NPR's Book of the Day
NPR's Book of the Day
NPR

NPR's Book of the Day

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In need of a good read? Or just want to keep up with the books everyone's talking about? NPR's Book of the Day gives you today's very best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Whether you're looking to engage with the big questions of our times – or temporarily escape from them – we've got an author who will speak to you, all genres, mood and writing styles included. Catch today's great books in 15 minutes or less.
Kevin Kwan explores race and identity in 'Sex and Vanity' and 'Lies and Weddings'
04 July 2025

Kevin Kwan explores race and identity in 'Sex and Vanity' and 'Lies and Weddings'

Today's encore episode features two interviews with Kevin Kwan, author of the Crazy Rich Asians series. First, former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro spoke to the writer in 2020 about Sex and Vanity, exploring identity through the lens of a biracial character and setting a new trilogy between Europe and the U.S. Then, Here & Now's Robin Young asks Kwan about his newest novel, Lies and Weddings,...
In Emma Straub's novel 'All Adults Here,' family is messy
03 July 2025

In Emma Straub's novel 'All Adults Here,' family is messy

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 families are complicated. Straub argues a lot of our familial relationships are about watching each other grow up — and whether or not you allow those you love to grow and change. In today's encore episode, she told NPR's Scott Simon that even the...
In 'Lessons in Chemistry' a chemist is the star of... a cooking show?
02 July 2025

In 'Lessons in Chemistry' a chemist is the star of... a cooking show?

Bonnie Garmus' novel Lessons in Chemistry got a lot of buzz when it was first released in 2022. 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. In this encore episode, Garmus told NPR's Scott Simon that the character of Elizabeth lived in her head for many years before...
'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes
01 July 2025

'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes

The novel The Rachel Incident is rooted around a wonderful, messy friendship. Rachel and James live together, party, and get themselves into a peculiar situation with an older married couple. In today's encore episode, author Caroline O'Donoghue speaks with NPR's Miles Parks about how abortion and sexual repression in Irish society play a large role in Rachel's early adulthood. O'Donoghue also...
Emily Henry's 'Funny Story' centers a new character in rom-com tropes
30 June 2025

Emily Henry's 'Funny Story' centers a new character in rom-com tropes

Two childhood best friends realize they're in love and break up with their significant others to be together – that's a classic romantic-comedy storyline. But in her book, Funny Story, author Emily Henry wonders about some of the other forgotten cast members: what happens to the people who got dumped along the way? In today's encore episode, NPR's Juana Summers asks Henry about writing male...
New books by Damon Young and Dennard Dayle take different routes to humor
27 June 2025

New books by Damon Young and Dennard Dayle take different routes to humor

Today on the show, two new books take different routes to humor. First, writer Damon Young is out with an anthology of comedic essays called That's How They Get You. Young says he reached out to people who represent the expansiveness of Black humor and gave them one directive: Be funny. In today's episode, Young talks with NPR's Juana Summers about his essay on his relationship with Invisalign....
'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne
26 June 2025

'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne

In 1483, a 10-year-old peasant named John Collan is visited by a stranger who shares a life-changing piece of information. John isn't the son of a farmer, but the Duke of Clarence – and it's time for him to reclaim his destiny as king of England. Jo Harkin's novel The Pretender expands on this footnote of history from the Tudor period. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Scott Simon for a...
In 'The Science of Revenge,' an expert explains why humans are hardwired for payback
25 June 2025

In 'The Science of Revenge,' an expert explains why humans are hardwired for payback

In his new book, The Science of Revenge, James Kimmel Jr. argues that there is a human desire to get even – and it might even be an addiction. Kimmel Jr., a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, realized his own taste for retaliation as a teenager and later felt that he would benefit from a kind of "revenge rehab." In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Michel Martin that revenge lights...
'Great Black Hope' is a character study of a young, Black, queer man in high society
24 June 2025

'Great Black Hope' is a character study of a young, Black, queer man in high society

Smith – the protagonist in Great Black Hope – is at a party in the Hamptons when he's arrested for cocaine possession. Smith is a young, Black, queer man of privilege who's floated through New York's largely white downtown social scene – but that changes when his roommate is found dead. In today's episode, author Rob Franklin joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe to talk about his debut novel. They discuss...
'Fatherhood' traces a history of masculinity, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud
23 June 2025

'Fatherhood' traces a history of masculinity, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud

Historian Augustine Sedgewick became a father in the summer of 2017. At the time, media events like the Bill Cosby trial were publicly challenging ideals of masculinity and fatherhood. Motivated by care for his son, Sedgewick began to research the history of masculinity and the figure of the dad. His new book Fatherhood approaches the topic through historical examples, from figures like Aristotle...