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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.

'The House of Doors' is a novel about romance, secrecy and colonialism in Malaysia

9 mins; January 04, 2024

In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings

6 mins; January 03, 2024

Anne Enright's 'The Wren, The Wren' is a family story about poetry and betrayal

8 mins; January 02, 2024

In 'The Fraud,' Zadie Smith takes on historical fiction and the Tichborne case

9 mins; January 01, 2024

In 'The World Central Kitchen Cookbook,' José Andrés collects recipes with impact

8 mins; December 30, 2023

Books by Raghavan Iyer and CrossCultureKev celebrate curry and chai recipes

19 mins; December 29, 2023

In 'Big Heart Little Stove,' chef Erin French focuses on recipes and hospitality

11 mins; December 28, 2023

Mark Kurlansky's new book 'The Core of an Onion' dives deep into culinary history

10 mins; December 27, 2023

Marcela Valladolid's cookbook 'Familia' celebrates community and her Mexican roots

11 mins; December 26, 2023

In 'The Everlasting Meal Cookbook', chef Tamar Adler gives new life to old leftovers

9 mins; December 25, 2023

Nancy Silverton's cookbook 'The Cookie That Changed My Life' is an ode to perfection

10 mins; December 23, 2023

From 'Ringmaster' to 'Prom Mom,' NPR staff discuss their favorite reads of 2023

13 mins; December 22, 2023

In 'Class', Stephanie Land fulfills her dream of going to college to become a writer

8 mins; December 21, 2023

'Black AF History' examines American history from the perspective of Black people

11 mins; December 20, 2023

In 'Pete and Alice in Maine,' a marriage is tested during pandemic

9 mins; December 19, 2023

'This Is Salvaged' explores the mishaps of intimacy and communication

10 mins; December 18, 2023

'The Rachel Incident' looks back on early-20s friendships, love and mistakes

9 mins; December 16, 2023

Erica Jong and daughter Molly Jong-Fast reflect on 'Fear of Flying'

14 mins; December 15, 2023

Rose Previte, of Michelin star restaurant Maydān, releases her debut cookbook

12 mins; December 14, 2023

Raquel Willis reflects on her journey in Black trans rights activism in new memoir

8 mins; December 13, 2023

Jordan Peele curates a new Black horror story collection 'Out There Screaming'

6 mins; December 12, 2023

Author David Wallace-Wells outlines the biggest climate change misunderstandings

8 mins; December 11, 2023

'Idlewild' follows a queer, teen friendship in early 2000s New York

11 mins; December 09, 2023

Novels by Sigrid Nunez and Michael Cunningham tackle the pandemic

16 mins; December 08, 2023

Patricia Evangelista's memoir revisits the aftermath of the Philippines' war on drugs

10 mins; December 07, 2023

Norman Lear's memoir recalls a life and career that shaped American television

7 mins; December 06, 2023

In 'The New Naturals,' Gabriel Bump explores grief after the loss of a daughter

8 mins; December 06, 2023

In 'Oath and Honor,' Liz Cheney analyzes Trump's effect on the Republican party

13 mins; December 05, 2023

Nathan Thrall's book revisits a tragic bus accident in Jerusalem

7 mins; December 04, 2023

'The Queen of Dirt Island' captures the bond between women in an Irish family

9 mins; December 02, 2023

Two National Book Awards finalists take on climate extremes

20 mins; December 01, 2023

How Indian migrant workers escaped human trafficking in Mississippi

12 mins; November 30, 2023

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

10 mins; November 29, 2023

Stephen Buoro's comic novel follows a young Nigerian man's obsession with whiteness

8 mins; November 28, 2023

'Burn It Down' exposes discrimination and toxicity behind the scenes in Hollywood

10 mins; November 27, 2023

'Loot' traces the love, war and art that shaped India's colonial history

9 mins; November 25, 2023

Two graphic memoirs explore growing up as a minority in the U.S.

17 mins; November 24, 2023

In 'Blackouts,' Justin Torres shines a light on silenced LGBTQ history

8 mins; November 23, 2023

Jonathan Eig's biography of MLK explores the activist's life and faith

8 mins; November 22, 2023

In 'The Covenant of Water,' Abraham Verghese traces an Indian family's drowning curse

9 mins; November 21, 2023

Discover your next great read with NPR's Books We Love

3 mins; November 21, 2023

Jamie Loftus' 'Raw Dog' investigates the social and culinary history of the hot dog

7 mins; November 20, 2023

Henry Winkler and Arnold Schwarzenegger's memoirs open up about the fear of failing

15 mins; November 17, 2023

Max Brooks teaches kids life lessons through the world of 'Minecraft'

12 mins; November 16, 2023

Curtis Chin's memoir pays homage to his family's Chinese restaurant

8 mins; November 15, 2023

'The Liberators' details the lives of Korean-Americans grappling with the war

8 mins; November 14, 2023

Barbra Streisand's memoir looks back on a groundbreaking career

7 mins; November 13, 2023

In 'Thicker Than Water,' Kerry Washington processes a family secret

16 mins; November 10, 2023

What it's like to write the biographies of Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried

9 mins; November 09, 2023

In 'Let Us Descend,' Jesmyn Ward harnesses the spirituality of an enslaved woman

9 mins; November 08, 2023

In 'A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens,' debt takes on many meanings

