NPR's Book of the Day

Lawrence Wright’s new book Redemption is a story about two groups of women who live surprisingly similar lives. One is on death row in Gatesville, Texas. The other group is a nearby Catholic order, the Sisters of Mary Morning Star. Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row is an account of their alliance. In today’s episode, Wright speaks with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep about the idea of second chances, the likeness betw

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In Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason, Sophie Pattison’s life is falling apart. On paper, there shouldn’t be an issue: She works her dream job mic’ing up authors at a local book festival – and she has a robust support system. So why, when it all comes crashing down, does she feel so alone? Sophie turns to books for solace and develops a crush on her favorite author. In today’s episode, All Things Considered’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Mason about starting over, a desire for human connection, and books as a means of coping with loneliness.<...

Writer and The Office star B.J. Novak says that when his friends started having kids, he would connect with their children by reading books aloud. He began to pay attention to what would make kids laugh and eventually “printed and glue-sticked and paper-clipped” his own book that ended up being The Book with No Pictures. Now, Novak is out with a sequel for younger children called The Little Book with No Pictures. In today’s episode, he chats with Morning Edition’s Michel Martin about how the book turns words like “bonk” and “hug and squeeze" into symbols and art objects.

It’s been almost one year since Heti, the main character of Laleh Khadivi’s Female Life on Planet Earth, lost her mother. But when details from her mother’s secret past resurface, Heti must grapple with what it means to know someone, womanhood and how to grieve parts of her mother she never knew existed. In an interview with NPR's Debbie Elliott, Khadivi talks about motherhood, how physics books became a surprising inspiration and why this is her most personal novel yet. 

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Today’s episode features memoirs by two men whose incarceration became international headlines. Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist who spent 16 months in a Russian prison. Two years after his release, his new memoir This Cursed Beautiful Land details the time he spent listening, observing and writing while detained. Gershkovich spoke with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel about adjusting to life after his release. Then, Mahmoud Khalil describes his detention by ICE as a combined Palestine, First Amendment and immigration case. He spoke with Fadel about his new memoir No Land to Stand On.

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In American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City, NPR host Scott Detrow and religion editor Daniel Burke chronicle Pope Leo XIV’s path to leading the Catholic Church as the first American to take the position in its 2,000 year history. Reported across Peru, Chicago and Rome, the biography paints a picture of the pope, as told by his friends, confidants, family, classmates, fellow clergy and Vatican insiders. Detrow and Burke discuss the Pope’s upbringing and more in today’s episode with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon.

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Natalie Baszile’s new book, Friends and Family, follows the friendship of two mothers: Babs, a Black woman, and Nora, a white woman with an adopted Black son. When the police are called on their kids while they’re home alone, the two women are left to grapple with their tightly-held beliefs on race, identity and how to best protect their kids. In today’s episode, Baszile joins All Things Considered’s Juana Summers to talk about how the book’s questions of race, class and allyship strike personally for the author.

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Over the past few months, some industry insiders have warned that rogue AI could escape its human creators, resulting in dangerous – and perhaps existential – consequences. But in his new book, Kevin Roose reminds readers that billionaire tech executives behind the technology have been fighting about this possibility for a decade or more. The AGI Chronicles follows the all-out sprint to create artificial general intelligence, despite its risks. In today’s episode, Kevin Roose, host of the new NPR podcast Machine Gods, speaks with Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd about the quasi-religious pursuit of this technology.

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Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 novel Lessons in Chemistry was a smash hit, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide. Her new novel Peck & Peck is set in the ‘80s and centers around Batter Gray, a young man who lands a job in the copy room of a prestigious poetry magazine. But soon, Batter becomes embroiled in personal and editorial conflicts. In today’s episode, Garmus joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a conversation about poetry, reading aloud and why Peck & Peck is a novel about being misunderstood.

