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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
  • Sandra Cisneros’ ‘The House on Mango Street’ was born from a feeling of displacement

    Sandra Cisneros’ ‘The House on Mango Street’ was born from a feeling of displacement
    Sep 17 2025
    Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is a series of vignettes drawn from the experiences of a Mexican-American girl living in Chicago. Since its publication in 1983, it’s become required reading for high school students across the country. In today’s Back to School episode, we revisit a 2009 conversation between the author and NPR’s Renee Montagne, which recognized the book’s 25th anniversary.


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    8 mins
  • In her translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ Emily Wilson aimed for ‘a crystalline clarity’

    In her translation of ‘The Odyssey,’ Emily Wilson aimed for ‘a crystalline clarity’
    Sep 16 2025
    In 2017, Emily Wilson became the first woman to translate Homer’s The Odyssey into English – more than three millennia after the epic’s inception. In the second installment of our Back to School series, Wilson talks with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about how she approached aspects of her translation, including social hierarchies and Homeric epithets.


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    10 mins
  • Jhumpa Lahiri says the phrase ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ came to her in grad school

    Jhumpa Lahiri says the phrase ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ came to her in grad school
    Sep 15 2025
    It’s Back to School week at NPR’s Book of the Day, which means we’re looking back at interviews with authors who may have shown up on your high school syllabus. First, Jhumpa Lahiri debuted her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies in 1999. In the title story, an American family visits India and their guide develops an infatuation with the wife. In today’s episode, Lahiri speaks with NPR’s Liane Hansen about the inspiration behind the book’s title, the author’s relationship with speaking Bengali, and Lahiri’s experience writing a story from a male perspective.


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    11 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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