NPR's Book of the Day

The pandemic accelerated the digitization of our lives. Work, school, dating, even worship – we learned to access and navigate all of it through our screens. But is that actually a good thing? In his new book, The Future Is Analog , writer David Sax argues that there's a lot we miss out on when we over-rely on our devices in our everyday lives. He tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe that maybe by being a li...

Patti Smith and Kevin Nealon are both stars for very different reasons; one is a punk legend, the other a standup comedian and SNL alum. But they have something important in common – they both find inspiration in creating visual projects. In today's episode, NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Smith about her new photography collection, A Book of Days , and what she describes as the "sacred atmosphere...

In Jas Hammonds' YA novel, We Deserve Monuments, high school senior Avery is faced with moving from Washington, D.C. to her mom's small hometown in Georgia to be closer to Mama Letty, her aging grandma. But as she grapples with her new surroundings and with a dark, family secret, she also falls in love with the girl next door. In this episode, Hammonds talks to NPR's Juana Summers about the themes...

Timothy Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown are college admissions experts, so they know how confusing and overwhelming the higher education system can be. That's especially true for Black students, which is why their new book offers a guide for how to think about application timelines, exposure to schools, and financial aid opportunities. In this episode, they explain to Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd wh...

Climate displacement is already a reality. In Lily Brooks-Dalton's new novel The Light Pirate , which takes place in a near future, a family chooses to stay in a Florida town hit by a severe hurricane. As the state collapses, the people who live there must forge their own path forward. In today's episode, Brooks-Dalton speaks with NPR's Sarah McCammon about the compromises made between nature and...

Journalist Dawn Turner grew up in Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood in the '70s. Her memoir chronicles the dreams shared between her younger sister, her best friend and herself – and the disparities that Black girls experience in the quest for their own American Dream. In today's episode, Turner opens up to Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about where her path diverged from those of her frie...

It's the most wonderful time of the year – NPR's annual Books We Love ! On today's episode, our host Andrew Limbong sits down with All Things Considered host Juana Summers to discuss some of the titles on this year's roundup, which includes more than 400 recommendations. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with the author of one of the most popular books on the list: Jennette McCurdy. She opens...

Sarah Thankam Mathews' debut novel takes place after the 2009 recession. The lead character, Sneha, just graduated college. Alone in the U.S. after her parents' unfair deportation back to India, she builds community through the friendships and lesbian relationships of her early 20s. In this episode, Mathews explains to Here & Now's Robin Young how her own experience with mutual aid work led her to...

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he's been demeaned and misunderstood for his evangelical Christian values. In his new book, So Help Me God , he dives into how his religious views impact his personal life and his political ambitions, and why he feels he's experienced judgment as a result of both. In this episode, NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Pence about how the religious freedom legislation he ch...

Author and former dancer Meg Howrey knows about the world of ballet. It's at the center of her new novel, They're Going to Love You , which finds an adult choreographer reflecting on her childhood relationship with her estranged father and her father's partner. In this episode, Howrey talks to NPR's Scott Simon about becoming a writer and honing in on the power that ambition, forgiveness and the p...

Journalist and Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa thinks the world is facing a sort of World War III – especially as it relates to information. Her new book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator , details the relationship between trust, truth and democracy, and how social media's pull to inflammatory falsehoods can threaten that delicate balance. In this episode, she tells NPR's Scott Simon how the Philippin...

There is a common hurdle for many first generation immigrants: feeling out of place. Whether that's in school, speaking a different language, or living through parents' expectations. Today: two books about overcoming those feelings of inadequacy. First, Simu Liu, Marvel's first Asian superhero, discusses his memoir We Were Dreamers, where he talks about his complicated relationship with his parent...

Bonnie Garmus' new novel Lessons In Chemistry has been getting a lot of buzz. Elizabeth Zott is a talented chemist but because it's the 1960s, she faces sexism in her quest to work as a scientist. So instead she has a cooking show that is wildly popular. Garmus told NPR's Scott Simon that the character of Elizabeth lived in her head for many years before she started writing this novel. See pcm.ads...