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Spooky season is year-round, and so are our episodes about scary stories. First up, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jeanette Winterson about The Night Side of the River, a collection of ghost stories that weaves in the liminal spaces — Metaverses, one might say — created through technology to coexist with the dead. Then, NPR's Juana Summers asks Desiree Evans and Saraciea Fennell about The Black Girl Survives in This One, an anthology of horror stories by Black writers that contend with the genre's relationship to race.

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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 ability to see "extraordinary evil” under the surface of ordinary life.

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In his latest novel, George Saunders continues to explore his interest in death and the afterlife. Vigil tells the story of an oil tycoon and climate change denier named K.J. Boone who’s visited by a series of ghosts in his final hours. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow asks Saunders about similarities between this novel and A Christmas Carol. They also discuss the author’s Substack, his experience in the oil industry, and the role of storytelling in this political moment.

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Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror is a collection of scary stories curated by horror filmmaker Jordan Peele. In today's episode, Peele speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about the Black horror stories in this collection and the unique motif of eyes in this genre, including in his own 2017 film Get Out.

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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 touches on mortality, changes to the author’s writing process, and his first ghost story.

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Today’s episode features two books – one classic and one new – that might lead you to reconsider your relationship to work. Nearly 25 years ago, journalist and activist Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover as a nursing aide, waitress, hotel maid and retail worker to write Nickel and Dimed. Here & Now’s Scott Tong spoke with Alissa Quart about Ehrenreich’s legacy and why the author took issue with the term “unskilled” labor. Then, Lindsay Crouse is the author of The Case for Quitting. She spoke with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about how quitting and perseverance can be complimentary options.

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Hernan Diaz’s new book, Ply, takes place in a future where institutions have fallen apart. It appears to be a book about systems and community, but turns out to be one about the self. Ply’s protagonist is a “pincher,” someone who steals electricity from the grid to sell on the black market – and this work leads her to an invention with the potential to drastically alter her reality. In today’s episode, Diaz joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny for a discussion about understanding the United States through technology, the phenomenon of rewilding and how he ended up writing a story about...

Diana, Princess of Wales, died almost three decades ago, but her legacy and image persist in the public eye. Her brother, Charles Spencer, is out with a new book that paints a personal portrait of her. Swan Song is – in part – a deep dive into Diana’s childhood, including the fact that Spencer believes his sister had undiagnosed learning differences. In today’s episode, the author speaks with All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow about the way early criticism from teachers shaped Diana’s identity, her singular parenting style and Spencer’s vow to care for William and Harry in his sister’s a...

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is the author of a new book called Go And Do Likewise: How We Heal A Broken Country. Beshear is a rare Democratic leader in an otherwise majority Republican voting state – and has said he is weighing a presidential run. In his book, Beshear discusses how faith has guided his leadership. He spoke with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about explaining the “why” behind tough political decisions, what this year's midterms mean for the presidential race and why he believes a Democratic governor would be uniquely qualified to lead the country.

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John Green is known for his influential young adult fiction like Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down. His new book, Hollywood, Ending, is his first novel for adults. The story takes place during the fictional filming of a new independent movie about Andy Warhol and centers around two young actors. In an interview with Here & Now, Green spoke with Robin Young about selecting Andy Warhol as one of his subjects, what’s lost and gained from engaging with the attention economy and why this is the hardest book he’s ever written.
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Lois Lowry has written dozens of books for kids and young adults. There’s the historical fiction novel Number the Stars about the Holocaust, the Anastasia Krupnik series and, of course, The Giver. That book launched a quartet, which wrapped in 2012. Lowry hadn’t written another book set in a future dystopia – until now. In today’s episode, NPR’s Andrew Limbong speaks with Lowry about her new book Building 903, intergenerational relationships and the books that shaped her childhood.

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Ari Emanuel is a powerful Hollywood agent who has represented clients including Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese and Vince McMahon. Known for his brash approach to business, he was the model for the character Ari Gold on Entourage. In an interview with Morning Edition, Emanuel told NPR’s Steve Inskeep that “the art of agenting is being relentless in the pursuit to fulfill the dreams of your clients.” In today’s episode, Emanuel and Inskeep discuss being a “ride or die,” how Emanuel successfully hounded Larry David into coming on as a client and how the agent uses rage as a tool of his...

