App Store

Google Play

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Nyd den ubegrænsede adgang til tusindvis af spændende e- og lydbøger - helt gratis

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

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

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.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

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

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.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

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

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.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

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

In Emily Hunt Kivel’s new novel Dwelling, a mass eviction in New York City throws a young woman’s life into chaos. Suddenly homeless, Evie relocates to Gulluck, Texas, where she moves into a giant cowboy boot, the only rental property she can afford. In today’s episode, Kivel joins NPR’s Adrian Ma for a discussion about how she approached American capitalism through the lens of fairy tales.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

‘Dwelling’ fictionalizes the American housing crisis with elements of fairy tale

In today’s episode, the authors of two recently released nonfiction books search for meaning in art. First, Elizabeth Barks Cox’s Reading Van Gogh: An Amateur’s Search for God chronicles her infatuation with the painter’s writings, especially those on spirituality. In today’s episode, Cox joins Here & Now’s Lisa Mullins for a conversation that touches on the artist’s eye for beauty and despair – and why the author says she fell “a little bit in love with him.” Then, Harvard professor Imani Perry’s book Black in Blues tells the story of Black history through the color blue. In today’s episode, Perry speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about the many ways blue appears in African American culture, art and literature.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

For the authors of ‘Reading Van Gogh,’ ‘Black in Blues,’ art opened a door to meaning

Kate Marvel is a climate scientist who has testified before Congress and served as lead author of the U.S. National Climate Assessment. But in her new book Human Nature, she takes a different approach to climate change, exploring the crisis through nine emotions. In today's episode, the scientist and author speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about watching the world end through computer models, pushing back against emotional neutrality, and her book’s chapter on pride.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

In ‘Human Nature,’ Kate Marvel bridges the gap between climate science and emotions

In 2021, Jason Mott won the National Book Award for Hell of a Book. Now, he’s out with a new novel called People Like Us, in which two Black writers navigate life in the United States in an era of gun violence. Mott says the book is loosely based on himself – and leans into the audience’s tendency to conflate authors with the stories they write. In today’s episode, Mott talks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about his personal relationships with American identity, guns, and fiction.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Jason Mott’s new novel ‘People Like Us’ is metafiction that was almost memoir

Author Rax King says her new book of essays Sloppy is unified by themes of “addiction and bad habits.” King has been sober from alcohol and cocaine for three years and in these essays, she openly shares her sobriety journey. In today’s episode, King speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about why the author doesn’t see addiction as a shameful secret, King’s relationship with her dad, and learning to generate creativity without substances.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

‘Sloppy’ author Rax King says she’s inspired by writers who did their best work sober

In a new murder mystery, a young woman, Olivia Blunt, is eager to impress her new boss, a no-nonsense detective named Aubrey Merritt. This intergenerational pairing is at the center of The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant, the latest novel from Liza Tully, which is the pen name of author Elisabeth Brink. In today’s episode, Tully joins NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe for a conversation that touches on why the author chose to write this duo, how she lays out her clues, and what draws readers to murder mysteries.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

A new mystery novel by Liza Tully pairs a green assistant with a seasoned detective

Authors Tracy Slater and Julia Riew published two very different books last month that were inspired by a similar time in history. First, Together in Manzanar is set during the incarceration of Japanese Americans following Pearl Harbor. The book tells the real-life story of a mother who had to decide whether to go to a concentration camp with her 3-year-old Japanese American son or stay back with her daughter, who was white. In today’s episode, Slater speaks with NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about this family’s story. Next, The Last Tiger is a fictional book for young readers about the Japanese occupation of Korea. In today’s episode, its co-author Julia Riew talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about writing the book with her brother and how their grandparents shaped the story.

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

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

2 new books were inspired by dark moments in Japanese and Japanese American history

Early in today's episode, NPR's Mary Louise Kelly asks Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Steve Coll why he felt the need to write The Achilles Trap about the Iraq War amidst so many ongoing world conflicts. Coll explains that he hoped enough time had passed to try to answer a lingering question: Why did Saddam Hussein allow the world to believe he harbored weapons of mass destruction when he didn't? Coll's reporting – which includes Hussein's own audio recordings – unravels decades of tension and miscommunication between the U.S. and Iraq, which ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of lives. 

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 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

'The Achilles Trap' analyzes the relationship between the U.S. and Saddam Hussein

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...