NPR's Book of the Day
Episodes
Struggling with burnout? Author Jonathan Malesic might be able to help
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After getting his Ph.D., writer Jonathan Malesic struck out in this search for an academic job, so he took a position as a parking attendant across t...
Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!
28 Jan 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 ...
Former California prosecutor details how she helped take down sex trafficking site
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Maggy Krell is a former California prosecutor who was on the team that took down the infamous sex trafficking site Blackpage back in 2018. Now, she's ...
Country star Merle Haggard is larger than life in 'The Hag'
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Marc Eliot has written a new biography of country music icon, Merle Haggard. The Hag details Haggard's quite extraordinary life; from breaking ...
Hanya Yanagihara grapples with pandemics in 'To Paradise'
25 Jan 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...
What motivates you? For Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn, it's failure.
24 Jan 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, ...
Ghosts and the sea take lead roles in Violet Kupersmith and Edwidge Dantica's novels
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first interview today, Build Your House Around My Body, is by debut novelist Violet Kupersmith and it's about a young Vietnamese woman who disappe...
'Twilight of Democracy' chronicles the rise of authoritarianism
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today marks one year since Joe Biden was sworn in as president. It's no secret that politics have become — well...messy in the U.S. — so we though...
'The Engagement' looks at the complicated history of marriage equality
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and author Sasha Issenberg has written a book about the history of marriage equality in America. The Engagement details how messy and compl...
In 'Of Women And Salt,' women weave the future out of scraps
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"We are force." This line is originally from a Victor Hugo letter to Cuban independence fighters, but it's also found throughout Gabriela Garcia's nov...
'The Three Mothers' who paved the way for three extraordinary men
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This Martin Luther King Jr. day we focus on the woman who raised Dr. King, his mother, Alberta. His mother and those of two of his contemporaries take...
Looking for some pandemic-era writing? We have spooky and we have sweet.
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our first interview today is about a novel that, believe it or not, was actually written before the coronavirus pandemic even started. The End of Octo...
Anger and grief after Hurricane Maria in 'Velorio'
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Xavier Navarro Aquino's new novel, Velorio, takes place in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. This is not a tale of strength and ...
Get the most out of that noggin with 'Supercharge Your Brain'
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author James Goodwin has written about brain trauma, which, as you can guess, is something you want to avoid at all costs. His new book, Supercharge Y...
Language is power in 'Beasts of a Little Land'
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Juhea Kim's debut novel, Beasts of a Little Land, is about Korea's decades-long fight for independence and the lives it impacted. Kim wanted the novel...
The Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu never lost his faith in humanity
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away at the age of 90 at the end of 2021. We look back at his legacy by revisiting his 2010 book Made For Goodness. Eve...
Tricia Elam Walker, Ekua Holmes, and Clint Smith take us across the country
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's interviews are about transporting you to different places. The first is with cousins Tricia Elam Walker and Ekua Holmes who wrote a children's...
Actress Sharon Gless on life's ups and downs in 'Apparently There Were Complaints'
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Actress Sharon Gless, who starred in the 80s cop procedural, Cagney and Lacey, is out with a new memoir: Apparently There Were Complaints. The book lo...
President Trump's final acts of 'Betrayal'
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Almost a year ago today, supporters of President Trump attacked the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election. ABC White House correspondent Jona...
Remembering bell hooks and 'All About Love'
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author and social activist bell hooks died a couple of weeks ago, so we at Book Of The Day thought it would be nice to revisit one of our favorite int...
Lower your expectations and succeed with 'Tiny Habits'
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every time the new year rolls around, many of us start trying to "better ourselves." Maybe you decide to read more or clean out your entire house only...
NPR's Wisdom From The Top: 'Machiavelli For Women'
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Planet Money's Stacey Vanek Smith has reported on business and the economy for over 15 years now. She told NPR's Guy Raz that over that time, she's se...
Alexi Pappas and Glennon Doyle want you to know it's ok to not be ok
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Both our interviews today deal with the pressures we put on ourselves. First, Olympic runner Alexi Pappas on her memoir, Bravey. On the outside, Pappa...
Healing through poetry in 'Light For The World To See'
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Poet and author Kwame Alexander was feeling the weight of being Black in America last summer and didn't know how to make sense of his feelings. So, he...
'Hamnet' gives life to Shakespeare's little-known son
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
William Shakespeare had a son, Hamnet, who likely inspired one of his most famous plays and who died when he was 11 years old. Novelist Maggie O'Farre...
'Dwyane' uses photographs to wrap up an illustrious career
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dwyane Wade's new memoir is not a traditional one. He wanted to show the reader a lot of his cherished memories instead of just writing about them. Hi...
In 'All Adults Here,' family is messy
27 Dec 2021
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...
Snuggle up for the holidays with two NPR favorites
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's the holiday season so we at Book Of The Day wanted to bring you two of our holiday favorites. The first is David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, whic...
'Agatha Of Little Neon' falls out of love with the church
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the novel Agatha Of Little Neon, a young woman, Agatha, is in need of direction after she loses her mother and finds it in the church. When Agatha ...
A defense - and celebration - of all things 'Tacky'
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you love what some people would consider 'low-brow culture?' Things like The Cheesecake Factory or the band Creed. Well then do we have the book fo...
Keeping yourself afloat in 'Between Two Kingdoms'
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When author Suleika Jaouad was first diagnosed with leukemia, she felt isolated and like she didn't have control over anything. She told Life Kit host...
Reinventing the epic with 'The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois'
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of an epic, what comes to mind? The Iliad, The Odyssey, maybe Beowulf? Well author Honoree Fanonne Jeffers points out that epics are al...
NPR's Throughline: The Postal Service
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The US Postal Service has played a key role in much of American history - from the Declaration of Independence to more recent mail-in voting. It was c...
Danielle Evans and Brit Bennett on the lies we tell ourselves
17 Dec 2021
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...
'Empire of Pain' explores the family behind Purdue Pharma
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the most recent public institution to announce that they are taking the Sackler name off of seven of their spaces du...
'Wish You Were Here' ... Stranded with me in the Galapagos Islands
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wanted to get stranded on a beautiful island? Maybe at the end of a vacation when you think you never want to leave. Well, that's what h...
Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan on the highs and lows of success
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Legendary rapper and integral member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon, is out with a new memoir called From Staircase to Stage. Born Corey Woods in Staten...
A tech giant does its best Big Brother impersonation in 'The Every'
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Dave Eggars has written a new book, The Every, satirizing technology and it's ever-expanding hold on us. While publishing and distributing the ...
'Design To Live' is a testament to the human spirit
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From creating vertical gardens to breeding pigeons, the people living in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan manage to "carve out a life worth living." A...
'A Snake Falls To Earth' tackles real life issues in a fantastical world
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Darcie Little Badger has her protagonists, Nina and a cottonmouth snake named Oli, tackle big, real world problems in her new Young Adult novel...
Robert Jones Jr. and Laird Hunt talk tragedies and overlooked histories
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Not all history is learned - or taught - in school. In today's first interview, Robert Jones Jr. tells NPR's Scott Simon that he wanted to be 'a witne...
Surviving high school in 'Huda F Are You?'
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Huda Fahmy brings us a fictionalized look back on her teenage years in her new graphic novel. The cleverly titled Huda F Are You? is about a gi...
Chancellor Angela Merkel's last dance
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down after 16 years. Author and former NPR correspondent Kati Marton has written a new biography of Merkel...
Louise Erdrich and Kevin Brockmeier are not writing campfire ghost stories
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are all different kinds of ghost stories and types of ghosts. Maybe the ghost is a malicious spirit out for revenge, or a marshmallow man parade...
NPR's Short Wave: 'An Outsider's Guide to Humans'
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Camilla Pang talks with NPR's Short Wave host Emily Kwong about her award-winning memoir, An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About ...
'All That She Carried' weaves together generations of Black women
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All That She Carried is the history of a single bag. Historian and author Tiya Miles used what few historical records she could find to tell the stori...
'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is... pretty strange, but also kind of wonderful? Oshetsky says the story is a parable about motherhood, in which...
'Black Food' is more than just recipes, it's the stories behind them
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cookbook author and chef Bryant Terry edited and curated the new book, Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes From Across The African Diaspora. His goa...
