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NPR's Book of the Day 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.
NPR's Book of the Day

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NPR's Book of the Day

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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.

Most Recent Episodes

'Hello Beautiful' and 'Pineapple Street' examine the closeness between sisters
The Dial Press/Pamela Dorman Books

'Hello Beautiful' and 'Pineapple Street' examine the closeness between sisters

Today's episode is all about family. First, Ann Napolitano speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her new novel, Hello Beautiful, and the intergenerational trauma that can surface even when everything seems perfect on the outside. Then, Simon asks Jenny Jackson about her funny yet thought-provoking debut, Pineapple Street, which follows three women from a well-off Brooklyn family taking stock of their own privilege.

'Hello Beautiful' and 'Pineapple Street' examine the closeness between sisters

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Patricia Park's new YA novel captures the complexities of race and adolescence
Crown Books for Young Readers

Patricia Park's new YA novel captures the complexities of race and adolescence

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim follows a Korean-Argentinian teen's journey to understanding who she is. Through the comfort of her multicultural home in Queens to the hallways of her ultra-woke, elite prep school in Manhattan, Alejandra grapples with academics, the politics of school lunch, and even a microaggression from her own teacher. As author Patricia Park tells Here & Now's Robin Young, it's a story about how quickly the world is changing – and how conversations about race are or aren't keeping up.

Patricia Park's new YA novel captures the complexities of race and adolescence

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'I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir' recounts triumphs and challenges as the former CEO of BET
Legacy Lit

'I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir' recounts triumphs and challenges as the former CEO of BET

Debra Lee is one of the most influential women in the entertainment industry. But as the former CEO of Black Entertainment Television reveals in her new book, I Am Debra Lee:A Memoir, there are both personal and professional obstacles to navigating corporate leadership – especially as a Black woman. Lee opens up to Here & Now's Celeste Headlee about the behind-the-scenes reality of her career, from her friendship with Aretha Franklin to the way she coped with workplace harassment.

'I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir' recounts triumphs and challenges as the former CEO of BET

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Fandom acts as an antidote for loneliness in 'Y/N'
Astra House

Fandom acts as an antidote for loneliness in 'Y/N'

The title of Esther Yi's novel Y/N refers to an abbreviation for "your name" as it appears in a type of fan fiction where readers put themselves into a story. It's a way to inhabit another life, which is exactly what Yi's central character wants — but can never have. That tension drives the novel, as it explores loneliness, fandom, and K-Pop. Yi tells NPR's Ailsa Chang how it all fits together.

Fandom acts as an antidote for loneliness in 'Y/N'

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'Poverty, By America' argues America profits by keeping people poor
Crown

'Poverty, By America' argues America profits by keeping people poor

Why does poverty persist in one of the world's wealthiest countries? Because it's profitable, argues sociologist Matthew Desmond, in Poverty, By America. He tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe why wealthier Americans benefit from forces that keep their fellow citizens from growing richer — forces like predatory financial services, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs.

'Poverty, By America' argues America profits by keeping people poor

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Two books warn about the privacy implications of AI and neurotechnology
W. W. Norton & Company/St. Martin's Press

Two books warn about the privacy implications of AI and neurotechnology

Today's episode is all about tech. First, Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new book, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, and the ways autocratic governments can rely on AI for repressive surveillance tactics. Then, Duke University professor Nita Farahany and NPR's Ailsa Chang discuss a potential nightmare: employers' ability to track worker's brains for productivity. Farahany's new book, The Battle for Your Brain, tracks advancements in neurotechnology and advocates for cognitive liberty.

Two books warn about the privacy implications of AI and neurotechnology

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'That's hot': Paris Hilton is ready to tell her own story
Dey Street Books

'That's hot': Paris Hilton is ready to tell her own story

Paris Hilton is ubiquitous with early 2000s pop culture: She graced the cover of magazines, her own reality TV show and even Billboard charts. But the heiress now says she was playing a character – one she built to hide from the trauma she endured earlier in her life. In Paris: The Memoir, Hilton finally takes control of her own narrative. She spoke to NPR's Juana Summers about what made her want to start breaking down the walls between her public persona and her private life, and how paparazzi and influencer culture has changed during her time in the spotlight.

'That's hot': Paris Hilton is ready to tell her own story

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Dina Nayeri wants you to question 'Who Gets Believed'
Catapult

Dina Nayeri wants you to question 'Who Gets Believed'

Author Dina Nayeri was young when she found out that there's a stark difference between credibility and belief – and it's a disconnect at the center of her new book, Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn't Enough. Nayeri's family came to the U.S. as refugees from Iran in 1979. As she tells NPR's Juana Summers, that asylum process showed her how subjective belief can be – and she explains why, for her, the meaning of believing continued to shift, through faith and vulnerability, even as she was writing the book.

Dina Nayeri wants you to question 'Who Gets Believed'

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In 'Dust Child,' the impacts of the Vietnam War are felt decades later
Algonquin Books

In 'Dust Child,' the impacts of the Vietnam War are felt decades later

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's new novel, Dust Child, takes a closer look at the often-fraught relationships between Vietnamese women and American soldiers during the war. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Scott Simon how she was always fascinated by the stories of the forgotten children from those relationships – often left behind, abandoned, and raised with a deep resentment for their mixed roots. The novel follows both the perspective of that generation – trying to find a better future – and that of the servicemembers being forced, decades later, to confront their past decisions.

In 'Dust Child,' the impacts of the Vietnam War are felt decades later

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A new biography of first lady Edith Wilson examines her political influence
Viking

A new biography of first lady Edith Wilson examines her political influence

Edith Wilson dated and then married Woodrow Wilson while he served as president of the United States in 1915. In her new biography, Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson, author Rebecca Boggs Roberts – daughter of the late NPR founding mother Cokie Roberts – explores Wilson's influential role in her husband's administration. But as Roberts tells NPR's Steve Inskeep, at a time when women didn't yet have the right to vote, Wilson often hid her political contributions from the spotlight.

A new biography of first lady Edith Wilson examines her political influence

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