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.
Notable Guests
Episodes (1314)
A new book argues Elon Musk is the architect of a new world view
NPR's Book of the Day
Tom Perrotta’s novel 'Ghost Town' revisits a New Jersey childhood from a bygone...
NPR's Book of the Day
New biographies recount how The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden changed rock musi...
NPR's Book of the Day
Laverne Cox on her childhood, 'Walden' and her new memoir 'Transcendent'
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'The Jellyfish Problem,' an introverted scientist is called in to help an isl...
NPR's Book of the Day
Sen. Chris Murphy wants the left and right to fix the country’s 'spiritual rot'
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Contrapposto,' the meaning of love and the meaning of art go hand-in-hand
NPR's Book of the Day
Two romance books give opposite takes on love, relationships and the absence of...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Stolen Revolution,' six Iranians share perspectives on modern Iran and its f...
NPR's Book of the Day
'The Yahoo Boys' investigates Nigeria’s network of cyber crime 'sweetheart scams...
NPR's Book of the Day
R.F. Kuang says there’s 'quite a lot' of herself in 'Katabasis' protagonist Alic...
NPR's Book of the Day
Theo Baker delves into power and corruption at Stanford in 'How to Rule the Worl...
NPR's Book of the Day
Ann Patchett’s 'Whistler' and 'Tom Lake' are novels written with love in mind
NPR's Book of the Day
'A Pair of Aces' is about two women who face down the mob in 1930s New York
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Keeper of My Kin,' Ada Ferrer struggles with being her mother's "chosen one"
NPR's Book of the Day
Maggie O'Farrell's novel 'Land' takes readers to a famine-ravaged yet resilient...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'View From the East Wing,' Jill Biden reflects on the debate that changed his...
NPR's Book of the Day
Two new books ask: What would you do if you encountered alien life?
NPR's Book of the Day
'Big Fan' investigates fandom from darts and football to Taylor Swift
NPR's Book of the Day
Ben Crump says 'Worse Than a Lie' is a legal thriller wrapped in Black culture
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Mother Tongue,' author Sara Nović examines deaf history, and writes her own
NPR's Book of the Day
ABC News' Martha Raddatz on 'The Hero Next Door,' her collection of veterans’ st...
NPR's Book of the Day
Two new books about writing break down the creative process
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'The Foursome,' conjoined twins marry two sisters — and that’s just the begin...
NPR's Book of the Day
'Cherry Baby' holds a mirror to its main character - and to the GLP-1 industry i...
NPR's Book of the Day
'Here Where We Live Is Our Country' chronicles the history of the Jewish Labor B...
NPR's Book of the Day
'A Perfect Hand' is a romp through 19th-century England, with a suffragist twist
NPR's Book of the Day
Two new murder mysteries cleverly explore the meta — in two very different ways
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Backtalker,' Kimberlé Crenshaw turns from political theory to personal memoi...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Homebound,' an epic journey through multiverses begins with a single video g...
NPR's Book of the Day
'The People Can Fly' examines the history of Black prodigies from poets to profe...
NPR's Book of the Day
Revisiting 'Whalefall,' the underwater thriller from Pulitzer winner Daniel Krau...
NPR's Book of the Day
Two new books approach running from different angles
NPR's Book of the Day
Reflecting on 30 years of 'The Golden Compass' with Sir Philip Pullman
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'The Future is Peace,' tourism paves a way forward for Israelis and Palestini...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'The Ending Writes Itself,' a contest to complete a manuscript turns deadly
NPR's Book of the Day
Mark Helprin’s 'Elegy in Blue' is a tragedy, love story and ghost story all in o...
NPR's Book of the Day
Journalist Jodi Kantor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks on how to find purpose
NPR's Book of the Day
Lena Dunham on her memoir 'Famesick' and the intense bond between 'Girls' co-sta...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Dear Monica Lewinsky,' a woman turns to an unusual saint for support
NPR's Book of the Day
Belle Burden on 'Strangers,' her divorce, and financial literacy for women
NPR's Book of the Day
'Spies and Other Gods' is an espionage novel by a former British intelligence of...
NPR's Book of the Day
'The Take' and 'The Left and the Lucky' explore peculiar friendships across age
NPR's Book of the Day
Mikhail Zygar says the Soviet Union’s collapse was only a temporary win for demo...
NPR's Book of the Day
In 'Yesteryear,' a tradwife influencer wakes up in the time period she’s fetishi...
NPR's Book of the Day
'Infinity Machine' is a biography of an Oppenheimer-like figure in AI
NPR's Book of the Day
In Maria Semple’s 'Go Gentle,' a surprise love interest upends a Stoic life
NPR's Book of the Day
Ada Limón talks forgiveness, ghosts and fertility on 'Wild Card'
NPR's Book of the Day
Healing through poetry in 'Light For The World To See'
NPR's Book of the Day
In his memoir, poet Raymond Antrobus writes of 'deaf gain' instead of hearing lo...
NPR's Book of the Day