Somali British poet Warsan Shire has had many projects, including running a popular Tumblr page and collaborating with Beyoncé. Now, she is out with a new collection of poems called Bless The Daughter Raised By A Voice In Her Head . That title is an ode to how she was raised, having to take on a lot of responsibility from a young age. But Shire told NPR's Sarah McCammon that it's also an ode to th...

Author Karen Joy Fowler thinks John Wilkes Booth craved attention – and that he's gotten his fair share of it. So her new novel, Booth , instead focuses on his family. Their history might surprise you, given how John turned out. His grandfather was a part of the Underground Railroad. Fowler told NPR's Scott Simon that because of all we know about Booth's family, the path that John took is one of l...

Author NoViolet Bulawayo's new novel Glory is quite openly based on Orwell's Animal Farm and the 2017 coup in Zimbabwe that ousted then president Robert Mugabe. Horses rule the country, dogs are the military, cows, goats, sheep, and pigs are the everyday people. The government that has been in control of the country Jidada for 40 years has fallen to rebellion. But, as these things go, it quickly t...

Poet Franny Choi knows that marginalized communities have been facing apocalypses forever. But in her new book, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On , she uses their survival as a way to look forward. In this episode, she tells NPR's Leila Fadel how understanding that pain and resilience can ultimately be a source of hope. Then, former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins discusses his new co...

A lot of holiday tables will undoubtedly feature some kind of pie this year. But for food writer Rossi Anastopoulo, pies aren't just a baked dish – they're a throughline of how American society and values have changed over time. In this episode, Anastopoulo shares some notable pie recipes with NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer, and breaks down what they each represent about race, gender and economic opportunit...

Displacement, identity and the aftermath of warfare are themes running through today's episode on The Haunting of Hajji Hotak . Author Jamil Jan Kochai talks with Ari Shapiro about why he used elements of science fiction like video games and magical realism to tell a largely autobiographical story of his family's life in Afghanistan before and after the Soviet invasion. See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist and author who just wrote a new book about the history of eugenics, and he tells NPR's Rebecca Ramirez that the political ideology is not just a relic of the past, but very much still relevant today. In this episode, Rutherford explains how anti-immigrant fear in the 19th century spurred popularity for an unscientific practice that was eventually embraced by Nazis –...

Fat Joe's career spans three decades – but before he was performing on stages around the world, he was a little kid getting bullied in the Bronx. His new memoir, The Book of Jose , goes back to his childhood in New York and his early days rapping in the Diggin' in the Crates Crew. In this episode, he opens up to NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about why he's committed to his community and how becoming a "big...

In this episode, two nonfiction books explore the Russian invasion of Ukraine from two completely different experiences. First, 12-year-old Yeva Skalietska from Kharkiv reads one of her diary entries from the early days of the war to Here and Now's Deepa Fernandes. Then, former White House Russia expert Andrew Weiss speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his new graphic novel biography of Vladi...

Men in Blazers' Roger Bennett knows football – or soccer, as Americans call it. His new book, Gods of Soccer , lists 100 players who've made their mark on the sport one way or another. He tells Mary Louise Kelly about how he managed to compile that list, and why the book delves into the origin stories and cultural impact of a wide range of players – not just the Ronaldo and Messi household names,...

Michelle Obama wants young people to know "going high" isn't about being complacent – it's about being strategic while pushing for change. In this episode, the former first lady sits down with NPR's Juana Summers to discuss her new book, The Light We Carry , and the toolkit she relies on to navigate the realities of partnership, parenthood and privilege. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about o...

Now Is Not the Time to Panic is a novel, but the relationship at its core comes from best-selling author Kevin Wilson's own young adulthood. Two teens find each other, in a summer of boredom, and start making art together – but their collaboration spirals to unlikely places. In this episode, Wilson tells NPR's Scott Simon about the real-life friendship that sparked the story, and what those memori...