we listen to music and why it resonates with us

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books in today's episode explore how we construct meaning from the music we listen to. First, record producer Susan Rogers talks to WBUR's Rob...

In 'The Last Chairlift,' John Irving revisits familiar themes with a new perspective

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, NPR's Scott Simon pays best-selling author John Irving a visit in his Toronto home. Across from Irving's family photographs and slant...

'The Persuaders' finds power in bridging the political divide

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is highly polarized – and author Anand Giridharadas thinks writing off people with different opinions is only going to make things worse. I...

In 'Signal Fires,' a tragic accident stretches across time, memory and family secrets

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Dani Shapiro spent 15 years working on Signal Fires, a novel about how a single accident changes the course of one family's life. In this episo...

'And There Was Light' traces Abraham Lincoln's views on slavery and religion

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Abraham Lincoln made history in 1863 when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively freeing enslaved people across the U.S. But he expected...

Two thrillers unfold in the shadows of Appalachia

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we share two interviews on novels that explore how horror can be found within – and beyond – the laws of nature. First, Megan Mi...

'Fen, Bog & Swamp' explains why the wetlands matter and why they're disappearing

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pulitzer Prize winning-author Annie Proulx tells Leila Fadel that she learns by writing. So when she wanted to better understand the wetlands – and ...

'When We Were Sisters' details the pain and perseverance of orphanhood

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Poet and filmmaker Fatimah Asghar lost their parents at a young age. But they tell Scott Simon that they didn't grow up with a lot of stories that acc...

In 'Dying of Politeness,' Geena Davis says Susan Sarandon taught her to speak up

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Geena Davis is no stranger to the spotlight. But in her new memoir, Dying of Politeness, the Academy Award-winning actor remembers growing up full of ...

'Black Women Will Save the World' honors those on the frontlines of democracy

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

April Ryan and Ayesha Rascoe both know what it's like to cover the White House as Black women. In this episode, the two journalists discuss the import...

Two books highlight the role of food in creating the comfort of home

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we share two interviews on books that look at the ways in which food and family go hand in hand. First, NPR's Scott Simon talks to si...

'Mika in Real Life' focuses on identity and the diversity of parental bonds

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Young adult author Emiko Jean is out with her first book for adults – Mika in Real Life. In this episode, we hear Jean in conversation with WBUR's C...

'Less is Lost' is the sequel to Andrew Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Less'

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, WBUR's Robin Young talks with author Andrew Sean Greer about his new novel Less is Lost, the sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning Les...

Constance Wu writes about her trauma and ensuing judgment in memoir 'Making a Scene'

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In her memoir Making a Scene, actress Constance Wu writes about the sexual harassment and abuse she faced on her breakout show Fresh off the Boat, and...

Celeste Ng's 'Our Missing Hearts' explores a new dystopia through a teenager's eyes

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Celeste Ng's new novel Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian America, where children are taken away from their parents. The story is told from the ...

Two novels by Namwali Serpell explore borders and the mixed-race family

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we hear two interviews with author Namwali Serpell. Her two novels look at some variation on what it means to be part of a mixed-race...

In 'You Gotta Be You,' Brandon Kyle Goodman says we should embrace who we are

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This conversation between NPR's Ailsa Chang and actor Brandon Kyle Goodman looks at authentic relationships and the performance of queerness. Goodman ...

'WARHOLCAPOTE' is a window into the relationship between two great, tortured minds

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Roth's new play in book form, WARHOLCAPOTE, is what he calls a "non-fiction invention," created from found tapes of conversations between artist A...

Gay sons of immigrants talk about the weight they carry in 'Brown and Gay in LA'

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Brown and Gay in LA, author Anthony Christian Ocampo interviews more than 60 gay sons of immigrant families about the fears that come with living a...

'Waging a Good War' explains civil rights movement in military strategy terms

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Distinguished war correspondent Thomas Ricks analyzes how civil rights movement protesters used military principles and strategies in his new book, Wa...

Two writers on friendships and how they shape us

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, NPR's Scott Simon interviews two writers whose books about friendship reckon with how people, and what we experience with them, make ...

Dick Ebersol's autobiography 'From Saturday Night to Sunday Night' spans his career

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dick Ebersol was a major player in the world of American entertainment until his retirement over a decade ago. He co-created Saturday Night Live, and ...

'What If? 2' is Randall Munroe's second round of answers to absurd questions

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Randall Munroe's first book of scientific answers to the absurd questions people have was so popular that he wrote another one. In What If? 2, the aut...

'The Door of No Return' is a story for children about slavery

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kwame Alexander's new novel aimed at teens, The Door of No Return, focuses on the history of slavery. It follows a boy growing up in Ghana in 1860, an...

Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' examines the reign of King Henry VIII through his advisor

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2009, Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her novel Wolf Hall. Mantel died in September, and in this episode we hear former NPR ...

Two authors on writing unlikable characters and the power of storytelling

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books in today's episode point up how authors write and empathize with characters that aren't exactly likable. First we hear from Anthony Doer...

A futuristic novel about the powerful escaping to space echoes today's world

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Tochi Onyebuchi says that a majority of space stories he's come across favor those in power. Rich and white people get to escape in spaceships,...

A family grows and changes in graphic memoir 'It Won't Always Be Like This'

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In her new graphic memoir, It Won't Always Be Like This, NPR Editor Malaka Gharib revisits the summers she spent in Cairo, Egypt and how they shaped w...

'The Marriage Portrait' is a renaissance story of marriage, survival, and murder

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Marriage Portrait is Maggie O' Farrell's fictional interpretation of Lucrezia de Cosimo de Medici, who fights to survive her forced marriage with ...

'The Divider' looks at Trump's years in office through the eyes of his aides

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When former President Donald Trump was in office, a number of his aides said they wanted to quit out of concern for the country's political and milita...

Two YA books spark conversation about race and racial justice activism in youth

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, YA adult novels – both of which have faced bans from schools and libraries – focus on conversations with kids regarding race and police bru...

'Daughter of Auschwitz' tells the harrowing story of a child Holocaust survivor

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tova Friedman says she's telling her story of having survived the Holocaust in her memoir, Daughter of Auschwitz, to honor the victims' memories. In a...

'The Unfolding' examines values of old, wealthy Republicans after Obama's election

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Unfolding examines the socio-political upheaval in the U.S. following the election of President Barack Obama – as seen through the lens of a wea...

Ruby Bridges recounts civil rights history through kid's eyes in new children's book

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In her new children's book, I Am Ruby Bridges, civil rights activist Ruby Bridges tells the story of how she was the first black child to desegregate ...

Zelenskyy aide gives insight on war in Ukraine in 'The Fight for Our Lives'

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Iuliia Mendel, press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offers a peek behind the curtain in her new memoir, The Fight of Our Lives:...

Two authors explore ideals and stresses of Latino culture and immigration

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books featured in this episode are stories examining the difficulties and stressors of being Latino in America. First is I am Not Your Perfect...

Ken Starr gives an inside look on Clinton investigation in his memoir, 'Contempt'

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ken Starr's 2018 memoir, Contempt, gives an inside look into his investigation of the Clinton administration that led to President Clinton's impeachme...

'She's Nice Though' tackles the burdens of being nice

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mia Mercado's essay collection She's Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good examines the reasons why one would want to be viewed as "nice." Sh...

'Dinners with Ruth' shows how friendship can flourish despite clashing careers

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, NPR's own Nina Totenberg documents her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and how it wou...

'Nickel and Dimed' is a window into the lives of low-wage workers

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Nickel and Dimed, author Barbara Ehrenreich lives the life of a low-wage worker and explores how unsustainable poverty is, as well as how easy it c...

Two authors write about the importance of mental health and accessing feelings

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books featured in this episode focus on accessing feelings and mental health. First is a book of essays by spoken word artist, Bassey Ikpi. Ik...

Gaia Vince details how migration will help billions survive in new book

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The main argument Gaia Vince makes in her book Nomad Century is that in order for three to five billion people on Earth to survive, it will require a ...

'Touch' is a love story with elements of mystery, time, and loneliness

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Olaf Olafsson's new novel Touch is a combination of mystery, memories lost, and love. It puts the idea of "the one that got away" front and center and...

'Path Lit by Lightning' showcases Jim Thorpe's resilience until the end of his life

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the book Path Lit by Lightning, author David Maraniss does more than just write Jim Thorpe's life story. He delves into what caused misconceptions ...

'The Mamas' views parenting through the lenses of race, class, and gentrification

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to raising children, says Helena Andrews-Dyer, there are complicated dynamics connected to race and class – which she writes about in ...

Magical realism and identity explored in Salman Rushdie's books

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode features two different books by one author: Salman Rushdie. And while the two stories differ, recurrent themes of magical realism and the...

In 'Electable,' Ali Vitali explores the glass ceiling for women in politics

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Electable: Why America Hasn't Put a Woman in the White House... Yet, author Ali Vitali explores why the glass ceiling separating women from the hi...

Emma Donoghue revisits isolation and faith (with many birds) in new book 'Haven'

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Emma Donoghue "seem to enjoy the stimulus of going to an entirely new place." That's precisely what she does in her new book 'Haven'; it's abou...

'The Stolen Year' details how politics and pandemic magnified inequality in education

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Anya Kamenetzwas covering education for NPR when the pandemic started spreading in the U.S. She says she saw how political affiliation, divisio...

