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NPR's Book of the Day

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.Copyright 2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Revisiting ‘Waiting to Exhale’

    Revisiting ‘Waiting to Exhale’
    Dec 20 2025
    As the film adaptation of ‘Waiting to Exhale’ celebrates its 30th anniversary, B.A. Parker and Andrew Limbong, along with It’s Been a Minute host, Brittany Luse, revisit its source material about four friends, Savannah, Gloria, Robin, and Bernadine, as they make their way through the 30s, in love and in life. Later on, special guest, Tia Williams, speaks to Andrew about how Terry McMillian paved the way for her career path as a romance novelist.


    Brittany’s Recommendation: ‘Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs’ by Pearl Cleage

    Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Wilderness’ by Angela Flournoy

    Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Where I’m Coming From’ by Barbara Brandon-Croft


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    37 mins
  • Paul McCartney on his band 'Wings,' plus the story of indie label Bloodshot Records

    Paul McCartney on his band 'Wings,' plus the story of indie label Bloodshot Records
    Dec 19 2025
    Two new memoirs zoom in on important moments in music history. First, Paul McCartney’s new book Wings reflects on the life of his post-Beatles band, which he formed in London in 1971. In today’s episode, McCartney speaks with NPR’s A Martínez about establishing a distinct identity in The Beatles’ shadow. Then, Rob Miller founded Bloodshot Records in the 1990s when a new sound – “insurgent country” or “alt-country” – was just emerging. Miller joined NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about his memoir The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low, which tells the story behind the label.


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    17 mins
  • In this novel, the residents of a Brussels apartment building brace for Nazi invasion

    In this novel, the residents of a Brussels apartment building brace for Nazi invasion
    Dec 18 2025
    33 Place Brugmann opens with a list of the residents of a Brussels apartment building. The year is 1939 and Germany’s invasion of Belgium is on the horizon. Alice Austen’s debut novel winds together the fates of these residents under Nazi occupation. In today’s episode, Austen joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on the backstory of the building’s address, how she balanced the novel’s many narrative voices, and the questions that consumed her as she wrote the book.


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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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