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

YA Lit: A Guide For The Perplexed — And The Just Plain Curious
Becky Harlan/NPR

Life Kit

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

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1021143646/1021729551" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
To Love And Not Forgive

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

toggle caption
Sylvie Rosokoff/Flatiron

Code Switch

To Love And Not Forgive

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
  • Download
  • <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

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
  • Download
  • <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

Book Reviews

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

Fresh Air

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
  • Download
  • <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

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1020872236/1021320543" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Emilia Clarke On Mothers Of Madness And Dragons

Actress and author Emilia Clarke. Robert Ascroft/Narrative PR hide caption

toggle caption
Robert Ascroft/Narrative PR

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Emilia Clarke On Mothers Of Madness And Dragons

The "Mother of Dragons" is out with a new comic book, Mother of Madness. Actress Emilia Clarke talks with guest host Ayesha Rascoe about superpowers in real life and fantasy, her career-launching role in Game of Thrones and how Hollywood has changed since her first season as Daenerys.

Emilia Clarke On Mothers Of Madness And Dragons

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1016494295/1019893395" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Comic-Con Is Online Only Again This Year. On The Bright Side, No Lines!

Like last year, the sidewalks around San Diego's convention center are empty and no one is lined up at the famed Hall H. Daniel Knighton/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Pop Culture

Comic-Con Is Online Only Again This Year. On The Bright Side, No Lines!

No costumed crowds are thronging the streets of San Diego this weekend: For the second year in a row, Comic-Con is online only. But organizers are hoping for a small in-person show in November.

When Your Book Publishes In A Pandemic — Authors Talk About Terrible Timing

Author Sarah Ramey's first book was expected to be among 2020's bestsellers. But it was released the same week as the lockdown and got lost amid news of a global catastrophe. Julius Schlosburg hide caption

toggle caption
Julius Schlosburg

Book News & Features

When Your Book Publishes In A Pandemic — Authors Talk About Terrible Timing

A league of unfortunate writers had their books come out in the height of the coronavirus crisis — there are even several online support groups for authors who published mid-pandemic.

When Your Book Publishes In A Pandemic — Authors Talk About Terrible Timing

Listen · 3:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1015967612/1019611010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Words To Set You Free
NPR

Review

Code Switch

Words To Set You Free

Some of the best books can make you feel free — free from your daily grind, free to imagine a new reality, free to explore different facets of your identity. This month, the Code Switch team is highlighting books that dig deep into what freedom really means.

Words To Set You Free

Listen · 38:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1016838235/1018658340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org