NPR's Book of the Day

Bozoma Saint John says that the loss of her first daughter, who was born prematurely because of preeclampsia, left deep scars in her relationship with her husband. It contributed to their separation later on – but it also led to a lot of reflection after Saint John's husband's cancer diagnosis brought them back together before he died. These are some of the challenges the former Netflix and Pepsi...

Today's episode features two children's books that touch on the topic of home in one way or another. First, musician Rhiannon Giddens speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about turning the song she wrote during the 2020 racial protests, "Build A House," into a children's book that dives into the complexities of slavery and civil rights in the U.S. Monica Mikai illustrated the book. Then, NPR's Ayesha Ras...

Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters know that wanting is a very particular feeling. What women desire is constantly changing, of course: time, money, sex, new shoes. But as the editors of a new collection of essays, aptly titled Wanting , tell NPR's Ailsa Chang, they were more interested in exploring the process of yearning for something – and the rules we construct around that longing – than the obje...

Up With The Sun is the newest historical novel from acclaimed author Thomas Mallon – with a real-life actor at its center. Dick Kallman's career rose and then fizzled out throughout the 1950s and '60s. By the time he and his life partner were murdered in 1980, he was no longer performing. But as the author tells NPR's Scott Simon, Up With The Sun – and Kallman's life, which intersected with stars...

Gothataone Moeng says she knows the characters in her collection of short stories, Call and Response . They bear similarities to her sisters, cousins, and aunties – but they're their own reflections of life, love, shame, expectations and joy in Gaborone and Serowe, Botswana. In today's episode, Moeng talks to NPR's Scott Simon about some of the different lessons her protagonists are learning, and...

Greta Thunberg has become a household name – but she doesn't want the attention on her to become a distraction from the severity of the climate crisis. In today's episode, Thunberg speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about how she hopes a new collection of essays written by her and more than 100 scientists and journalists – The Climate Book , can become a jumping off point to better understand environme...

The deep sea – and the creatures that occupy it – can often feel like a scary and intimidating unknown. But in Sabrina Imbler's new book, How Far The Light Reaches , the author finds a lot of common ground with marine life ranging from the common goldfish to the Bobbitt worm. In today's episode, Imbler speaks with Greta Johnsen, host of WBEZ's Nerdette podcast, about writing a memoir that weaves b...

Hanna Pylväinen's new novel, The End of Drum-Time , opens with the ground quite literally shaking beneath a Lutheran congregation. It sets the tone for a novel wrapped up in understanding how faith, nature and human connection work alongside – and sometimes against – one another in an 1850s community of native Sámi reindeer herders in the Scandinavian Arctic. In today's episode, Pylväinen speaks w...

In the 1950s, pregnancy and adoption were topics often clouded in shame, secrecy – or both. That's certainly true for Eleanor and Ruby, the two protagonists of Sadeqa Johnson's new novel, The House of Eve . As the two young Black women try to maneuver the misogynoir in the society around them, they're also confronted with the complicated realities of becoming a mother. In today's episode, Johnson...

Here & Now 's Scott Tong describes ransomware as "a high-tech version of kidnapping." It's when a computer or tech system is hacked and money is demanded in order to get it back. In their new book, The Ransomware Hunting Team , ProPublica journalists Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden chronicle how ransomware has grown from individual attacks to large-scale operations against major corporations, unive...

There are three central characters in DK Nnuro's new novel, What Napoleon Could Not Do . Belinda and Jacob are Ghanaian siblings who aspire to move to America and be accepted into the opportunities offered there. On the contrary, Wilder – Belinda's American husband, a Black Texan – has a completely different view of his home country and its treatment towards people like him. In today's episode, Nn...

Today's episode covers two YA novels centered around Black youth and the portrayals they receive – or don't – in coming-of-age literature. First, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Talia Hibbert about her new romantic comedy, Highly Suspicious And Unfairly Cute , which follows an unapologetically nerdy heroine reconciling with the ex-best friend jock that ditched her. Then, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe gets...

