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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.

NPR's Book of the Day

Original Sin recounts a number of moments during which former President Joe Biden allegedly struggled to recognize the people around him, like close aide Mike Donilon or longtime donor George Clooney. The new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson argues that there were two versions of the former president, one "functioning" and one "non-functioning." Biden's inner circle, they say, worked to shield the "non-functioning" version from the American public – and even other White House officials. In today's episode, Tapper and Thompson talk with NPR's Scott Detrow about the book and the Biden team's decision to "cover-up" his alleged mental decline.

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'Original Sin' argues Biden aides enabled his reelection bid, despite mental decline

Why does poverty persist in one of the world's wealthiest countries? Because it's profitable, argues sociologist Matthew Desmond, in Poverty, By America. He tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe why wealthier Americans benefit from forces that keep their fellow citizens from growing richer — forces like predatory financial services, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs.

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'Poverty, By America' argues America profits by keeping people poor

South Korean author Han Kang is this year's recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature, making her the first Korean writer to win the award. In its citation, the Swedish Academy commended Han "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life." Both of these themes are present in the author's 2007 novel, The Vegetarian, which tells the story of a young woman who decides to give up meat. In today's episode, we revisit a 2016 interview between Han and NPR's Linda Wertheimer, which took place around the time of The Vegetarian's publication in English. In the interview, they discussed gender politics, how women cope with trauma, and Han's "long-lasting question about human violence."

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Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature, on her novel 'The Vegetarian'

Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, died in a Siberian prison this past February–and in his diary entries, Navalny wrote that he knew he might not make it out alive. Those diaries are part of Navalny's new memoir, Patriot, published posthumously with help from his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. The book details some of Navalny's darkest moments in his fight for a more democratic Russia, but also showcases the leader's characteristic humor. In today's episode, Navalnaya joins NPR's Ari Shapiro to talk about a pivotal conversation between the couple during a prison visit, the duality of her late husband's personality as a serious politician and an ordinary family man, and taking up the mantle of the Russian opposition movement after Navalny's death.

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'Patriot' is a posthumous memoir by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Tensions are running high for married couple Keru and Nate, who decide to rent a house in Cape Cod, sharing it with each set of parents at different points of a month-long trip. Their vacation seems to have stoked the fires of family dysfunction, eventually pushing Keru to a breaking point. Author Weike Wang believes in putting one's characters through trial by fire, which she does quite literally in her latest novel, Rental House. In today's episode, Wang speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about sometimes-frustrating family life, coexistence, and obstacles for characters.

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There is such a thing as too much quality time in Weike Wang's 'Rental House'

Colonization and the Wampanoag Story is a 2023 history book for middle school readers about the tribe's first encounters with English settlers. In the early 17th century, European contact set off years of destruction for the Wampanoag Nation, including a disease that killed an estimated two-thirds of the population. Earlier this year, the nonfiction work was recategorized as fiction at a library in Montgomery, Texas, following complaints by an anonymous cardholder. But last month, a judge ruled that the book must be returned to the library's nonfiction section. In today's episode, Linda Coombs, Wampanoag historian and author, joins Here & Now's Robin Young to speak about how the recategorization of her book fits into the history of her tribe's erasure.

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Author of Wampanoag history discussed her children's book and erasure

Renowned poet and professor Nikki Giovanni died earlier this week at age 81, following a third cancer diagnosis. She was a prolific writer and leader in the Black Arts Movement, publishing poetry collections such as Black Feeling Black Talk and Those Who Ride the Night Winds. She also taught English at Virginia Tech. In today's episode, we revisit a 2013 conversation between Giovanni and NPR's Michel Martin that followed the release of Chasing Utopia, which featured a combination of essays and poetry. Giovanni and Martin discussed the poet's relationship to her late mother, the pleasure of old age, and the trauma of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.

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Remembering Nikki Giovanni, poet and icon of the Black Arts Movement

The World With Its Mouth Open is a book of short stories from journalist-turned-author Zahid Rafiq. The collection showcases the precarious but ordinary lives of people in modern day Kashmir, a site of ongoing geopolitical conflict. In Rafiq's stories, a work crew makes a disturbing discovery at a construction site, a pregnant woman searches for fresh fish, and a shopkeeper has an unexpected encounter with a mannequin. In today's episode, Rafiq tells NPR's Eric Deggans about his interest in writing stories without knowing the ending, and his characters' ability to build a future on the foundation of a difficult past.

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In Zahid Rafiq's debut short story collection, the future of Kashmir is uncertain

Two books of essays consider the female experience through different stages of life. First, Kate Kennedy's One in a Millennial documents coming of age as a member of a highly-scrutinized generation. Her book explores the origins of millennial stereotypes and pop culture, but also focuses on the way that shared experiences of girlhood are often dismissed as frivolous. In today's episode, Kennedy joins NPR's Juana Summers for a conversation that touches on AOL Instant Messenger, college pre-games, and self-editing our own desires. We then hear from Jenny Slate about her new book Lifeform, a compilation of experimental essays that follow her life through five phases: Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing. Slate joined Here & Now's Emiko Tamagawa at a live event in Boston, where the two discussed the confidence it takes to write down our ideas, fear and bravery in love, and Slate's perspective on childbirth and motherhood.

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Two books explore phases of female life, girlhood and womanhood

Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel The Nickel Boys follows the studious and idealistic Elwood Curtis, a Black teenager whose prized possession is a recording of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. But when Elwood is sent to a juvenile reformatory in Florida, his worldview is challenged by the horrors he experiences there. Now, Whitehead's novel has been adapted into a film. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Whitehead and NPR's Scott Simon, where they discuss the real-life reform school that inspired Nickel Academy, MLK's idea of soul force, and Whitehead's strong emotional reaction to the characters in his novel.

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Colson Whitehead's novel 'The Nickel Boys' comes to the big screen

Former president Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old. In today's episode, two books examine Carter's career in the White House and beyond. First, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with historian Kai Bird about The Outlier, a biography that argues that Carter's deregulation of several industries, his social legislation and his foreign policy made his one-term presidency exceptionally productive. Then, a conversation from the vault between NPR's Eric Westervelt and Carter himself about his memoir, A Full Life.

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BONUS: A biography and a memoir reexamine Jimmy Carter's extraordinary life

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