NPR's Book of the Day

James Baldwin ’s recent centennial birthday allowed us to discuss one of his most celebrated novels, Giovanni’s Room . Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour ’s Glen Weldon , examining the story of three lovers, chasing connection, love, and acceptance in 1950s Paris. Special guest Garth Greenwell also drops by to share how Giovanni’s Room made an impact on his...

Two new biographies focus on legendary musical acts: the rock band The Cars and rapper Tupac Shakur. First, in the late 1970s, a Boston radio DJ played The Cars’ demo tape – and the band went on to inform rock music for decades. In today’s episode, author Bill Janovitz speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about his new book The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told . Then, Tupac was one of the most influe...

In The Widow , his 52nd novel and counting, author John Grisham returns to one of his cherished topics: lawyers. But not the type of lawyer one would hire if they’d like to keep their money safe. Simon Latch is a small town lawyer sick of equally small cases, until he finds himself in charge of drafting a will for an enormously wealthy widow. Will Simon keep her wealth an untouched secret, or atte...

Megha Majumdar’s new novel takes place in a near-future Kolkata struck by climate change. There, one family’s possibility of escape is jeopardized when their passports are stolen. A Guardian and a Thief , a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award, weaves together their plot with the story of their burglar. In a conversation with Here & Now, Majumdar tells Jane Clayson that hope isn’t always nobl...

Tochi Onyebuchi remembers when the internet was fun. The science fiction and fantasy author says he initially existed online as a “skinless, raceless entity” until he experienced a shift around 2012. His new memoir Racebook traces this shift to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and subsequent acquittal of the man who killed him. In today’s episode, Onyebuchi speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers abou...

It’s been more than 30 years since Philip Pullman began the His Dark Materials series – and now, that story is coming to a close. Pullman’s latest book The Rose Field follows the series’ heroine Lyra Belacqua as she chases the same mystery she began unraveling as a child. In today’s episode, Pullman joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation that touches on organized religion, reimagining Lyra as...

The stories of mothers and daughters trying to connect with each other, across time, space and generations – this is the centerpiece of Amy Tan ’s The Joy Luck Club . This week, Andrew Limboong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s The Indicator ’s Wailin Wong to discuss how the desperation to bridge the divide between parent and child continues to be present in stories of immigrant families today....

Today’s episode features two new crime thrillers written by big names. First, Harlan Coben says he stopped in his tracks when Reese Witherspoon asked to collaborate on a novel. In today’s episode, the co-authors speak with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about their collaboration on Gone Before Goodbye . Then, I Love Dick author Chris Kraus took an autofiction approach to her crime novel The Four Spent th...

After Harper Lee’s death in 2016, previously unpublished writing was discovered in her New York City apartment. The Land of Sweet Forever includes eight new short stories from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Lee wrote them a decade prior to To Kill a Mockingbird and some of the stories include early versions of Atticus and Scout, the characters who made her famous. In today’s episode, Here & No...

Salman Rushdie lived for decades under a death sentence and survived a knife attack three years ago. His latest book The Eleventh Hour is his first work of fiction since that near-death experience. These short stories and novellas center around the end of life, what might come after, and the idea of personal legacy. In today’s episode, Rushdie joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation that...

As a newborn, Ed Archie NoiseCat was found in an incinerator at a Catholic-run Indian boarding school. In a new book We Survived the Night , his son, Julian Brave NoiseCat, writes about this trauma in the broader context of Native history in the United States and Canada. The book blends memoir and reporting, exploring a culture of silence around Native stories. In today’s episode, Julian Brave Noi...

For almost three years, Karine Jean-Pierre was White House press secretary for the Biden-Harris administration. Her new memoir, Independent , explains her recent decision to leave the Democratic Party and identify as an independent. In today’s episode, Jean-Pierre joins NPR’s Michel Martin for a conversation about Democratic disunity, former President Biden’s health, and why she says her former pa...

Westerns are seemingly back in the culture. With the popularity of the television series Yellowstone and musical artists like Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter winning Album of the Year, it feels like we need to dust off our spurs and dig into this week’s book selection, Charles Portis’ True Grit . Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker speak with NPR’s Morning Edition host, Michel Martin about how young Mattie Ro...

In today’s episode, "King of Horror" Stephen King reflects on his sobriety, the sequel to The Shining and a novel he co-wrote with his son. First, The Shining came out in 1980, but King didn’t publish the sequel – Doctor Sleep – until more than 30 years later. In a 2013 interview, the author spoke with NPR’s David Greene about revisiting his iconic characters. Then, King and his son Owen co-wrote...

After Mexico’s war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. Isabel Cañas' debut novel The Hacienda blends romance, terror, and the supernatural to tell a story infused with Mexican culture. In a 2022 interview with Weekend Edition Sunday, Cañas told Ayesha Rascoe about the novel’s themes – colonialism, social status, the syncr...

With stories like “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House , Shirley Jackson was one of the great horror authors of the 20th century. In 2012, Ruth Franklin wrote a biography of the writer called Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life . In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Franklin and NPR’s Linda Wertheimer. They talk about Jackson’s childhood, domestic life, and her unique a...

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , written in 1818, permeated our cultural imagination in a way few stories have. With a new film adaptation directed by Guillermo del Toro out now, we’re revisiting a 2012 conversation about the Gothic classic. In today’s episode, NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with Princeton English professor Susan Wolfson, who co-edited an annotated version of the book. They discuss Frank...

Novelist Anne Rice was known for her supernatural tales about vampires, witches, and ghosts. In 1976, she gained notoriety for Interview with the Vampire , the first book in The Vampire Chronicles series. In today’s episode, we revisit a 2003 conversation between Rice and NPR’s Liane Hansen about Rice's novel 'Blood Canticle' — and the spirits that haunted the author’s own home. To listen to Book...

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re watching or reading… a lot about vampires? With the 20th anniversary of the Twilight book series upon us, plus the fact that one of the year’s biggest films, Sinners , happens to be a vampire movie, we feel like we can’t escape them - but maybe we don’t want to! On this week’s episode of Books We’ve Loved , Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by longti...

Today’s episode features new memoirs by journalists who aren’t afraid to connect deeply with their subjects. First, in Paper Girl , Beth Macy travels back to her hometown, Urbana, Ohio. In today’s episode, she tells NPR’s Ailsa Chang about the socioeconomic and cultural changes she found there. Then, Susan Orlean is known for going deep on niche subjects, like orchid enthusiasts or umbrella invent...

As Israeli forces invaded Gaza in 2023, Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad kept a diary. Her writing is a record of the 45 days she spent reporting on the ground during the invasion until she evacuated. Now, she’s published her diary as a book called The Eyes of Gaza . In today’s episode, Alaqad joins NPR’s Lelia Fadel for a conversation about the journalist’s memories of home both before and a...

The scholar Nicholas Boggs has a new perspective on James Baldwin. The new biography Baldwin: A Love Story considers how the writer and Civil Rights leader’s lovers might’ve shaped him. In today’s conversation with NPR’s Michel Martin, Boggs argues Baldwin provided a dynamic model for how we relate to other people – both in platonic and romantic relationships. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-...

Today’s episode centers an important voice in the still-unfolding story of Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Roberts Giuffre survived abuse at the hands of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and a number of powerful men. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. But before her death, she wrote a memoir called Nobody’s Girl . In today’s interview with NPR’s Leila Fadel, Giuffre’s collaborator on the project, Amy...

Ken Liu is a big name in science fiction. His latest novel All That We See or Seem takes place in a world that’s not too different from ours. But in the book, AI is more embedded in day-to-day life and one character uses it to guide collective dream experiences. In today’s episode, Liu speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about the novel’s hacker protagonist, dreams as knowledge, and how human pattern...

This year, readers around the world are celebrating Jane Austen ’s 250th birthday. On the inaugural episode of Books We’ve Loved , hosts Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Pop Culture Happy Hour ’s Linda Holmes to discuss Austen’s seminal novel Pride & Prejudice . The trio weighs in on how the romance genre continues to reference the book’s “enemies to lovers” story – and why the tale’s...