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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.
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Cemeteries are not everyone’s idea of fun, but they’re a source of fascination for author Mariana Enriquez. Her new nonfiction book Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave is a collection of personal short stories she gathered while traveling to final resting places across four continents. In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation about her past as a goth, the connection between graves and Argentina’s dictatorship, and where Enriquez would like to be buried.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
1Three years ago, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman named Mahsa Jina Amini was fatally beaten by Iran’s morality police. She’d been arrested for not following the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Her death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, one of the largest uprisings in Iran in decades. Journalists Fatemeh Jamalpour and Nilo Tabrizy tell this story in their new book For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran's Women-Led Uprising. In today’s episode, Jamalpour speaks with Here & Now’s Jane Clayson about the movement and Iran’s future.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Two new history books make a strong case for why learning about the past is critical to understanding the world today. First, History Matters is a posthumous collection of writings by American historian David McCullough. In today’s episode, co-editor Dorie McCullough Lawson and historian Jon Meacham tell NPR’s Scott Simon about McCullough’s endless curiosity. Then, in Midnight on the Potomac, Scott Ellsworth explores little-known corners of Civil War history. In today’s episode, he speaks with Here & Now’s Sarah McCammon about long-held myths about the period.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In her new book, F*** Approval, You Don’t Need It!, therapist Lizzie Moult says people who seek the approval of others are doing a great disservice to themselves — and others too. In a conversation with Here & Now host Peter O’Dowd, Moult explains why being a “people pleaser” can be counterproductive. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
The group of friends at the center of Angela Flournoy’s new novel, The Wilderness, are figuring out how to navigate life as they enter middle age. NPR’s Juana Summers spoke with the author about the evolving journey of her characters and what their ups and downs say about the dynamics of long-term friendships. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Former West Virginia senator Joseph Manchin III was a gadfly in the ear of his own Democratic party for many years, and a sometime Republican ally. Manchin’s new memoir, Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense, is packed with stories about his relationships with the likes of President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden. In this interview with NPR’s Michel Martin, Manchin explains why this country needs an “American independent party."To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
At 77, the Booker Prize-winning British novelist Ian McEwan shows no signs of slowing down. His new novel, What We Can Know, is set in Great Britain in the 22nd century – a country now partly underwater as a result of global warming. In today’s episode, McEwan speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the book’s plot – it tells of a search for a lost poem that was written in our own times – and notes that he is less interested in the future of science than that of the humanities, love and daily life.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Two new books dive into the details of diplomacy. First, in the 1960s U Thant became the first non-Western secretary-general of the United Nations. Now his grandson, historian Thant Myint-U, has written Peacemaker, a new biography of the diplomat. In today’s episode, Thant speaks with NPR’s Michele Keleman about his grandfather’s journey. Then, Hussein Agha and Robert Malley have been a part of negotiations to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In today’s episode, they speak with NPR’s Scott Simon about their book Tomorrow Is Yesterday, a history of that failed peace process.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Ken Jaworowski is out with a new crime novel with a surprising tender side. What About the Bodies is set in a fictional town past its glory days with a shuttered steel plant, closed coal mines, and a community that everyone talks about leaving. In today’s episode, the New York Times editor and author speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about the three characters who converge in his story, the failed novels that predated this project, and why Jaworowski says he’s a better editor than writer.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
The Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe is known as Shakespeare’s greatest rival. But in his new book Dark Renaissance, historian Stephen Greenblatt makes the case that Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare. In today’s episode, Greenblatt joins NPR’s Ari Shapiro for a conversation about what made Marlowe a “lost soul,” how the playwright navigated a world of intense censorship, and evidence that points to his role as a spy.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
When Sean Brosnan started coaching the Newbury Park High School cross-country team, the school hadn't qualified for a state championship in 25 years. But within just three years, they were state champions. Now, the coach has written a memoir with Chris Lear and Andrew Greif called Beyond Fast: How A Renegade Coach And His Unlikely High School Team Revolutionized Distance Running. In today’s episode, he talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about what it meant to ask his runners for total commitment.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, is out with his sixth book starring fictional Harvard professor Robert Langdon. In The Secret of Secrets, Langdon is dragged out of his comfort zone by a noetic scientist and finds reality is much stranger than he once imagined. In today’s episode, Brown joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation about how the author’s perspective on human consciousness shifted over the course of writing his latest novel.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