The World And All That It Holds starts off in Sarajevo, in 1914, when shots ring out and World War I begins. It changes the course of protagonist Rafael Pinto's life, as he goes on to travel across time and conflict to find a twin flame in another Bosnian soldier named Osman. In today's episode, author Aleksandar Hemon paints a poetic backdrop for his striking new novel. He tells NPR's Scott Simon...

Early on in today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks Dr. Henry Marsh a question – how could a medical professional miss the signs that they themselves are ill? Marsh, the neurosurgeon behind the new book, And Finally , answers quite simply. He tells Simon that it's common for doctors to feel consciously detached from what it's like to be on the other side of the examination table and, on a more sub...

Won Lee, the protagonist of the novel The Sense of Wonder, is the only Asian American player in the NBA. But as was true for real-life basketball star Jeremy Lin, things can get very ugly – and very racist – very quickly. In today's episode, author Matthew Salesses explains to NPR's Leila Fadel how he tried to balance his main character's "happy to be here" energy with the need to push back and st...

Patricia Engel's new collection of short stories, The Faraway World , reaches into the lives of imaginary characters scattered throughout Latin America. There's a family that's left reeling after a very important member disappears; there's an immigrant woman grappling with societal expectations of what her body and career should look like. In today's episode, Engel talks with NPR's Leila Fadel abo...

Today's episode features two books that examine wealth – or lack thereof – and gender in India. First, Deepti Kapoor chats with NPR's Scott Simon about her novel, Age of Vice , and the way it portrays indulgence in New Delhi society through a protagonist who is an "oppressed everyman." Then, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Parini Shroff about The Bandit Queens , which follows a jewelry maker who refu...

Journalist Leila Philip first became interested in beavers when she saw a group of rodents building a pond near her house. Her fascination with what they were doing led her to research and report her new book, Beaverland , which takes a closer look at the animals' impact on North America, from the earliest transatlantic beaver fur trade to today's river restoration efforts. Philip spoke with NPR's...

In Arabic, the rhyme Shubeik Lubeik means "your wish is my command." So it's an apt title for a new graphic novel by Deena Mohamed, which explores a world in which wishes are commodified and classified for consumption. Cheap wishes are packaged and sold in cans, while expensive wishes belong in bottles. In today's episode, Mohamed explains to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how this system is meant to illustr...

Comedy writer Kashana Cauley grew up watching the film Conspiracy Theory , starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, with her parents. She says that's likely her earliest entryway into a world she explores in her debut novel, The Survivalists – it follows a millennial lawyer falling in with a community of doomsday preppers. In this episode, Cauley tells NPR's Juana Summers about the control people mi...

Saying sorry can be really difficult sometimes – it requires a certain amount of accountability, reflection and empathy. But that's precisely why it can go so far in a familial, romantic or professional relationship. In their new book, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry , Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy break down six essential steps to a good apology – and explain why it's more important to think about the i...

Today's episode features two books examining the sacrifices made by enslaved people in the U.S. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with author Ilyan Woo about Master, Slave, Husband, Wife . It's a true story about a young couple that poses as an elderly white man and his slave in order to escape the South. Then, author Kai Thomas tells NPR's Ari Shapiro about how his novel, In the Upper Country , t...

Jessica Johns' thriller, Bad Cree , opens with a startling image: a severed crow's head in someone's hand. In today's episode, Johns tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe she hoped that image would set the tone for the winding mystery within her new novel. It follows a young Cree woman who returns to a home and culture she left behind in hopes of helping her cope with grief. Much of Mackenzie's story involves...

In 2019, John Hendrickson wrote a piece for The Atlantic about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's life with a stutter. Hendrickson himself stutters – and in his new reported memoir, Life on Delay , he takes a closer look at his relationship with talking out loud. In this episode, Hendrickson tells NPR's Scott Simon about the physical discomfort that he and others experience when stuttering an...

In a small North Carolina town in 1976, three siblings are shot to death. That's the mystery at the center of De'Shawn Charles Winslow's new book, Decent People – and it's one the segregated town's white police officers aren't paying much attention to. In today's episode, Winslow tells NPR's Scott Simon about the heroine who takes it upon herself to solve the case, and why the author feels a need...