The author Tomi Adeyemi rose to fame with Children of Blood and Bone, the first novel in her popular young adult fantasy series based on the Yoruba religion. That book is the subject of a long-awaited Hollywood adaptation set to come out in January. Now, Adeyemi is out with a new book called The Siren, which is set on a college campus. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Andrew Limbong for a conversation about setting her new book in the real world, the difficulty she faced while working on the Children of Blood and Bone film and her...

For more than 200 years, one question about the nation's third president has lingered: Did Thomas Jefferson father children with Sally Hemings, a woman 30 years his junior whom he held in slavery? Richard Kurin, a scholar and ambassador-at-large for the Smithsonian Institution, spent 15 years searching for Jefferson's DNA in an effort to answer this question. The investigation began with strands of hair found in Jefferson's personal Bible. In today’s episode, Kurin joins Morning Edition’s Michel Martin for a conversation about his book History by a Hair, which details the investigation.

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John and Helen Koh are a middle-class couple living in South Korea with. But when a financial crisis hits, they leave Seoul for Southern California and are faced with a new financial reality. There, they struggle to find a place for their children among the American Dream. American Hagwon is the newest novel from Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko. In today’s episode, she speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about the culture of hagwons, the Korean word for learning centers, and why Lee says writing this novel "transformed" her.

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Before she won the Pulitzer for Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver wasn't sure her neighbors knew what she did for a living. Her new novel Partita, about a classical pianist, gets very personal.


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John F. Kennedy once wrote a book called Profiles in Courage, which highlighted senators throughout history who made unpopular but politically brave decisions. Journalist Jacob Weisberg took inspiration from this premise, but his new book Profiles in Cowardice instead identifies people and institutions that have enabled President Trump as he’s tested the limits of executive power. In today’s episode, Weisberg joins Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep for a conversation about the law firm leaders, university presidents, court authorities and politicians who Weisberg sees as examples of “civic cowardice.”

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The Grand Alpine Hotel is majestic, nestled high in the Swiss Alps with snow perfect for skiing. But one morning, a dead body is discovered in one of the gondolas on its first run – and before long, no one can get off the mountain. That's the opening of Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel. If it sounds like an Agatha Christie novel, well, that's because it basically is. It's by British mystery writer Lucy Foley and is the first authorized Miss Marple novel in 50 years. In today’s episode, Foley spoke with NPR’s Debbie Elliott about how the author channe...

Ben Macintyre is a master of espionage stories that are true. His latest project is based on a case study taught in MI6, the British foreign intelligence service. Redwood follows a KGB spy who offers valuable secrets to Britain while working in Iran during the height of the Cold War. In today’s episode, the author joins Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the spy’s surprising motivations, the contentious history between Russia and Britain in Iran and the fear of nuclear confrontation that hangs over the story.

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R.F. Kuang, author of popular books like Yellowface and Babel, is out with a more personal novel. Taipei Story follows Lily Chin, a Chinese-American college student who travels to Taipei for a summer language intensive. While there, she struggles with complicated feelings about language, identity and the thread of her family’s story. In today’s episode, Kuang talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how the author relates to Lily, her own relationship to speaking Chinese and her interest in writing across genres.

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Two new romance novels subvert expectations about the genre. In Tropesick, Katie and Tyler are old acquaintances who are reunited as writing partners. In today’s episode, author Lauren Okie chats with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers about structuring the novel with different tropes, writing a rivals-to-lovers setup and how Okie balanced metafictional elements with the story’s natural plotline. Then, a former pop star and her psychology professor become intertwined in Extracurricular. Author Rachel Lynn Solomon spoke with Summers about what drew her to the forbidden romance subgenre.

