Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews NPR's brings you news about books and authors along with our picks for great reads. Interviews, reviews, and much more.

Books

Subscribe to Books Newsletter

Deborah Lee for NPR

NPR Books Summer Poll 2021: A Decade Of Great Sci-Fi And Fantasy

The Summer Reader Poll Returns: Tell Us Your Favorite New Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books

June 22, 2021 • Our famous Summer Reader Poll is back! It's been 10 years since our original sci-fi and fantasy poll, and the field has changed so much since then — so tell us about your favorite new reads!

A Young Literary Star Makes His Posthumous Debut With 'Afterparties'

Writer Anthony Veasna So's debut short story collection, Afterparties, is being published after his death last December. Chris Sackes hide caption

toggle caption

Chris Sackes

A Young Literary Star Makes His Posthumous Debut With 'Afterparties'

August 1, 2021 • Writer Anthony Veasna So was a rising figure in the literary scene until he died in December. His stories captured the fullness of queer, Cambodian American life.

A Young Literary Star Makes His Posthumous Debut With 'Afterparties'

Listen · 5:08 5:08

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1021415438/1023393443" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

A Russian Immigrant To The U.S. Humorously Recounts Her Experience, Love For America

I Named My Dog Pushkin (And Other Immigrant Tales): Notes From a Soviet Girl on Becoming an American Woman, by Margarita Gokum Silver Thead Books hide caption

toggle caption

Thead Books

Review

A Russian Immigrant To The U.S. Humorously Recounts Her Experience, Love For America

August 1, 2021 • It's a particular pleasure to see our splintered country through the eyes of Margarita Gokun Silver, a determined and appreciative emigree, in 'I Named My Dog Pushkin.'

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

August 1, 2021 • Maggie Smith's new poetry collection considers the human tendency to search for universal truths — but she looks for those truths in things we can see every day, as ordinary as rosebushes and rocks.

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Atria

Review

In 'Goldenrod,' A Poet Finds Lessons In The Good, The Bad And The Unexpected

Feeling Lost? These 3 Fantasy Novels Will Help You Be The Hero Of Your Own Story

St. Martin's Griffin

Review

NPR Books Summer Poll 2021: A Decade Of Great Sci-Fi And Fantasy

Feeling Lost? These 3 Fantasy Novels Will Help You Be The Hero Of Your Own Story

July 31, 2021 • Sometimes books can be a literal escape, not just a figurative one. Our critic Alethea Kontis recommends three fantasy novels that helped her along the way as she escaped an abusive relationship.

Monsters And Magic Run In The Family In These 2 YA Novels

Six Crimson Cranes, by Elizabeth Lim Knopf Books for Young Readers hide caption

toggle caption

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Review

Monsters And Magic Run In The Family In These 2 YA Novels

July 31, 2021 • Six Crimson Cranes and The River Has Teeth — two new July YA novels — both focus on monstrous mothers and folkloric family magic. But apart from that, they couldn't be more different.

Author Helen Hoang Talks Sex, Autism And Freedom

Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient. Eric Kieu hide caption

toggle caption

Eric Kieu

Review

Author Helen Hoang Talks Sex, Autism And Freedom

July 30, 2021 • This summer, Code Switch is laser-focused on books that teach us about freedom. Today, we're in conversation with a romance novelist whose own identity helped inform a rich cast of characters.

MCD

Given The Choice Between Prison Life And Fighting Wildfires, These Women Chose Fire

July 30, 2021 • NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with writer Jaime Lowe about her new book, Breathing Fire, which tells the stories of the incarcerated women who are part of California's wildfire crews.

Given The Choice Between Prison Life And Fighting Wildfires, These Women Chose Fire

Listen · 8:00 8:00

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1022727889/1022909598" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Cavan Images/Getty Images

Why Sweat Is A Human Superpower

July 30, 2021 • Sweat is an "evolutionary marvel," says Sarah Everts, the author of The Joy of Sweat. In her new book, Everts delves into the science of perspiration and how this trait has enabled humans to thrive.