Abdulrazak Gurnah's 'Afterlives' highlights nuances of colonization in East Africa

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives, the characters centered in the novel offer different perspectives of ordinary people under German colonization in E...

Paula Hawkins and Amanda Jayatissa highlight class inequality via mystery

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books in this episode are thrillers that center class as the theme of the narrative. First up is A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins that the...

Sidik Fofana addresses how complicated gentrification is in debut story collection

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sidik Fofana's short story collection can be best described as "addressing the notion that gentrification is complicated." Those were Fofana's words t...

Ellen Jovin travels across the U.S. in search of grammar questions and answers

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The author of Rebel With a Clause traveled to more than 40 states to document how grammar is used in relationships, work conversations and everyday li...

'The Scent of Burnt Flowers' uses fiction to explore a real, historical event

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Blitz Bazawule directed the first Ghanaian original film to be released on Netflix, co-directed Beyonce's visual album 'Black is King', directed the u...

Author weaves family history with fiction in debut novel

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Belinda Huijuan Tang's debut novel, A Map For the Missing, readers can find parallels between Tang's personal history and her fiction. The book to...

Mohsin Hamid and Alora Young detail the impact of colorism in their stories

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The two books featured in this episode illustrate the impact of colorism in society. First up is The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. In conversation w...

Romance novelist pokes fun at genre while writing it, in 'Thank You for Listening'

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author and audiobook narrator Julia Whelan says narrating her own second book, Thank You for Listening, was "so meta, that it just spins off its axis....

In new memoir, Sen. Tim Scott details the second chances he's gotten

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In an interview with NPR's Juana Summers, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina talks about the second chances he's been given by his mother and his cons...

A daughter helps her mom finish her book 'Properties of Thirst'

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marianne Wiggins had started to write her latest book Properties of Thirst when she had a stroke in 2016. So her daughter Lara Porzak, helped her fini...

Criminal justice reform and resilience are central in Albert Woodfox's 'Solitary'

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In an interview with the author of Solitary, the issue of criminal justice reform is central. Alfred Woodfox, who served 43 years in prison – most i...

Nikole Hannah Jones and Adam Rubin work to make kids' books more approachable

12 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's interviews center on children's books with wildly different topics, but they both aim to make reading more accessible for kids. Nikole Hannah ...

'South To America' shows how southern history shaped our nation

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Imani Perry is a child of the South. In her newest book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, s...

Chinese American culture, murder mystery, and Dostoyevsky in 'The Family Chao'

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bit...

Devon Price on self-acceptance and expression for people with autism

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For people with autism, navigating a neurotypical world can be exhausting. Many deploy strategies to fit in with others, a tactic often referred to as...

Failure motivates Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The 2022 Winter Olympics are right around the corner, so to prepare we are bringing you a conversation with skier Lindsey Vonn. Her new memoir, Rise, ...

Family pets and complicated emotions in two children's books

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, two children's books that touch on a little bit of everything: from pets and illustrations to managing complicated emotions. First, Ian Falcone...

Journalist Alan Henry's new book is an invitation to get Seen, Heard, and Paid

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The workplace can be a tricky - even fraught - place to navigate for anyone, but for those who come from marginalized backgrounds, it can be even toug...

Candice Millard explores the complicated legacy of exploration in 'River of Gods'

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The quest to find the headwaters of the Nile River was the mid-19th century's equivalent to the space race. In her new nonfiction book, River of God, ...

In 'Freewater' Amina Luqman-Dawson uses YA fiction to dive deep into Black history

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the Great Dismal Swamp is a National Wildlife Refuge stretching between Virginia and North Carolina. But from the late 1600s to the Civil War, ...

'The Inheritors' explores the lasting effects of Apartheid in South Africa

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 28 years since Apartheid ended in South Africa, but the country's people are still wrestling with the aftermath of segregationist policies. ...

Baseball at the center of personal narratives in two new memoirs

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode features baseball diaries with Scott Simon. First up, CC Sabathia details his personal struggles with alcoholism and fame in his memoir T...

Life's hardships lead to the trek of a lifetime in 'Soundings'

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doreen Cunningham felt worn down by financial limitations as a single parent trying to, as she says, make life work. She tells Scott Simon that societ...

Sci-fi elements help a family's story before and after warfare

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Displacement, identity and the aftermath of warfare are themes running through today's episode on 'The Haunting of Hajji Hotak.' Author Jamil Jan Koc...

'X' portrays dystopian reality among the marginalized where they are exported

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The setting for today's book could be an "alternate version of right now," according to author Davey Davis. They spoke with Anna Sale in an interview ...

'Why Didn't You Tell Me?' explores a false origin story for the price of assimilation

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's book evaluates the price of assimilation when representation, identity and belonging are erased. In Why Didn't You Tell Me?, author Carmen Rit...