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Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox is out with a new book – but he wants to clarify that he’s not running for president (often an assumption when politicians write books). Off Ramp: How To Be A Peacemaker In An Age Of Contempt is an extension of a plea he made following the killing of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. In the book, he argues Americans need to learn to disagree better in order to restore the respect that once existed between political adversaries. In today’s episode, Cox tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer why he’s the “worst possible spokesperson...

Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel opens in the first spring after the collapse of the United States – and her protagonist, Ari, is on her way to a party. Exit Party is set in a new world emerging out of the chaos of a second American Civil War, one shaped by climate catastrophe and populated by doppelgangers. In today's episode, Mandel chats with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about counterlives, recognizing “good moments” amid disaster and how the painting “Swan Dive” helped the author maintain narrative cohesion.

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In her 2016 book Grit, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth argued that willpower and determination were keys to success. A decade later, her new book signals a change of heart. In Situated, Duckworth says – while grit still matters – changing the situation you’re in is the most helpful thing you can do to meet your goals. In a conversation with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan, Duckworth shares four practical ways to take situational agency, including lessons she learned from a snorkeling accident, Oprah and Taylor Swift.

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Conclave author Robert Harris has returned to Rome with a fictional memoir of Agrippa, a military genius and trusted ally of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. In the memoir, the general doesn’t have much time left and is ready to divulge a life story filled with battles, vows and betrayals. In today’s episode, Harris joins Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Agrippa’s origins, the many other historical figures that populate the book, including Octavia Caesar and Pompeia, and why Harris says ancient Rome is in “our DNA.”

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Ten years ago, Colin Kaepernick – then the quarterback for the 49ers – took a knee during the national anthem in a preseason game in order to protest racial injustice. His new memoir The Perilous Fight reflects on that decision. In a conversation with Morning Edition’s Michel Martin, the former NFL player spoke about the lifetime of experiences that led him to that moment. They also discussed the NFL’s engagement in “paid patriotism,” Kaepernick’s views on the relationship between work and personhood, and why, even at 38, he still maintains NFL ambitions.

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In the post-9/11 era, American Muslims became the target of government suspicion and surveillance. But while reporting her new book, New York Times Magazine journalist Rozina Ali found that Islamophobia has been present in the United States since at least the 1960s. In today’s episode, Ali joins Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel for a conversation about the four family stories – spanning eight decades – that she profiles in Seasons of Fury. They also discuss the way Islamophobia plays out in American politics today.

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Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series follows two kid heroes on their journey to save a group of islands filled with magical beasts. She’s the first children's author since J.K. Rowling to simultaneously top the U.K. and U.S. sales charts. Now, Rundell is out with The Neverfear, the third installment in the series. She’s also authored a book-length essay called Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise. In today’s episode, she talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how children’s literature gets to “the meat of the human h...

Emily Wilson is a classicist whose translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey are popular and controversial. Recently, she was at the center of the discourse surrounding Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey. Her new book of essays reflects on translation and the role of classics in modern society. In it, she argues that "it is a waste of everyone's time if a retranslation takes more or less the same approach as one or more existing published translations." In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Joel Rose about Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea.

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In 1988, a group of gay men gathered in Kingston, Jamaica to put on a play. At the time, homophobia in the country was rampant and sex between men was outlawed. Marlon James’ new novel The Disappearers is about a hateful mob attack at one of the group’s rehearsals. In an interview with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers, James said “this attack in the book was based on an incident which I knew in my gut happened. I just couldn’t prove it.” In today’s episode, Summers and James discuss the untrustworthy quality of official records and the author’s views...

On today’s show, we mark the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 with two books that historicize the attacks. First, All the Presidents’ Wars focuses on anti-terror campaigns waged around the world over the past quarter century. Author Peter Bergen spoke with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep about the expansion of executive branch powers that have enabled these wars. Then, Scattered Steel investigates how material from the World Trade Center ended up in memorials across the country. All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow spoke with Sam Holleran – who co-authored the book with his brother, Max Holleran.

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