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NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018's Great Reads

November 27, 2018 • The Book Concierge is back! Explore more than 300 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.

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Book Reviews

Aspirations Come Up Against Economic Hardship In 'Sounds Like Titanic'

February 13, 2019 • In Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman's debut, she doesn't shrink from the systemic issues of an unfair economic system, but her personal story, with its unexpected twists, makes this memoir memorable.

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'American Spy' Is A Unique Spin On The Cold War Thriller

February 13, 2019 • Lauren Wilkinson's debut novel follows the life and career of an African American FBI agent who's recruited by the CIA to aid in the overthrow of a charismatic African leader.

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

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A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

Fresh Air

February 12, 2019 • Growing up, Judith Grisel struggled with alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. Now as a neuroscientist, she's working to understand the biological basis of addiction. Her new book is Never Enough.

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

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Real Life Informs A Tense Trip In 'Lost Children Archive'

February 12, 2019 • Valeria Luiselli's twist on the great American road trip novel follows a family with two children on a grim odyssey through the Southwest, a vision of a country blighted by industry and prejudice.

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'How To Disappear' Condemns Online Visibility Without Truly Exploring It

February 12, 2019 • Akiko Busch sets out to argue against visibility, "the common currency of our time." But she neglects to expose why she dislikes social media and networked culture.

Author Interviews

'Magical Negro' Carries The Weight Of History

February 11, 2019 • Morgan Parker's new poetry collection explores the ways African-American lives are affected by historical events, even though they may have happened decades or centuries ago.

'Magical Negro' Carries The Weight Of History

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The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

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The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

Fresh Air

February 11, 2019 • Does exercise recovery work? Science writer Christie Aschwanden examines the physiology and effectiveness of sports drinks, protein powders and other products and services in her new book, Good to Go.

The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

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For Chilly February, 3 Romances To Warm Your Heart

February 11, 2019 • February is High Holiday season in Romancelandia — and what better time to recommend some great romances? From Victorian jewel thieves to modern-day road trips, we've got something for everyone.

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'Tonic And Balm' Builds A World In A Bottle

February 10, 2019 • Stephanie Allen's novel creates a microcosm of America in 1919 in the form of a travelling medicine show, packed with people from all walks of life, trying to get along in the show's close confines.

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Questioning Authenticity — And Reality — In 'The Made-Up Man'

February 10, 2019 • Joseph Scapellato's new novel mashes up noir and philosophy in a multi-layered story about an aimless young man who gets caught up in his uncle's strange and possibly dangerous performance art.

Book News & Features

Lies Are Illegal In The 'Golden State' Of Ben Winters

February 10, 2019 • In his new book, the author imagines a world where officers known as Speculators track down liars, in a cross between a dystopian novel and a classic detective story.

Lies Are Illegal In The 'Golden State' Of Ben Winters

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New Collection Asks: What Might The 'People's Future' Look Like?

February 9, 2019 • This new collection of speculative fiction stories imagines the lives of marginalized people in a variety of difficult future Americas. It's not an easy read, but it has depths of resilience and hope.

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

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Author Interviews

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

February 9, 2019 • Yangsze Choo's second novel features a disembodied finger, Chinese dancehalls of the 1930s and weretigers. For the author, it's a book of parallel worlds: the supernatural and the real.

In 'The Night Tiger,' Fantastic Beasts Of Colonial Malaysia

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'Enchantée' Casts A Delightful Spell

February 9, 2019 • Gita Trelease's new novel follows a young woman trying to support her family in Paris on the eve of the French Revolution, using trickery and a little real magic to disguise herself as an aristocrat.

'Love Poems For Married People' Will Help Spice Things Up In The— Zzzzz

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Author Interviews

'Love Poems For Married People' Will Help Spice Things Up In The— Zzzzz

February 8, 2019 • Honey? You awake? The soft glow of a smartphone screen, the caress of sweatpants, a new collection of poems by John Kenney celebrates what happens to romance after years (and years) of marriage.

'Love Poems For Married People' Will Help Spice Things Up In The— Zzzzz

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In 'Spirit Of Science Fiction,' Seeds Of A Great Career

February 8, 2019 • Roberto Bolaño's early novel, about the adventures of two young Chilean writers fleeing the Pinochet dictatorship, reads like a dress rehearsal for his masterwork The Savage Detectives.

'The Pope' Tells The Tale Of A Roman Catholic Church With Coexisting Pontiffs

Pope Francis meets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI prior to the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 8, 2015 in Vatican City, Vatican. Vatican Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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'The Pope' Tells The Tale Of A Roman Catholic Church With Coexisting Pontiffs

February 8, 2019 • In his new book, soon to be a feature film, Andrew McCarten examines Popes Francis and Benedict XVI — and how having two living popes, for the first time in 600 years, has weakened the papacy.

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'Black Leopard, Red Wolf' Is A Beast Of A Book

February 8, 2019 • Our critic likens reading Marlon James' new epic fantasy to being slowly eaten by a bear that occasionally cracks jokes — painful and strange, but upsettingly beautiful for all that.

Transcript: Former 'New York Times' Editor Jill Abramson Addresses Book Allegations

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Transcript: Former 'New York Times' Editor Jill Abramson Addresses Book Allegations

February 7, 2019 • The former New York Times executive editor and author of Merchants of Truth tells NPR's Michel Martin: "I will do everything within my power to correct anything that is imperfect in my book."

Transcript: Former 'New York Times' Editor Jill Abramson Addresses Book Allegations

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'Brave, Not Perfect' Speaks To The Scarcity Of Women In Tech

February 7, 2019 • In a new book, Reshma Saujani of Girls Who Code joins a chorus of voices warning of devastating consequences if girls don't partake in tech — and suggesting girls should be encouraged to take risks.