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

NPR

NPR's Favorite Books Of 2020: The Book Concierge Is Back With 380+ Great Reads

December 1, 2020 • Find eight years of recommendations all in one place: Here are nearly 2,500 titles, hand-picked by NPR staff and trusted critics — with handy filters to help you find the perfect book!

'The Underground Railroad' Is A Brutal Yet Beautiful Ride

Barry Jenkins' The Underground Railroad looks unflinchingly at the brutality of life as a slave through the eyes of Cora, played by Thuso Mbedu. Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios hide caption

toggle caption

Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Underground Railroad' Is A Brutal Yet Beautiful Ride

May 17, 2021 • The new Amazon series The Underground Railroad is the latest project from Barry Jenkins, who directed Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. It's the story of Cora, a runaway slave in the antebellum South, who escapes a vicious Georgia plantation and sets off on a journey toward freedom aboard the mysterious and entirely literal underground railroad. It's many contradictory things at once: lyrical yet brutal, luminous yet horrifying.

'The Underground Railroad' Is A Brutal Yet Beautiful Ride

Listen · 19:13 19:13

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996578434/996833655" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Andrew McCarthy Recalls His Brat Pack Years In A New Memoir

Grand Central Publishing

Author Interviews

Andrew McCarthy Recalls His Brat Pack Years In A New Memoir

May 16, 2021 • The star of movies like St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink writes about his tumultuous 20s in Brat: An '80s Story. Of that era's movies, he says the emotions are timeless, the hair not so much.

Andrew McCarthy Recalls His Brat Pack Years In A New Memoir

Listen · 7:55 7:55

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996894100/997259492" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Paris Bookstores Are Designated Essential — But These Landmarks Struggle To Survive

The first Gibert bookstore in 1908. Family Archives hide caption

toggle caption

Family Archives

The Coronavirus Crisis

Paris Bookstores Are Designated Essential — But These Landmarks Struggle To Survive

May 16, 2021 • Gibert Jeune, which held a prominent place in Parisians hearts, is one of the latest to close. The pandemic is only one pressure on independent bookstores, but some have found ways to survive.

Paris Bookstores Are Designated Essential — But These Landmarks Struggle To Survive

Listen · 4:32 4:32

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996777829/997339452" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'The Plot' Works As Literary Satire, But Its Mystery Fizzles

Celadon Books

Review

Book Reviews

'The Plot' Works As Literary Satire, But Its Mystery Fizzles

May 16, 2021 • Jean Hanff Korelitz's tale of dirty deeds in the world of letters skewers pompous male authors with sly humor — but her approach to the central mystery might have you guessing the ending too soon.

A Boy And His Grandfather Visit Home 'On The Trapline'

Illustrations by Julie Flett / Tundra

Picture This

A Boy And His Grandfather Visit Home 'On The Trapline'

May 15, 2021 • A little boy and his Moshom — which means grandfather in Swampy Cree — travel north to visit the trapline where, many years ago, the grandfather grew up living off the land.

A Boy And His Grandfather Visit Home 'On The Trapline'

Listen · 6:01 6:01

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996545861/997105788" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'The Rock Eaters' Explores The Boundaries Of Emotion, Possibility And Longing

Penguin

Review

Book Reviews

'The Rock Eaters' Explores The Boundaries Of Emotion, Possibility And Longing

May 15, 2021 • Brenda Peynado's new collection yanks readers straight into her stories, punchy and powerful tales that mix the everyday and the fantastic to search for meaning in the immigrant experience.

Lee Mokobe: How Can We Make Sense Of Ourselves Through Poetry?

Courtesy of TED

TED Radio Hour

Lee Mokobe: How Can We Make Sense Of Ourselves Through Poetry?

May 14, 2021 • How can art be a tool to better understand ourselves and the world around us? Poet Lee Mokobe shares what it was like to grow up trans in South Africa, and how language can be a tool for change.

Lee Mokobe: How Can We Make Sense Of Ourselves Through Poetry?

Listen · 12:30 12:30

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996594214/996639820" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Amanda Gorman: Using Your Voice Is A Political Choice

Mark Leibowitz

TED Radio Hour

Amanda Gorman: Using Your Voice Is A Political Choice

May 14, 2021 • Poet Amanda Gorman has often been asked to write poems that aren't "political." In her 2018 TED Talk, she explains why her writing inherently carries messages greater than her words.

Amanda Gorman: Using Your Voice Is A Political Choice

Listen · 5:20 5:20

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996587775/996638948" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Engaging With Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A Reading List

CCAC North Library

Book News & Features

Engaging With Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A Reading List

May 14, 2021 • Over the past year, stories surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been full of violence and grief — here are some reading recommendations that'll take you beyond just suffering.

In 'Sorrowland,' The Story Gets Lost In The Forest

MCD

Review

Book Reviews

In 'Sorrowland,' The Story Gets Lost In The Forest

May 14, 2021 • Rivers Solomon's new novel — a gothic thriller about a woman escaping a cult for a wild life in the forest — relies too much on atmospherics, neglecting the basic building blocks of story.

Reality TV Inspired This Poetic Look At People And The Things They Hoard

Wave

Author Interviews

Reality TV Inspired This Poetic Look At People And The Things They Hoard

May 13, 2021 • In her latest book of poems, artist Kate Durbin looks at modern consumerism and the way people process trauma and loss through the objects they hoard. Durbin was inspired by the A&E show Hoarders.

Reality TV Inspired This Poetic Look At People And The Things They Hoard

Listen · 2:12 2:12

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/996197971/996446142" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'Son Of The Storm' Explores Power And Its Transformations

Orbit Books

Review

Book Reviews

'Son Of The Storm' Explores Power And Its Transformations

May 12, 2021 • Suyi Davies Okungbowa's new novel seems like a familiar epic fantasy setup-- in fact, it's anything but. Son of the Storm explores power: Who has it, who wants it, and who's shut out from it.

'Notes On Grief' Makes Visceral The Experience Of Death And Grieving

Notes On Grief, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Knopf hide caption

toggle caption

Knopf

Review

Book Reviews

'Notes On Grief' Makes Visceral The Experience Of Death And Grieving

May 11, 2021 • "'After the burial we can begin to heal,'" Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recounts her mother saying. Perhaps in the reading of this book, so too will the rest of us who lost so much over this past year.

Fandom Can Be A Lot Like High School — Here's How To Avoid The Bad Stuff

Running Press Kids

Book News & Features

Fandom Can Be A Lot Like High School — Here's How To Avoid The Bad Stuff

May 9, 2021 • Finding a supportive fandom — a group of people who love what you love — is a great experience. But some fan communities can be toxic, so here are a few tips for kids looking for fan connections.

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

Doubleday

Author Interviews

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

May 9, 2021 • Article III of the Constitution gives Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments — but doesn't cover what to do if they become incapacitated. For Abrams, that was the spark for an exciting story.

A Constitutional Quirk Inspired Stacey Abrams' New Thriller, 'While Justice Sleeps'

Listen · 8:24 8:24

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/994605989/995173056" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript