Accessibility links
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

The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender, author of middle and young adult novels, including Felix Ever After and Hurricane Child. Ashley Cain hide caption

toggle caption
Ashley Cain

Code Switch

The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender started out as a kid in St. Thomas writing fan fiction. Today, they are the author of multiple middle grade and young adult novels full of empathy, learning, and a healthy dose of high school drama.

The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Listen · 18:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1040399538/1040401020" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Brandon Taylor Wrote 'Real Life' And 'Filthy Animals' For His Queer, Black Friends

Author Brandon Taylor writes into the tension of everyday relationships. William J. Adams/Penguin Random House hide caption

toggle caption
William J. Adams/Penguin Random House

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Brandon Taylor Wrote 'Real Life' And 'Filthy Animals' For His Queer, Black Friends

Author Brandon Taylor used to spend most of his hours studying nematodes under a microscope as a grad student. He wrote his first novel over a period of five weeks, mostly while in a lab. That book, Real Life, was released in 2020 to much critical acclaim. He published his second book this year, a short story collection called Filthy Animals.

Brandon Taylor Wrote 'Real Life' And 'Filthy Animals' For His Queer, Black Friends

Listen · 31:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1036930975/1039031130" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Three Great Fiction Audiobooks
Angela Hsieh/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three Great Fiction Audiobooks

Curling up with a good book is a pleasure with which we're all familiar. But when you find just the right narrator to bring characters to life, a novel can be even better. The right voice, or the right cast of voices, has pleasures all its own, beyond the printed page. Today, we're bringing you three favorite fiction audiobook recommendations worth a listen.

Three Great Fiction Audiobooks

Listen · 8:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1038055687/1038062923" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Make This 'Fortnight in September' Your Pandemic Escape
Simon & Schuster

Review

Book Reviews

Make This 'Fortnight in September' Your Pandemic Escape

Fresh Air

R.C. Sherriff's recently reissued 1931 novel, which follows a British family on their two-week holiday, is a reflection on how time changes shape in periods like a vacation — or even a pandemic.

Make This 'Fortnight in September' Your Pandemic Escape

Listen · 7:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1038900545/1039047720" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Peril' Co-Author Robert Costa Describes The Fraught Transition From Trump To Biden

Robert Costa (left) in a panel discussion in 2017 and Bob Woodward at the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala in New York. The two have authored a book about the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Author Interviews

'Peril' Co-Author Robert Costa Describes The Fraught Transition From Trump To Biden

In their new book, Washington Post journalists Costa and Bob Woodward give the first inside look at the transition of power from former President Donald Trump to President Biden.

'Peril' Co-Author Robert Costa Describes The Fraught Transition From Trump To Biden

Listen · 7:35
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1038854827/1038854828" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Machiavelli for Women'; Plus, 'What We Do in the Shadows'

Harvey Guillén as Guillermo in What We Do in the Shadows. Brendon Meadows/FX hide caption

toggle caption
Brendon Meadows/FX

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

'Machiavelli for Women'; Plus, 'What We Do in the Shadows'

Sam is joined by NPR's The Indicator host Stacey Vanek Smith to talk about her new book, Machiavelli for Women and how women in the workplace are still falling behind. Plus, actor Harvey Guillén on the new season of the FX show What We Do in the Shadows and not waiting for people to be comfortable with his "brownness, queerness and roundness" to be comfortable in his own skin.

'Machiavelli for Women'; Plus, 'What We Do in the Shadows'

Listen · 40:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037918829/1038415923" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Jason Reynolds: How Can We Connect With Kids Through The Written Word?
James J. Reddington

TED Radio Hour

Jason Reynolds: How Can We Connect With Kids Through The Written Word?

Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.

Jason Reynolds: How Can We Connect With Kids Through The Written Word?

Listen · 52:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037940032/1037994072" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Colson Whitehead Returns To His Home Turf With 'Harlem Shuffle'

Colson Whitehead was awarded Pulitzer Prizes for his last two novels, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys. Chris Close/Penguin Random House hide caption

toggle caption
Chris Close/Penguin Random House

Author Interviews

Colson Whitehead Returns To His Home Turf With 'Harlem Shuffle'

Fresh Air

Whitehead says his latest novel was inspired by his love of heist movies. The story centers on a furniture store owner who has a side hustle trafficking in stolen goods.

Colson Whitehead Returns To His Home Turf With 'Harlem Shuffle'

Listen · 36:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037318264/1037419224" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Monkey Thieves, Drunk Elephants — Mary Roach Reveals A Weird World Of Animal 'Crime'

Macaques check out a camera in Galtaji Temple in Jaipur, India. Monkeys have been known to sneak into swimming pools, courts and even the halls of India's Parliament. One attorney told author Mary Roach about a macaque that infiltrated a medical institute and began pulling out patient IVs. Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Monkey Thieves, Drunk Elephants — Mary Roach Reveals A Weird World Of Animal 'Crime'

Fresh Air

Roach researched animal misbehaviors for her new book, Fuzz. Though animals are all but charged with crimes when they run afoul of human values, she learns, they often have the last laugh.

Monkey Thieves, Drunk Elephants — Mary Roach Reveals A Weird World Of Animal 'Crime'

Listen · 37:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1036701285/1037050798" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org