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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

Ken Liu is a big name in science fiction. His latest novel All That We See or Seem takes place in a world that’s not too different from ours. But in the book, AI is more embedded in day-to-day life and one character uses it to guide collective dream experiences. In today’s episode, Liu speaks with NPR’s Andrew Limbong about the novel’s hacker protagonist, dreams as knowledge, and how human patterns influence technology.

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Ken Liu’s latest novel ‘All That We See or Seem’ is speculative fiction about AI

This year, readers around the world are celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. On the inaugural episode of Books We’ve Loved, hosts Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Linda Holmes to discuss Austen’s seminal novel Pride & Prejudice. The trio weighs in on how the romance genre continues to reference the book’s “enemies to lovers” story – and why the tale’s leads Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy still make us and laugh and swoon even today. Special guest romance novelist, Casey McQuiston also drops by to share how Austen’s legacy provides inspiration for their own work. 

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Books We’ve Loved: Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, a blueprint to the modern romance

Today’s episode features two new cookbooks that solidify family legacies through food. First, NPR’s Ailsa Chang joins Peter and Kathy Fang for a meal at House of Nanking in San Francisco. There, they discuss the father-daughter duo’s new cookbook named after the famed family restaurant. Then, Sami Tamimi’s cookbook Boustany celebrates vegetables in Palestinian cooking. In today’s episode, the chef and author speaks with Here & Now’s Robin Young about recipes from the book, which now serve as a record of what’s been lost during starvation and war in Gaza.

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Cookbooks 'House of Nanking' and 'Boustany' honor rich family legacies through food

Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, Gerta Pieters, lived side by side in 17th century Amsterdam, Pieters having started out as van Oosterwijck’s maid. Victoria Redel’s new historical novel I Am You fictionalizes their story, exploring their personal and working relationships. In today’s episode, Redel tells Here & Now’s Robin Young about expanding on what we know about the women – and whether it’s plausible they were lovers.

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'I Am You' fictionalizes the story of a Dutch Golden Age painter and her maid

David McCloskey keeps writing spy thrillers – and the plots keep coming true. In the opening of his latest novel The Persian, Israel has just launched a surprise attack on Iran. But the author says he had already finished writing by the time conflict broke out between the two nations earlier this year. In today’s episode, McCloskey speaks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about working at the intersection of reality and fiction, and having his work reviewed by the CIA.

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'The Persian' is a spy thriller written by former CIA analyst David McCloskey

Jeannie Vanasco’s memoir A Silent Treatment is about the period her mother spent living in the basement apartment of Vanasco’s home. Sometimes, Vanasco’s mother would stop communicating altogether. The silent treatment could last a few days – but once, it lasted six months. In today’s episode, the author speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about how she came to understand her mother’s retreat.

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In her new memoir, Jeannie Vanasco gets 'A Silent Treatment' from her mom

Ning is the manager of a nail salon where all of the workers wear a nametag with the same name – Susan. Pick A Color takes place over a single day at the salon and it’s the first novel by Souvankham Thammavongsa. In today’s episode, the poet and short story writer speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about Ning’s background as a prizefighter, what Thammavongsa has observed as a salon customer, and the author’s distinction between knowledge and intelligence.

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'Pick a Color' is a novel that takes place over a single day at a nail salon

Welcome to Books We've Loved, a new limited series from Book of The Day. Every episode, we will dig into some of our favorite books, to make the case for picking up a book from the past. Hosted by Book of the Day’s Andrew Limbong and Code Switch’s B.A. Parker, they will be your guides through these timeless stories. Bringing on NPR voices and book nerds far and wide, they will discuss titles by authors like Anthony Bourdain, James Baldwin, and Jane Austen, and asking their guests questions like — why can’t they get this book out of their head? How did this book shift a paradigm, shake the culture, or change their life? And, most importantly, why should you read it now? 

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Introducing: Books We've Loved

Welcome to Books We've Loved, a new limited series from Book of The Day. Every episode, we will dig into some of our favorite books, to make the case for picking up a book from the past. Hosted by Book of the Day’s Andrew Limbong and Code Switch’s B.A. Parker, they will be your guides through these timeless stories. Bringing on NPR voices and book nerds far and wide, they will discuss titles by authors like Anthony Bourdain, James Baldwin, and Jane Austen, and asking their guests questions like — why can’t they get this book out of their head? How did this book shift a paradigm, shake the culture, or change their life? And, most importantly, why should you read it now? 

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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Today’s episode features two mystery novels with special twists. First, The Killer Question is a story told via emails, WhatsApp messages and texts. When a new trivia team becomes suspiciously successful, egos are hurt and a body is found in the river. In today’s episode, author Janice Hallett joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about the mystery that unfolds. Then, Kill Your Darlings is a novel written in reverse: The murderer is revealed in the first chapter. In today’s episode, author Peter Swanson talks with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the marriage at the center of the story.

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These new mystery novels are 'whodunits' that might as well be called 'whydunits'

Viet Thanh Nguyen's novel The Committed follows the same unnamed character we met in his Pulitzer-winning thriller, The Sympathizer. The character is now in Paris; having become disillusioned with the revolution he was a part of when we last saw him, he hasn't given up on the idea entirely. Nguyen told NPR's Scott Simon the book is also about colonization: He "wanted it to be set in a Paris that was not the tourist Paris or the romantic Paris. [It's] a novel about French ideas and French Revolution and French colonialism, but it's also a crime thriller set in these immigrant neighborhoods."

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Viet Thanh Nguyen follows Pulitzer winning 'The Sympathizer' with 'The Committed'

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