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NPR"s Book of the Day

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. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get

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9:42

Author Liane Moriarty on her long-awaited sequel to...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/09/07

After the big success of the 2014 novel Big Little Lies, which included an award-winning HBO adaptation, author Liane Moriarty says everyone kept asking her for a sequel. Now, that sequel has arrived. Big Little Truths picks up the drama between five women as their children navigate high school. Meanwhile, the school’s principal receives a troubling package. In today’s episode, Moriarty tells Here & Now’s Emiko Tamagawa about how performances by Laura Dern and Meryl Streep influenced the sequel, the

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17:19

New music books take on Paul Simon's 'Graceland' and...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/09/04

In today’s episode, we chat about two new music histories. First, 1986’s Graceland is considered Paul Simon's signature album. It introduced South African music to a global audience and revitalized Simon's career. Author Ashley Kahn spoke with Morning Edition’s A Martínez about his new book Days of Miracle and Wonder, which goes behind the scenes of the album. Then, a book about how outlaws, gangers and criminals dot the history of American music. In today’s episode, Colin Asher talks with NPR’s Don

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10:35

New book evaluates President Biden's legacy as...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/09/03

As midterm elections approach, former President Joe Biden's legacy still plays a big role in the Democratic Party. Princeton historian Julian Zelizer has edited a new book called The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden, which evaluates Biden’s time in office from a historical perspective. In today’s episode, the editor talks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about writing a first draft of history, the political polarization that surrounded the Biden years and what the lessons Democrats might have learned – and

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8:38

'Astronaut!' is a coming-of-age story set against the...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/09/02

It’s 1989 in Romania and the country is living under a totalitarian regime. In the new novel Astronaut!, an 8-year-old girl craves bright colors among otherwise gray surroundings as she comes of age during the fall of the Iron Curtain. Simultaneously, a serial killer is on the loose, but the government denies any criminal activity. Instead, they blame a bear. In today’s episode, author Oana Aristide talks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about communist humor and how her upbringing in Transylvania

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11:58

'How We Disappear' is a Stanford historian's take on...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/09/01

Thomas Mullaney is a historian at Stanford University. After his father died, Mullaney began to think about the archive he left behind: papers, documents, photos, objects and more. How We Disappear is a personal and academic history of information – and the role information plays in a naturally chaotic universe. In today’s episode, Mullaney joins Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd for a conversation about the small pieces that form our identities, a concept historians called “original order” and why How We

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8:10

In 'Man Overboard!,' Kathleen Rooney approaches a...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/31

While on a cruise, a former college swimmer finds himself in the water, adrift alone, swimming for his life. But he isn’t sure how he got there. In Man Overboard!, 33-year-old Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick navigates an existential reckoning while trying to stay afloat. Along the way, he reflects on his touchy relationship with his older girlfriend, grapples with darkness and finds a conversational partner in a sea turtle. In today’s episode, author Kathleen Rooney speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott

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17:06

Remembering Dolly Parton through her writing for...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/28

Over the past week, Dolly Parton has been remembered for her music, her star power, her advocacy and her philanthropic contributions. But she was also an author. In today’s episode, we remember the country star through two of her books. In 2022, Parton and co-author James Patterson spoke with Morning Edition’s Rachel Martin about their novel Run, Rose, Run, about an aspiring country musician who moves to Nashville. Then, we revisit a 2023 conversation between Parton and NPR’s Melissa Block about the

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10:52

Chang-Rae Lee on whether his new novel 'A Tender Age'...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/27

Chang-Rae Lee’s new novel is filled with some of his own memories, like worrying about being picked last for dodgeball and sizing up his fellow Asian American classmates to determine who was most “foreign.” Lee says, unlike some of his other novels, these autobiographical elements populate A Tender Age. In today’s episode, the author speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about growing up Korean American in suburban New York in the 1970s, attending church camp in the Hudson Valley and the fragility of

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9:11

'New York Times' obituarist Sam Roberts says he...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/26

Sam Roberts says when people find out what he does for work, they tend to shrink away. Roberts is a veteran obituarist for The New York Times. But the writer says he writes about life – not death. His new memoir Are They Dead Yet? is a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of writing obituaries. In today’s episode, he tells NPR’s Eyder Peralta about how the Times determines who gets an obituary, how Roberts weighs the unsavory parts of his subjects’ pasts and why he decided to publish an obituary for

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8:56

In 'Daytona Teddy Riggs,' a former high school...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/25

Daytona Teddy Riggs is a former high school football star from a wealthy oil and gas family. But in his 20s, he enters a downward spiral as he seeks to become the World’s Strongest Man. Daytona Teddy Riggs follows this single-minded quest, one marked by steroids, behavioral issues and new consequences for his actions. In today’s episode, debut author Drew Buxton joins NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben for a conversation about the novel, masculinity, and his protagonist’s future.Support public media with

