NPR's Book of the Day

Aided by new sources, Clay Risen's 'Red Scare' brings McCarthyism back to life

Two new children's books view the natural world as a site of personal growth

A new cookbook by Darjeeling Express chef Asma Khan was inspired by seasonal cooking

Rex Ogle's 'When We Ride' is a novel-in-verse about a best friendship under pressure

'Adventures in the Louvre' will teach you how to fall in love with the famous museum

This episode explores strategies for maximizing enjoyment and minimizing frustration when visiting the Louvre Museum. Against the backdrop of Andrew Limbaugh's own underwhelming Louvre experience, the interview with Elaine Sciolino, author of "Adventures in the Louvre," delves into practical advice for navigating the...

An obituary writer makes a grave error in John Kenney's 'I See You've Called in Dead'

Two new novels explore a world where technology has even greater access to our minds

This episode reviews two science fiction novels exploring the vulnerability of human memory and its potential exploitation by technology. Against the backdrop of this theme, the first segment features Audrey Lee's debut novel, The Mechanics of Memory, a psychological thriller about a woman in a mental institution unde...

A new oral history of Lollapalooza recalls the alt-rock music festival's wildest days

Emma Pattee's 'Tilt' imagines the aftermath of a life-changing earthquake

In the wake of a sexual assault, astronaut Amanda Nguyen turned to activism

In 'Everything Is Tuberculosis,' John Green turns his attention to a deadly disease

Authors of two new novels draw inspiration from history in wildly different ways

To confront radical change, 'Slate' writer Scaachi Koul wrote a new book of essays

A new book from Emily Feng asks what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping's China

Chinese identity under President Xi Jinping has narrowed into a rigid construct requiring Mandarin fluency, heterosexuality, and absolute loyalty to the Communist Party. Journalist Emily Feng, author of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom, observes that this "ideal" citizen is modeled on the Han majority, leaving little room fo...

In 'Long Island,' one woman returns to Ireland after discovering her husband's affair

Christine Wenc's 'Funny Because It's True' calls 'The Onion' "the original fake news"

John Himmelman, Reginald Dwayne Betts take a populist approach to poetry in new books

In 'Beartooth,' brothers embark on an illicit journey into Yellowstone National Park

Chuck Schumer's 'Antisemitism in America' warns of a resurgence in antisemitic views

Allison Epstein's 'Fagin the Thief' gives a Charles Dickens character a second chance