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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
  • ‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention

    ‘Atlantic’ writer James Parker says his odes are exercises in gratitude and attention
    Aug 21 2025
    James Parker finds inspiration for odes in small and large things: history, America, brain farts, his flip phone, Pablo Neruda, meditation. The Atlantic staff writer’s book Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes spans these subjects and more. In today’s episode, Parker joins Here & Now’s Anthony Brooks for a conversation that touches on the subjects he’s found difficult to write odes to, the origins of ode, and what it means to stay ode-ready.


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    11 mins
  • In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England

    In ‘The Hounding,’ rumors swirl around five sisters living in 18th-century England
    Aug 20 2025
    Author Xenobe Purvis says the premise for her new novel is based on a nugget of history. In 1700, a doctor reported that five sisters in Oxfordshire, England were said to be “seized with frequent barking in the manner of dogs.” Purvis’ The Hounding imagines what happens to these girls after a ferryman starts a dangerous rumor about them. In today’s episode, Purvis talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about rumors, gossip and the danger of being a girl in society.


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    7 mins
  • Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history

    Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history
    Aug 19 2025
    Alexis Okeowo grew up in Alabama. But it wasn’t until they left for college that Okeowo realized the strong stereotypes outsiders held about their home state. With their new book Blessings and Disasters, the New Yorker staff writer blends memoir and reporting to tell an alternate history of Alabama. In today’s episode, Okeowo speaks with NPR’s Emily Kwong about those who are often excluded from the state’s history, including the Poarch Creek Indians and Alabama’s West African communities.


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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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