NPR's Book of the Day

Lillian Li says Bad Asians was drawn from her upbringing in a hypercompetitive Chinese-American community. In the novel, four 20-somethings, who grew up in a similar environment, confront the challenges of the 2008 financial crisis and begin to let loose. Their former classmate documents their frustrations in what becomes one of the first viral YouTube videos. In today’s episode, Li speaks with Here & Now’s Scott Tong about the initial privacy of the early internet, exploding Asian American stereotypes, and why she wanted to write about friendship.

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As California’s governor – and a topic of discussion among some as a possible 2028 presidential candidate – Gavin Newsom is an exceedingly public figure with a busy schedule to match. His new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, provides a glimpse into Newsom’s rise to political prominence and his ongoing goal of self-discovery. In today’s episode, Newsom sits down with NPR’s Ailsa Chang to discuss his book, the question of his own relatability, and why he uses “playground insults”’ on social media to push back against the Trump administration.

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In today’s episode, two authors tackle everyday experience through short-form writing. First, The Irish Goodbye is a collection of micro-memoirs by the poet Beth Ann Fennelly. In these recollections, she considers childhood, marriage, and old friends – and she told NPR’s Scott Simon about the immense difficulty she had writing about her sister’s death. Then, Anne Fadiman joins Simon to discuss Frog: and Other Essays, in which she takes on topics like a printer, an unpettable pet, M&Ms, and the rules of grammar.

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Tayari Jones, author of the 2018 novel An American Marriage, says her next book was supposed to be about gentrification in the American South. But while writing her draft, Jones says she realized the backstory of that project was actually the real story. That’s how her new historical fiction novel Kin was born. The book follows two cradle friends who grow up without mothers in Honeysuckle, Louisiana and must navigate life in the Jim Crow South. In today’s episode, Jones tells NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe about how she tapped into something “older than herself” in order to write this story.

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Author Andrew Krivak grew up hearing stories about his grandfather, who died in a coal mine collapse in the early 1900s. These stories inspired Mule Boy, a novel about a 13-year-old who survives a deadly accident at a Pennsylvania mine. The story takes place during a 24-hour period in which the boy, now an old man, reflects on what took place there. In today’s episode, Krivak joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about being the grandson of Slovak immigrants, the trio brought together in Mule Boy, and the way Krivak tried to mimic oral storytelling in the novel.

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