Celebrating NPR's Petra Mayer with three literary things she loved
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our beloved friend and colleague Petra Mayer died suddenly a few weeks ago. This episode is for her. First, a conversation with NPR's Scott Simon and ...
Tommy Orange is here to hold the door open for future Indigenous writers
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This Thanksgiving, we're bringing you an author whose narrative likely runs counter to what you learned in school. Tommy Orange's novel, There There, ...
'Calvin' shows how transgender kids can express who they really are
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Authors JR and Vanessa Ford read the one book they could find about transgender kids to their child but skipped over the word 'transgender.' When they...
'The Island of Missing Trees' uses, well, trees to chronicle generational trauma
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Elif Shafak struggled at first with how to write her new book, The Island of Missing Trees. The story she wanted to tell is about a family from...
'Out of Office' considers 'why' companies want to bring back remote employees
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The working world looks a lot different today than it did nearly two years ago, when the coronavirus pandemic sent many office staff to work from home...
Murder! Space! James Bond! Chris Hadfield and Anthony Horowitz talk thrillers
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This Friday, we're featuring two thrillers. First, astronaut Chris Hadfield talked with former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about his novel The Apollo...
'Misfire' takes an inside look at the corruption at the heart of the NRA
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The National Rifle Association is being sued. The nonprofit at the heart of the gun lobby is accused of diverting money from its charitable mission. N...
'Beautiful Country' looks back on a young Chinese girl's undocumented childhood
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Living as an undocumented immigrant means living in the shadows, says Qian Julie Wang. Her memoir Beautiful Country tells the story of her family's li...
SJ Sindu makes and unmakes a god in her new novel 'Blue Skinned Gods'
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Questioning religion can be a pretty common identity crisis. But what if your faith is based on... yourself? When Kalki is born with blue skin and bla...
'Hail Mary' sets the record straight on the history of the women's football league
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You're probably at least a little familiar with the WNBA, and even if you never actually seen A League of Their Own, everyone knows there's no crying ...
'Dear Memory' and 'Cokie' both look toward the future while remembering the dead
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's double episode, both books center people who have died. And they aren't just tributes to those who've passed, but to the people who remembe...
Amitav Ghosh turned to legends to write a story large enough for climate change
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Trying to decrease your carbon footprint can be complicated. You use metal straws, recycle your paper, and bring your own grocery bags to the store, b...
Grady Hendrix reimagines the horror movie sequel in 'Final Girl Support Group'
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Grady Hendrix LOVES horror movies, especially those old 80's slashers. And his new book is a tribute to that "final girl" at the end of so many of the...
Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks to a future living with COVID in 'World War C'
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We've all heard talk about "the new normal," whatever that even is. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his own ideas, and despite ...
Lucy Barton and her ex, William, are at the heart of Elizabeth Strout's new book
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Elizabeth Strout's new book, a familiar character - Lucy Barton - returns when ex-husband William asks for her help unraveling a recently discovere...
Tiphanie Yanique and Dawnie Walton on music, monsters, and family baggage
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There was a time when the kind of music you listened to could fully define the kind of lifestyle you led, says Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revi...
Nick Offerman ponders nature's patterns and chaos in Central Park
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Parks and Rec actor Nick Offerman is famous for playing an outdoorsman on TV, but it turns out he actually is one in real life, too — albeit conside...
In a powerful memoir, poet Joy Harjo talks about finding her voice and using it
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Poet Laureate Joy Harjo says she loved poetry as a kid, but didn't feel like it belonged to her. "It wasn't until I heard Native poets," she tells NPR...
Poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva dreams of Selena
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Queen of Tejano music is having a moment in pop culture once again, even 26 years after her murder. Selena Quintanilla's face not only adorns T-sh...
Jane Goodall doesn't want you to give up on the planet
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amidst all the bad news (like, really bad news), it can be hard to hold on to hope — especially with the looming threat of climate change. But renow...
Zakiya Dalila Harris and Oliver Jeffers talk about different kinds of hauntings
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's almost Halloween, which means that we're in peak spooky season. So for today's episode, we bring you two books with two very different kinds of f...
