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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
  • 'The Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?

    'The Correspondent' is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?
    Mar 16 2026
    Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s in her 70s, and she takes readers on a journey through her various correspondences — which include names as revered as Joan Didion and Ann Patchett. But Sybil isn’t telling us everything, and her clever prose might hide as much as it reveals. In today’s episode, author Virginia Evans joins Here and Now’s Robin Young to discuss the value of correspondence, and how the book’s success has changed the letter-writing industry itself.

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    12 mins
  • 'We the Women' and 'Rise, Girl, Rise' are stories about revolutionary women

    'We the Women' and 'Rise, Girl, Rise' are stories about revolutionary women
    Mar 13 2026
    To mark Women’s History Month, today’s episode features new books focused on women who have paved the way for gender equality. First, journalist Norah O’Donnell documents untold stories in American history in We the Women, written in collaboration with Kate Andersen Brower. In today’s episode, O’Donnell tells NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about lesser-known female heroes, like the woman who printed the Declaration of Independence and a female soldier who fought in the American Revolution. Then, activist Gloria Steinem and Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee speak with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about their new children’s book, Rise, Girl, Rise.

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    21 mins
  • 'One of Us' is a British political drama based on the Boris Johnson era

    'One of Us' is a British political drama based on the Boris Johnson era
    Mar 12 2026
    In today’s episode, Elizabeth Day describes the protagonist in her new novel One of Us as the “quintessential outsider.” Martin Gilmour came from a difficult background, but won a scholarship to an elite boarding school in England. There, he befriends an aristocratic boy named Ben who will later ask Martin to keep an important secret. One of Us follows the implosion of their friendship – and Martin’s discretion – as Ben strives for political power. In today’s episode, Day and NPR’s Scott Simon discuss the novel’s central rivalry and Day’s interest in the Boris Johnson era of British politics.

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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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