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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

Writing is hard. So is writing about writing. And, sometimes, reading about writing. But today, we have two books that attempt to break down the literary creative process into manageable pieces. Three Six Five is author Lucy Ives’ collection of individual writing prompts for each day of the year. She sits down with NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss the book, along with why she believes “the best time to write is when you think that you don’t want to.” Then, celebrated children’s book author Mac Barnett joins NPR’s Elissa Nadworny to discuss Make Believe, his meditation for adults about writing books for kids.

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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Two new books about writing break down the creative process

In 1839, conjoined twins and famous showmen Chang and Eng Bunker — native to Thailand, then called Siam — took a break from touring, settled in North Carolina, bought a slave plantation, and married two American sisters. The interracial union caused a public scandal for more reasons than one, and their story is the inspiration for Christina Baker Kline’s novel The Foursome. In today’s episode, Baker Kline, who is a distant cousin of the twins’ wives, speaks with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about exploring the complexity of the foursome’s place in a society that both feared and fetishized them. 

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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In 'The Foursome,' conjoined twins marry two sisters — and that’s just the beginning

Cherry Baby is a novel of perceptions. Cherry thought life couldn’t get worse when her ex-husband turned her into a caricature for his popular comic strip — curves, double-chin and all. But then the comic gets a film adaptation, and another problem appears: Every Hollywood actress who could have played the Cherry-inspired character is now too thin, thanks to weight-loss drugs. In today’s episode, author Rainbow Rowell joins Here and Now’s Deborah Becker to discuss the GLP-1 industry’s societal impact, and how Cherry’s relationship with her body changes when she’s forced into the spotlight.

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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'Cherry Baby' holds a mirror to its main character - and to the GLP-1 industry itself

The history of Jewish revolutionary groups is fraught with complexity, violence and surprise — as author Molly Crabapple discovered when she traveled across eastern Europe to dig through the archives of her ancestors. Her journey is the subject of her new book, Here Where We Live Is Our Country. In it, Crabapple reveals the largely-forgotten history of the Jewish Labor Bund: a secular, anti-Zionist, and socialist political party founded in the late 1800s. In today’s episode, Crabapple joins NPR’s Leila Fadel to discuss the book, and why the Bund remains so controversial to this day. 

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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'Here Where We Live Is Our Country' chronicles the history of the Jewish Labor Bund

In Ilona Bannister’s Five, five strangers wait on a train platform. One will die in the next five minutes but only one person knows: the reader. In Anthony Horowitz’s A Deadly Episode, his real 2018 novel The Word is Murder becomes a fictional film adaptation with one problem: the actor playing the protagonist is dead. Today’s episode features conversations on metafiction with both authors. First, Bannister talks to NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about writing a novel with a five-minute timespan. Then, Horowitz talks to NPR’s Scott Simon about poking fun at true crime — with a novel about true crime.

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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Two new murder mysteries cleverly explore the meta — in two very different ways

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is a foundational legal scholar, theorist, and Civil Rights advocate, known for coining such significant and controversial terms as intersectionality and Critical Race Theory. But what — or who — inspired her work? Crenshaw examines just this in her new memoir Backtalker, which delves into her past, and the legal cases that shined light on complex and underresearched structures of inequity. In today’s episode, Crenshaw joins NPR’s Michel Martin for a conversation about Backtalker and why, as she says, “forward momentum has always been met by retrenchment.”

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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In 'Backtalker,' Kimberlé Crenshaw turns from political theory to personal memoir

Becks is a queer teenager in the 1980s struggling to find a sense of belonging. When she picks up an unfinished coding project left behind by her beloved late uncle, she isn’t quite prepared for her efforts to ripple centuries into the future. Told in the years 1983, 2090, and 2586, Portia Elan’s novel Homebound weaves Becks’ story with that of future humans who experience similar struggles in a vastly different landscape. In today’s episode, Elan speaks with NPR’s Scott Detrow about her debut novel, and the timelessness of searching for a place — or a feeling — to call home. 

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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In 'Homebound,' an epic journey through multiverses begins with a single video game

What does it truly mean to be a “prodigy?” For the poet, professor and author of The People Can Fly Joshua Bennett, the answer is complicated. But maybe telling stories can help. In The People Can Fly, Bennett explores the lives and legacies of Black prodigies throughout history — including himself — by blending memoir, folklore and history into one book. In today’s episode, Bennett joins NPR’s Michel Martin to discuss how fatherhood and brotherhood expanded his notions of intelligence, and how The People Can Fly is both a reflection of the past and a hope for the future. 

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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'The People Can Fly' examines the history of Black prodigies from poets to professors

Time is running out for 17-year-old Jay Gardiner: He’s trapped underwater in the body of a sperm whale with just one hour of oxygen left. This not-so-typical situation is the premise for Whalefall, the 2023 thriller from Daniel Kraus. Kraus won a 2026 Pulitzer for Angel Down, his genre-bender told in a single sentence. But Whalefall experiments with structure through its chapters, their shrinking length mimicking Jay’s frantic gasps for air. In today’s episode, we revisit Kraus’ conversation with NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe, where they discuss Whalefall and how its meaning expands beyond the aquatic.

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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Revisiting 'Whalefall,' the underwater thriller from Pulitzer winner Daniel Kraus

Today’s episode spotlights two new books all about running. The Long Run is a history of the marathon by author and running coach Martin Dugard. He spoke with NPR’s A Martínez about why so many people aspire to run 26.2 miles, from the history of the marathon in ancient Athens to the 1970s running boom. Then, Mary Cain was a child running prodigy. But she faced physical and emotional abuse at the Nike Oregon Project. She talked to NPR’s Juana Summers about her memoir This Is Not About Running, leaving professional running, and her relationship with the sport today.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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Two new murder mysteries cleverly explore the meta — in two very different ways

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