NPR's Book of the Day

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  • Summary

  • 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.
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Episodes
  • To confront radical change, 'Slate' writer Scaachi Koul wrote a new book of essays

    To confront radical change, 'Slate' writer Scaachi Koul wrote a new book of essays
    Apr 3 2025
    Three years ago, Scaachi Koul went through a divorce, a process that she says was "disorienting." But divorce, the Slate writer says, also offered a framework for rethinking everything: her relationship with men, family, conflict, and herself. Her new book of essays Sucker Punch works through this personal evolution. In today's episode, Koul speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about one of the primary relationships in these essays: the writer's relationship with her mother. They also discuss Koul's shifting perspective on fights, her interest in speaking with the man who sexually assaulted her, and her loose interpretation of Hindu fables.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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    7 mins
  • A new book from Emily Feng asks what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping's China

    A new book from Emily Feng asks what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping's China
    Apr 2 2025
    NPR reporter Emily Feng lived in, and reported from, Beijing for years. But in 2022, the Chinese government told Feng, who was born in the United States to Chinese parents, that she couldn't return to the country. The experience prompted her to ask: What does it mean to be Chinese under Xi Jinping's government? Her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom explores this question through the lens of individuals who don't fit the government's ideal. In today's episode, Feng joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about one of the central characters in the book, the way the Chinese government connects religion and ethnicity, and the personal impact of identity politics.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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    9 mins
  • In 'Long Island,' one woman returns to Ireland after discovering her husband's affair

    In 'Long Island,' one woman returns to Ireland after discovering her husband's affair
    Apr 1 2025
    At the beginning of Long Island, an Irish-American woman named Eilis opens the front door of her New York home and is greeted by news of her husband's affair. The other woman is pregnant – and Eilis must decide what to do next. Author Colm Tóibín says this scene convinced him to write the novel, an unplanned sequel to Brooklyn. Long Island picks up 25 years after Brooklyn left off, following Eilis as she returns to the Irish town where she grew up. In today's episode, Tóibín talks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about his decision to write the sequel, his own hometown in Ireland, and his characters' views of what makes someone a foreigner.

    To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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    9 mins

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brilliant! beautifully written and narrated.
I was transported back to Italy in the exquisite descriptions of villages, pensions and characters.

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