How Drew Magary rediscovered himself after 'The Night the Lights Went Out'
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The humor writer Drew Magary was at a karaoke bar when his life changed in a flash: He collapsed and cracked his skull. By most accounts, the resultin...
Why Hillary Clinton wanted to write a political thriller about her greatest nightmare
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The bestselling author Louise Penny is a prolific writer of mysteries and thrillers — but for her latest book, she decided to bring a partner into t...
In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Back in June 2020, during a summer of protests for racial justice, the New Yorker republished 'Letter from a Region in my Mind," a seminal James Baldw...
The zoo that history nearly forgot in 'When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky'
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you visited South Nashville today, you might not suspect that, over a century ago, it was home to a zoo and amusement park called the Glendale Zoo....
Food is a gateway to the new and familiar in 'Crying in H Mart' and 'Gastro Obscura'
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our relationship to food goes far beyond its nutritional value. What we eat can help us tap into something deeper, whether it brings up treasured memo...
Karl Ove Knausgaard didn't mean to write a 666-page book
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard gained an international reputation thanks to his breakout autobiographical series My Struggle -- but he actua...
Stephanie Grisham is — yes, really — taking our questions now
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham famously held no press briefings during her time in the White House — but now, she's ready to talk. H...
How Colin Powell Wanted The World To Remember Him
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Colin Powell died on October 18 at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, he left behind a long, decorated career in Washington and the U.S. ...
Amor Towles' new book is about a road trip that takes more than a few U-turns
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amor Towles' new book is quite the joyride — The Lincoln Highway follows four kids in a 1948 Studebaker who set out along the real-life Lincoln High...
In song and poetry, 'Nina' and 'Just Us' offer ways to start a conversation on race
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the protests last year, we heard the phrase "racial reckoning" a lot, as some groups of people struggled to catch up with what's just been reali...
Fiona Hill's new Trump-era memoir is less about Trump than it is about us
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In her memoir, Fiona Hill extends her riveting testimony from Donald Trump's first impeachment trial. And while she might not dish as much dirt as oth...
Humor, horror and social commentary blend in Percival Everett's detective novel
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Percival Everett's page-turning new detective novel The Trees is at once gruesome and screamingly funny. A racial allegory rooted in southern history,...
What Maggie Nelson Means When She Talks About Freedom
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since her childhood in 1970s San Francisco, critic and poet Maggie Nelson has been mulling the concept of freedom — particularly how we define, prac...
Myriam J.A. Chancy's historical novel about a Haitian earthquake hits on human truths
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Back in August, Myriam J.A. Chancy was preparing for the release of her novel What Storm, What Thunder when the news broke: a magnitude 7.2 earthquake...
The Realities Of Abortion Politics In 'Family Roe: An American Story' & 'Red Clocks'
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Authors Joshua Prager and Leni Zumas each explore the real world implications of abortion politics, through fiction and non-fiction. First, in a conve...
Hearing Voices From 'The Book of Form and Emptiness'
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If these walls could talk... what might they say to the chairs? In Ruth Ozeki's novel The Book of Form and Emptiness, 13-year-old Benny Oh starts hear...
The trailblazing Black football players that history books forgot
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You've likely heard the names of Ruby Bridges, Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall — the first African Americans to desegregate public schools, ...
'Cloud Cuckoo Land' by Anthony Doerr
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following the success of his previous novel All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr's latest book is an ambitious epic about the power and immortal...
From silence to cacophony, here's how your brain makes sense of the world
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It can be hard enough to answer the question, "what kind of music do you like?" But how about "why do you like it?" That's one of the many questions a...
What A Detective Novel And A Memoir Both Have To Say About Black American Life
01 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At first glance, journalist Dawn Turner's book Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood and detective no...
To Understand Humanity, You Have To Understand Water
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, the author and scientist Giulio Boccaletti has studied the substance that's come to define life as we know it: water. And in his book W...
Colson Whitehead Finally Gets To Flex His Comedy Muscle
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After writing his Pulitzer Prize-winning books The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, author Colson Whitehead needed a change of pace. So for h...
NPR's Book of the Day: Hand-picked Great Reads, Everyday From NPR.
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Want to find a good read? Or just keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best storytelling in a...