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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

Two new biographies focus on legendary musical acts: the rock band The Cars and rapper Tupac Shakur. First, in the late 1970s, a Boston radio DJ played The Cars’ demo tape – and the band went on to inform rock music for decades. In today’s episode, author Bill Janovitz speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about his new book The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told. Then, Tupac was one of the most influential rappers of all time, but his life was cut short at age 25. In today’s episode, author Jeff Pearlman tells Here & Now’s Scott Tong about his new biography of the music artist Only God Can Judge Me.

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Music biographies 'The Cars,' 'Only God Can Judge Me' balance greatness and tragedy

In The Widow, his 52nd novel and counting, author John Grisham returns to one of his cherished topics: lawyers. But not the type of lawyer one would hire if they’d like to keep their money safe. Simon Latch is a small town lawyer sick of equally small cases, until he finds himself in charge of drafting a will for an enormously wealthy widow. Will Simon keep her wealth an untouched secret, or attempt to turn a profit for himself? In today’s episode, Grisham talks to NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer about this legal thriller-turned-murder mystery, and the age-old lie that every lawyer tells at least once.

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John Grisham brings a money-hungry lawyer to center stage in 'The Widow'

Megha Majumdar’s new novel takes place in a near-future Kolkata struck by climate change. There, one family’s possibility of escape is jeopardized when their passports are stolen. A Guardian and a Thief, a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award, weaves together their plot with the story of their burglar. In a conversation with Here & Now, Majumdar tells Jane Clayson that hope isn’t always noble in situations of crisis.

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In 'A Guardian and a Thief,' a mother’s love for her family threatens her own morals

Tochi Onyebuchi remembers when the internet was fun. The science fiction and fantasy author says he initially existed online as a “skinless, raceless entity” until he experienced a shift around 2012. His new memoir Racebook traces this shift to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and subsequent acquittal of the man who killed him. In today’s episode, Onyebuchi speaks with NPR’s Juana Summers about online forums, early Twitter, and the other communities that made the early internet so satisfying.

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Tochi Onyebuchi’s 'Racebook' is a 'personal history' of a less serious time online

It’s been more than 30 years since Philip Pullman began the His Dark Materials series – and now, that story is coming to a close. Pullman’s latest book The Rose Field follows the series’ heroine Lyra Belacqua as she chases the same mystery she began unraveling as a child. In today’s episode, Pullman joins NPR’s Scott Detrow for a conversation that touches on organized religion, reimagining Lyra as an adult, and a central concept in the series – Dust.

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Philip Pullman’s new novel follows ‘The Golden Compass’ heroine into young adulthood

The stories of mothers and daughters trying to connect with each other, across time, space and generations – this is the centerpiece of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. This week, Andrew Limboong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s The Indicator’s Wailin Wong to discuss how the desperation to bridge the divide between parent and child continues to be present in stories of immigrant families today. We are also joined by Jessamine Chan to discuss parenting in this present moment.

Wailin’s Recommendation: ‘The Fox Wife’ by Yangsze Choo

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘Afterparties: Stories’ by Anthony Veasna So

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Revisiting ‘The Joy Luck Club’

Today’s episode features two new crime thrillers written by big names. First, Harlan Coben says he stopped in his tracks when Reese Witherspoon asked to collaborate on a novel. In today’s episode, the co-authors speak with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about their collaboration on Gone Before Goodbye. Then, I Love Dick author Chris Kraus took an autofiction approach to her crime novel The Four Spent the Day Together. In an interview with NPR’s Elissa Nadworny, Kraus describes the protagonist as “me at the moment of the story.”

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Reese Witherspoon, Harlan Coben and Chris Kraus are out with new crime thrillers

After Harper Lee’s death in 2016, previously unpublished writing was discovered in her New York City apartment. The Land of Sweet Forever includes eight new short stories from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Lee wrote them a decade prior to To Kill a Mockingbird and some of the stories include early versions of Atticus and Scout, the characters who made her famous. In today’s episode, Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd interviews The New Yorker’s Casey Cep, who edited the collection.

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These previously unpublished Harper Lee stories were discovered in her NYC apartment

Salman Rushdie lived for decades under a death sentence and survived a knife attack three years ago. His latest book The Eleventh Hour is his first work of fiction since that near-death experience. These short stories and novellas center around the end of life, what might come after, and the idea of personal legacy. In today’s episode, Rushdie joins Here & Now’s Scott Tong for a conversation that touches on mortality, changes to the author’s writing process, and his first ghost story.

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In 'The Eleventh Hour,' Salman Rushdie writes about morality, revenge and ghosts

As a newborn, Ed Archie NoiseCat was found in an incinerator at a Catholic-run Indian boarding school. In a new book We Survived the Night, his son, Julian Brave NoiseCat, writes about this trauma in the broader context of Native history in the United States and Canada. The book blends memoir and reporting, exploring a culture of silence around Native stories. In today’s episode, Julian Brave NoiseCat speaks with NPR’s Michel Martin about his efforts to understand both his father’s story and Native identity.

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Julian Brave Noisecat’s 'We Survived the Night' is part memoir, part Native history

Steve Urkel, the nerdy, bespectacled neighbor in Family Matters, is one of '90s television's most iconic characters. Urkel's nasally voice, oversized glasses and signature catchphrases made the character nearly inescapable in pop culture – and also made a star out of Jaleel White, the actor who played him. In a new memoir, Growing Up Urkel, White reflects on how the role catapulted his career while permanently shaping the way others see him. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation that touches on the character's mass appeal, TV stereotypes about Black boys, and how playing Urkel has affected White's view of his own masculinity.

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In 'Growing Up Urkel,' actor Jaleel White reflects on a career-defining role

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