Why Sweat Is A Human Superpower

Listen · 12:27 12:27

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1022546464/1022584335" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

These 3 Books Will Help Your Kids Get Over Their Summer Reading Blues

Clash, by Kayla Miller, Something Stinks! by Jonathan Fenske, and Maya and the Robot, by Eve L. Ewing NPR hide caption

toggle caption

NPR

Are You There God? It's Me, Juanita

These 3 Books Will Help Your Kids Get Over Their Summer Reading Blues

July 29, 2021 • You don't have to be an Olympian to hit a wall — by late July, nothing's exciting anymore, not even the blow-up pool. We've got three books that can help your kids get their reading groove back.

David Bowie, Travis Scott Inspired The Poems In This New Collection

Adrian Matejka Polina Osherov hide caption

toggle caption

Polina Osherov

David Bowie, Travis Scott Inspired The Poems In This New Collection

July 29, 2021 • Poet Adrian Matejka used to be a DJ — and when he got stuck in pandemic-induced misery, it was music that lifted him up and helped him finish writing his latest book, Somebody Else Sold the World.

David Bowie, Travis Scott Inspired The Poems In This New Collection

Listen · 2:15 2:15

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1018458199/1022094399" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Becky Harlan/NPR

YA Lit: A Guide For The Perplexed — And The Just Plain Curious

July 29, 2021 • Whether you're a longtime fan or just thinking about how and where to get started in YA, we've got you covered with some recommendations, some thoughts about what YA is and is not, and some things to look for as you wade into the inviting but turbulent waters of Young Adult fiction.

YA Lit: A Guide For The Perplexed — And The Just Plain Curious

Listen · 25:02 25:02

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1021143646/1021729551" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

NPR

August Book-Ahead: What We're Excited To Read Next Month

July 28, 2021 • August can sometimes be a stretch of the doldrums when it comes to publishing — but this month there are so many fascinating books on the horizon, we added an extra to our usual list of five.

Somebody's Daughter, by Ashley C. Ford. Sylvie Rosokoff/Flatiron hide caption

toggle caption

Sylvie Rosokoff/Flatiron

To Love And Not Forgive

July 28, 2021 • For much of her childhood, Ashley Ford's father was incarcerated, and her mother struggled to raise her while grappling with her own upended life plans. In her new memoir, Somebody's Daughter, Ford looks at how her upbringing shaped her understanding of childhood, authority, forgiveness and freedom.

To Love And Not Forgive

Listen · 39:23 39:23

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1020711720/1021415383" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler

Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler

July 27, 2021 • Nobel Prize laureate Richard Thaler is a rockstar in the world of economics. His book Nudge introduced many of us to the field of behavioral economics and how it could be used in public policy. Today we speak with Professor Thaler on his latest and final edition of Nudge, and go beyond nudge to the land of sludging and shoving.

Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler

Listen · 9:44 9:44

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1021438772/1021440966" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

One Woman Takes A 'Wayward' Approach To Menopause In This Smart New Novel

Penguin Random House

Review

One Woman Takes A 'Wayward' Approach To Menopause In This Smart New Novel

Fresh Air

July 27, 2021 • Messy and floundering in late midlife, Dana Spiotta's heroine is roiling — along with the rest of the country — amid the 2016 election and the rise of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements.

One Woman Takes A 'Wayward' Approach To Menopause In This Smart New Novel

Listen · 7:47 7:47

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1017924847/1021320786" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Think Of Your COVID-19 Vaccine Like A Very Good Raincoat, Says Dr. Leana Wen

Dr. Leana Wen is in favor of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. "I don't think that people should have the choice to infect others with a potentially fatal and extremely contagious virus," she says. Wen is pictured above in the emergency department at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Aug. 14, 2012. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Steven Senne/AP

Shots - Health News

Think Of Your COVID-19 Vaccine Like A Very Good Raincoat, Says Dr. Leana Wen

Fresh Air

July 27, 2021 • It protects from drizzles and thunderstorms but not a hurricane. In other words, if you are exposed again and again to infected people, there's some risk you could get sick.

Think Of Your COVID-19 Vaccine Like A Very Good Raincoat, Says Dr. Leana Wen

Listen · 36:09 36:09

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1020872236/1021320543" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

How Sandra Cisneros Found Space To Be 'Barefoot' And 'Rude'

Keith Dannemiller/Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Code Switch

How Sandra Cisneros Found Space To Be 'Barefoot' And 'Rude'

July 27, 2021 • On the latest episode of Code Switch, Cisneros talks about why she became obsessed with houses, what it was like to finally buy one, and—spoiler alert—what it felt like to fall out of love with it.