Two books show life as seen through the eyes of the animal kingdom

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode features two books that reach deep into the animal world. First, E.O. Wilson sits down with Robert Seigel to discuss how the narrative...

The history of control over women and their bodies is central in 'The Foundling'

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's fictional book is set in very non-fictional circumstances. Novelist Ann Leary was trying to learn about her grandmother's history as an orphan...

Blurred family history gets questioned in Joseph Han's debut novel, 'Nuclear Family'

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's Book of the Day spans across two places: Hawaii and the Korean Peninsula. The story, though, goes beyond the two realities. In Joseph Han's de...

'The Pallbearers Club' shows how dangerous nostalgia can be

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's Book of the Day is a little bit of everything: punk rock music, high school dynamics, some horror tropes, and pointing out the dangers of nost...

Mark Leibovich details the price of blind loyalty under Donald Trump in new book

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the House's committee hearings on Jan. 6 continue, today's episode offers some context from The Atlantic reporter Mark Leibovich, who has a new boo...

Two Indigenous authors on the legacy of a shared, painful history

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, two books from indigenous authors who make a similar, wry argument: it's a miracle there are any Indigenous people in the Americas alive at all...

'Covered in Night' compares colonial and Indigenous approaches to justice

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're going back in time to 1722 to examine the different approaches to justice between Native Americans and Pennsylvania colonists i...

In 'Poet Warrior', Joy Harjo uses poetry to deal with pain and heal

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In celebration of the new U.S. poet laureate this year, Ada Limón, today's episode revisits another poet laureate's conversation with Michel Martin a...

In 'Fresh Banana Leaves' an indigenous approach to fighting climate change

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

According to Jessica Hernandez, "as long as we protect nature, nature will protect us." Hernandez, from the Maya Ch'ortí and Zapotec nations, is a Un...

Morgan Talty uses humor to tell the story of an indigenous tribe's struggles

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nailing the balance between humor and heavy, dark topics is a difficult feat. Night of the Living Rez by author Morgan Talty meets the mark. His colle...

Two nonfiction books reminiscent of a bygone era in Hollywood

08 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we have two nonfiction books that touch on a bygone era of Hollywood some refer to as its "Golden Age." First, George Stevens, Jr., talks to Sco...

Werner Herzog's 'The Twilight World' is inspired by a WWII Japanese holdout officer

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese intelligence officer during World War II, stationed on a small island in the Philippines. When the Japanese army evacuated,...

'Under the Skin' shows how COVID exposed racial disparities in healthcare

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Life expectancy in the U.S. has always been different for people of color. And since the pandemic, that gap has widened. In her new book, Under the Sk...

'The Tomorrow Game' is Sudhir Venkatesh's chronicle of violence in South Side Chicago

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Sudhir Venkatesh's The Tomorrow Game, two teenagers on Chicago's South Side face each other in a story that conveys the pressures and motivations b...

'The Last Resort' unveils the environmental toll of beachside destinations

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Beach resorts are a favorite when it comes to travel destinations. But behind the infinity pools and the all-inclusive deals, these massive resorts ar...

Danielle Evans and Brit Bennett on the lies we tell ourselves

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, two takes on stories we tell to make ourselves feel better and the consequences of believing them. First, author Danielle Evans' short story co...

A lifetime of secrets unfold in 'Black Cake'

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Charmaine Wilkerson's new novel, Black Cake, is all about identity; who we are and how we fit into this world. Estranged siblings, Benny and By...

What does 'The Family Chao' have in common with Dostoyevsky? Murder and more.

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Patriarch Leo Chao is murdered at his restaurant at the beginning of Lan Samantha Chang's new novel The Family Chao. Eventually family secrets and bit...

Hanya Yanagihara grapples with pandemics in 'To Paradise'

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author of the wildly popular and, at times, controversial A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, is out with a new novel. To Paradise is an epic – in thre...

In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Emma Straub has written a book about family dynamics and the mess and love that comes with them in All Adults Here. It's no secret that familie...

Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two collections of short stories, both alike in playfulness in our fair podcast. The first is with Gwen Kirby whose debut collection of short stories ...

Finding simplicity and radical acceptance through animal sexuality

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A non-fiction science book about animal sexuality could read like a dry textbook, but Eliot Schrefer wanted his book to be accessible. Queer Ducks use...

A new book shows how the South – and its history – shapes our nation

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker are old enough to remember Jim Crow in the South. But they recognize the part of the country they grew up in for both...

In Séamas O'Reilly's memoir, a tribute to a widowed father raising 11 kids in Ireland

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As a little boy grieving his mother, Séamas O'Reilly couldn't entirely grasp the monumental task it was for his father to have to raise 11 children a...