NPR's Book of the Day

R.F. Kuang, author of popular books like Yellowface and Babel, is out with a more personal novel. Taipei Story follows Lily Chin, a Chinese-American college student who travels to Taipei for a summer language intensive. While there, she struggles with complicated feelings about language, identity and the thread of her family’s story. In today’s episode, Kuang talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about how the author relates to Lily, her own relationship to speaking Chinese and her interest in writing across genres.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Two new romance novels subvert expectations about the genre. In Tropesick, Katie and Tyler are old acquaintances who are reunited as writing partners. In today’s episode, author Lauren Okie chats with All Things Considered’s Juana Summers about structuring the novel with different tropes, writing a rivals-to-lovers setup and how Okie balanced metafictional elements with the story’s natural plotline. Then, a former pop star and her psychology professor become intertwined in Extracurricular. Author Rachel Lynn Solomon spoke with Summers about what drew her to the forbidden romance subgenre.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox is out with a new book – but he wants to clarify that he’s not running for president (often an assumption when politicians write books). Off Ramp: How To Be A Peacemaker In An Age Of Contempt is an extension of a plea he made following the killing of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. In the book, he argues Americans need to learn to disagree better in order to restore the respect that once existed between political adversaries. In today’s episode, Cox tells NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer why he’s the “worst possible spokesperson” for his message.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel opens in the first spring after the collapse of the United States – and her protagonist, Ari, is on her way to a party. Exit Party is set in a new world emerging out of the chaos of a second American Civil War, one shaped by climate catastrophe and populated by doppelgangers. In today's episode, Mandel chats with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about counterlives, recognizing “good moments” amid disaster and how the painting “Swan Dive” helped the author maintain narrative cohesion.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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

NPR Privacy Policy

In her 2016 book Grit, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth argued that willpower and determination were keys to success. A decade later, her new book signals a change of heart. In Situated, Duckworth says – while grit still matters – changing the situation you’re in is the most helpful thing you can do to meet your goals. In a conversation with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan, Duckworth shares four practical ways to take situational agency, including lessons she learned from a snorkeling accident, Oprah and Taylor Swift.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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

NPR Privacy Policy