7 mins; November 07, 2023

In 'Differ We Must,' NPR's Steve Inskeep examines Abraham Lincoln's disagreements

10 mins; November 06, 2023

'The Coming Wave' and 'Artificial' offer different perspectives on AI

15 mins; November 03, 2023

In 'The List,' an allegation of sexual misconduct wreaks havoc on a relationship

7 mins; November 02, 2023

'The House of Doors' is a novel about romance, secrecy and colonialism in Malaysia

9 mins; November 01, 2023

In 'Sparks,' Ian Johnson highlights China's 'grassroots historians'

11 mins; October 31, 2023

Jhumpa Lahiri questions Italian identity in 'Roman Stories'

7 mins; October 30, 2023

Books about Olympic rowers and J. Robert Oppenheimer re-examine American history

24 mins; October 27, 2023

After three decades, John Grisham follows 'The Firm' with 'The Exchange'

13 mins; October 26, 2023

'The Color Purple' is about the bonding of women

7 mins; October 25, 2023

Isabel Wilkerson argues that 'Caste,' not racism caused The Great Migration

17 mins; October 24, 2023

'Killers of the Flower Moon' traces the murders of Osage families

8 mins; October 23, 2023

Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places

19 mins; October 20, 2023

'My People' is a collection of stories – spanning decades – about Black America

8 mins; October 19, 2023

In 'Cursed Bunny,' horror takes unexpected forms

8 mins; October 18, 2023

'Fatty Fatty Boom Boom' details a lifelong relationship with food and body image

9 mins; October 17, 2023

'Demon Copperhead' tackles opioids, poverty and resilience in Appalachia

9 mins; October 16, 2023

Novels by Barbara Kingsolver and Daniel Mason excavate history for new meanings

18 mins; October 13, 2023

'Lies About Black People' analyzes and debunks harmful stereotypes

12 mins; October 12, 2023

'Land of Milk and Honey' paints a dystopian future for fine dining

8 mins; October 11, 2023

'The Big Myth' breaks down pro-market, anti-government propaganda in the U.S.

11 mins; October 10, 2023

Nathan Hill's 'Wellness' examines marriage, parenthood and polyamory

10 mins; October 09, 2023

Susan Kuklin and Maia Kobabe's books explore gender identity throughout adolescence

16 mins; October 06, 2023

Art Spiegelman reissues 'Breakdowns' with new perspective on book bans

9 mins; October 04, 2023

'All Boys Aren't Blue' honors coming of age as a queer Black boy

7 mins; October 04, 2023

In 'New Kid,' a Black seventh grader navigates a new school

8 mins; October 02, 2023

Bans on books like 'Out of Darkness' target authors of color

8 mins; October 02, 2023

Novels by Hila Blum and William Landay unravel family mysteries

19 mins; September 28, 2023

'Others Were Emeralds' is a coming-of-age story confronting racism in Australia

10 mins; September 27, 2023

Sandeep Jauhar's memoir explains how Alzheimer's works – and how it affected his dad

11 mins; September 26, 2023

Anne Enright's 'The Wren, The Wren' is a family story about poetry and betrayal

8 mins; September 25, 2023

'Foreign Bodies' traces the history of pandemics and vaccine hesitancy

10 mins; September 24, 2023

Two books examine the lives of Afghans in the aftermath of American withdrawal

22 mins; September 21, 2023

Why Matthew McConaughey wrote a children's book about the "paradox of living"

7 mins; September 21, 2023

'Roaming' is a graphic novel about friendship and travel

9 mins; September 19, 2023

In 'Jews in the Garden,' a Holocaust survivor tries to uncover uncomfortable truths

5 mins; September 18, 2023

Héctor Tobar examines Latino identity in 'Our Migrant Souls'

10 mins; September 17, 2023

Lauren Groff talks captivity narratives, climate change and 'The Vaster Wilds'

22 mins; September 14, 2023

Alice Carrière's memoir tackles the dissonance between memory and mental health

8 mins; September 14, 2023

In 'Fly,' Mitchell S. Jackson looks back over the history of fashion in the NBA

10 mins; September 13, 2023

In 'The Fraud,' Zadie Smith takes on historical fiction and the Tichborne case

9 mins; September 12, 2023

Abdulrazak Gurnah's 'Afterlives' highlights nuances of colonization in East Africa

9 mins; September 11, 2023

Two books examine masculinity and mental health in immigrant families

18 mins; September 08, 2023

'The Men Can't Be Saved' analyzes masculinity in the world of advertising

8 mins; September 07, 2023

In 'The Breakaway,' Jennifer Weiner touches on love, mothers and body-shaming

9 mins; September 06, 2023

In 'Happiness Falls,' a father gone missing brings family tensions to the surface

9 mins; September 05, 2023

'This is Wildfire' offers an in-depth guide for managing today's more-frequent fires

9 mins; September 04, 2023

Two thrillers raise questions about writing from a particular race and identity

16 mins; August 31, 2023

'Queer Career' chronicles the history of LGBTQ workers in the U.S.

10 mins; August 30, 2023

'Of White Ashes' follows a Japanese-American love story after the WWII internment

6 mins; August 29, 2023

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NPR's Book of the Day

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