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9:41

Former U.S. Mexico ambassador Ken Salazar on new...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/24

Ken Salazar's personal and political life have been defined by the U.S.-Mexico border. The fifth-generation Mexican American has served as a U.S. senator, secretary of the interior and ambassador to Mexico. His new memoir Borderlands focuses on the long history between the U.S. and Mexico. In today’s episode, he speaks with NPR’s Eyder Peralta about his work on migration under the Biden administration.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s

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20:19

Journalist Jodi Kantor and happiness expert Arthur...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/21

Journalist Jodi Kantor and Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks are both out with new books about identifying and cultivating meaning in one’s life. Brooks says he wanted to write The Meaning of Your Life after observing an explosion in depression and anxiety among young people beginning around 2008. In today’s episode, he chats with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how neglecting right-brain activity has led us astray. Then, Kantor tells NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the daunting commencement

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9:19

In 'The Foursome,' conjoined twins marry two sisters...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/20

In 1839, conjoined twins and famous showmen Chang and Eng Bunker — native to Thailand, then called Siam — took a break from touring, settled in North Carolina, bought a slave plantation, and married two American sisters. The interracial union caused a public scandal for more reasons than one, and their story is the inspiration for Christina Baker Kline’s novel The Foursome. In today’s episode, Baker Kline, who is a distant cousin of the twins’ wives, speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about exploring

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11:48

Andy Weir reveals his fun and frantic creative...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/19

In Project Hail Mary, amateur astronaut Ryland Grace must travel light years from Earth to save humanity from a dying Sun. The stakes are high, to say the least. But author Andy Weir was intentional about centering hope in his bestselling novel, which inspired the recent blockbuster film starring Ryan Gosling. In today’s episode, Andy Weir joins Here and Now’s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss his creative world-building process, and why he remains optimistic about our ability to collaborate in the face

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12:01

'The Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/18

Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s in her 70s, and she takes readers on a journey through her various correspondences — which include names as revered as Joan Didion and Ann Patchett. But Sybil isn’t telling us everything, and her clever prose might hide as much as it reveals. In today’s episode, author Virginia Evans joins Here and Now’s Robin Young to discuss the value of

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8:55

'This is Where the Serpent Lives' is a sprawling...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/17

Author Daniyal Mueenuddin hit the ground running with his debut novel, This is Where the Serpent Lives. Set in modern Pakistan, the story spans generations and explores class, corruption, and crime — themes that Mueenuddin says he believes might resonate with American readers in particular. In today’s episode, Mueenuddin speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about his novel-writing process for This is Where the Serpent Lives, and why he sprinkled subtle autobiographical details across its pages.Support

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21:55

'Cloudthief' and 'Dead but Dreaming of Electric...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/15

Today’s episode features two novels with tech at the center. Climate journalist Nathaniel Rich’s Cloudthief is the story of a hacker and a journalist who team up to rob a data center in Oklahoma. Rich spoke with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how he came up with the idea for the heist. Then, horror writer Paul Tremblay is out with a new novel about a gamer who takes on an odd job involving a man in a vegetative state. Tremblay spoke with Here & Now’s Tiziana Dearing about Dead but Dreaming of

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8:47

In 'Hinterlands,' Hannah Lucinda Smith warns not to...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/13

Hannah Lucinda Smith is a veteran foreign correspondent. Her new book Hinterlands explores whether hidden conflicts unfolding in little-noticed border areas might be shaping a new world order. In today’s episode, she speaks with All Things Considered’s Mary Louise Kelly about “overlooked” places caught between the Russian and Turkish spheres of influence and the West. They also discuss Smith’s comparison between the political circumstances in Damascus in 2011 and Sarajevo in 1914 – and the dynamic

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8:43

Authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson on writing...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/12

By chance, authors Annie Hartnett and Kevin Wilson published road trip novels last year within just a few weeks of each other. The Road to Tender Hearts follows a 67-year-old man, his estranged daughter and his newly adopted grandniece and nephew on a road trip to reunite with the man’s high school crush. Run for the Hills is about four half-siblings who set off to track down the father who abandoned them. In today’s episode, Hartnett and Wilson join All Things Considered’s Juana Summers for a

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8:45

Political strategist Ben Wikler on how Democrats can...

NPR"s Book of the Day ·

2026/08/11

As Democrats struggle to revive their party, democratic strategist Ben Wikler has advice to share. Wikler was chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2019-2025. And the key, he says, is to focus on the whole system rather than one candidate. He makes this argument in a new book called This Is the Plan. He spoke with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about how he believes Democrats can “un-rig” the system and regain political power at the national level.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for

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1,334 results

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