The final episode in our Back to School series focuses on two contemporary books that tell stories about gun violence. First, Jason Reynolds’ 2017 novel in verse Long Way Down centers on a moment of decision that occurs when a teenage boy is on his way to avenge his brother. In today’s episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR’s David Greene about avoiding one-dimensional characters and promoting literacy. Then, Angie Thomas’ 2017 debut The Hate U Give is about a girl who attends school in a neighborhood that’s very different from where she lives. In an interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Thomas discusses codeswitching and combatting the “ghetto girl” stereotype.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Arguably, no high school reading list is complete without one of Toni Morrison’s books. In today’s episode, we look back at a 2004 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, who visited Morrison to talk about a new paperback re-release of five of her novels. The interview focuses on Morrison’s perspective on hauntings, apparitions and ghosts, including the way Morrison’s late father helped her complete Song of Solomon.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is a series of vignettes drawn from the experiences of a Mexican-American girl living in Chicago. Since its publication in 1983, it’s become required reading for high school students across the country. In today’s Back to School episode, we revisit a 2009 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, which recognized the book’s 25th anniversary.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In 2017, Emily Wilson became the first woman to translate Homer’s The Odyssey into English – more than three millennia after the epic’s inception. In the second installment of our Back to School series, Wilson talks with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about how she approached aspects of her translation, including social hierarchies and Homeric epithets.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
It’s Back to School week at NPR’s Book of the Day, which means we’re looking back at interviews with authors who may have shown up on your high school syllabus. First, Jhumpa Lahiri debuted her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies in 1999. In the title story, an American family visits India and their guide develops an infatuation with the wife. In today’s episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR’s Liane Hansen about the inspiration behind the book’s title, the author’s relationship with speaking Bengali, and Lahiri’s experience writing a story from a male perspective.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Today’s episode features two books that dissect very different case studies in politics: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and the anti-abortion movement. First, in July 2024, Harris’ presidential campaign launched like a rocket – but it seemed to stall shortly after. 2024 goes behind the scenes of the Harris team as they leapt into the race months before the election. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two of the book’s authors, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, about how Harris’ inner circle saw crucial campaign moments. Then, Carol Mason’s new book From the Clinics to the Capitol breaks down the political strategy of the anti-abortion movement. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Sarah McCammon about ties between the movement and white nationalism.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Meg Medina’s new young adult novel begins with a fall: Graciela, a 13-year-old-girl, is blown off a cliff and sucked into the bottom of the sea. A century later, she awakens and her afterlife begins. Most of the characters in Graciela in the Abyss are ghosts and spirits, but Medina says the story is really about life. In today’s episode, she joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the author’s “graveyard” of ideas, death as a constant, and her role as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In her first nonfiction book Misbehaving at the Crossroads, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers weaves together history, political commentary and poetry that centers Black women. The poet and novelist’s essays explore what it’s like to occupy an intersectional identity while excavating the past. In today’s episode, Jeffers speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about how writing this book led to a surprising reconciliation within her family.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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I was ok with assistance until the hundredth tattoo and second kid.
I don't know of any historian who has had a greater impact on me than Wilkerson.
I wish that "unpack" could be banned forever, although a podcast on how words come into fashion would be interesting And "unhuman" is... well.... maybe check your Oxford dictionary on that.
#love
it's rare for a reviewer to be so awful that I no longer want to buy a book that I intended to purchase, but this one set my teeth on edge with the uber sensitivity and scott-simonesque-i-apologize-for-living voice. so I'll pass on this book and try to get beyond the memory of this interview.
The principle is interesting, but are your bathroom habits the best example?!?
Wonderful author ( too bad that NPR thrusts all these ads on us at the beginning of every podcast)
thank you for this episode, I shall look for the book