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
  • In her new memoir, Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, tells her own story

    In her new memoir, Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, tells her own story
    May 5 2025
    Tina Knowles intended to write a behind-the-scenes look at her career in the music business. But she says that when she began writing, her own story flowed onto the page instead. In her new memoir Matriarch, the entrepreneur and mother of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Solange Knowles shares the story of how she helped her daughters become cultural icons. In today's episode, Tina Knowles speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about fighting to allow her girls to express their style, a memorable moment on set with the singer Maxwell, and Knowles' relationship with her ex-husband.

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    8 mins
  • New cookbooks from Sarah Ahn and Roy Choi take different approaches to Korean cuisine

    New cookbooks from Sarah Ahn and Roy Choi take different approaches to Korean cuisine
    May 2 2025
    Two new cookbooks take different approaches – one modern and one more traditional – to Korean cuisine. First, Roy Choi is the co-founder of Los Angeles' Kogi BBQ food trucks, which put Korean-Mexican fusion on the map. He rose to fame cooking meat, but his first full cookbook The Choi of Cooking focuses on vegetables. In today's episode, Choi speaks – and cooks – with NPR's Ailsa Chang. Over breakfast burritos, they discuss the chef's quest to elevate vegetables and break what Choi calls an addiction to junk food. Then, Sarah Ahn became social-media-famous for posting videos of her mother's traditional Korean recipes. Now, the two women are out with Umma, a cookbook that focuses on preserving identity through recipes. In today's episode, Ahn speaks with Here & Now's Lisa Mullins about collaborating with her mom, the cultural history of kimchi, and the difference between Korean and Southern fried chicken.

    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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    19 mins
  • With 'Rabbit Moon,' Jennifer Haigh chooses Shanghai as the backdrop to family tragedy

    With 'Rabbit Moon,' Jennifer Haigh chooses Shanghai as the backdrop to family tragedy
    May 1 2025
    Jennifer Haigh's latest novel Rabbit Moon opens with a hit and run accident in pre-dawn Shanghai. The victim is a 22-year-old American woman named Lindsey. Her parents immediately fly into Shanghai while Lindsey's sister awaits news from a New England summer camp – and the accident scars an already-fractured family. In today's episode, Haigh speaks with Here & Now's Scott Tong about their impressions of Shanghai, her interest in turning the idea of studying abroad on its head, and how she approached the topic of international adoption.

    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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    10 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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