NPR's Book of the Day

Today's episode is an in-length conversation with National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff. She met up with NPR's Andrew Limbong at a library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where they chatted about Mary Rowlandson, the colonial woman captured and held ransom by Native Americans in the 1600s, and how she influenced Groff's new book, The Vaster Wilds. Groff also talked about how she found a new affinity for historical fiction, and why she always has "a go bag" ready. 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

Alice Carrière shares her memoir, Everything/Nothing/Someone, where she recounts the difficulties of her upbringing with two creative parents, her battle with dissociative disorder, and her journey of reclaiming her reality through writing and reconciling with her father.

From Walt "Clyde" Frazier to Russell Westbrook, a new book by Pulitzer Prize winner Mitchell S. Jackson chronicles the relationship between style and basketball over decades. Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion features photos and analysis of how the Civil Rights movement, the infamous dress code, and Instagram have all played a role in the evolution of NBA players' modes of expression. In today's episode, Jackson tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe how race and activism also intersect with the perception of the sport, and why he thinks we're seeing the most exciting tunnel walks yet. 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 the 19th century, a butcher living in Australia claimed to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. The Tichborne trial, which sparked much controversy and even more attention in Victorian England, is at the center of Zadie Smith's new novel, The Fraud. In today's episode, the author tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how she became captivated by the outrageous lies the man told in court, and how the way his believers still dug their heels and supported him echoes the state of politics in the 21st century. 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 Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives, the characters centered in the novel offer different perspectives of ordinary people under German colonization in East Africa. In an interview with NPR's Scott Simon, the author goes into detail about how the "power and attraction of the victor" can lead to the conquered joining the conqueror and the impact it has on one's identity. 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

Khashayar J. Khabushani discusses his novel I Will Greet the Sun Again, exploring a young Iranian-American boy's experiences under a strict father. Then, Prachi Gupta talks about her memoir and the intersection of racism, patriarchy, and mental health.

Ben Purkert's novel, The Men Can't Be Saved, follows a junior copywriter with a viral tagline for adult diapers. Is it a modern take on Mad Men? Or its very antithesis? Purkert tells NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer how his own days in the advertising industry – at the same time the TV drama starring Jon Hamm had just premiered – shaped his understanding of ego, drive and manhood in the workplace....and how maybe making partner at a firm is more about finding connection than a fancy title, though his protagonist would never admit it out loud. 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

Abby Stern is very much looking forward to leading a biking trip from NYC to Niagara Falls – until her mom, an old one-night-stand, and some uneasy memories are added to the mix. In Jennifer Weiner's new novel, The Breakaway, that two-week trip becomes filled with tension: sexual, political, and familial. Weiner tells NPR's Juana Summers how different women manage their mothers' expectations, and how she learned to see "almond moms" quite differently while writing this novel. 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

Adam Parson goes on a morning hike with his son, Eugene, and the boy returns home alone. Eugene is autistic and nonverbal, so he can't explain what happened. This is how Angie Kim sets up Happiness Falls, which chronicles how the Korean-American family tries to make sense of Adam's disappearance. Kim tells NPR's Scott Simon about the complicated relationship between Eugene and his siblings, and why she wanted to emphasize that a lack of verbal communication does not equal a lack of thought and feeling. 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

Authors Nick Mott and Justin Angle discuss their book 'This is Wildfire', which offers a historical analysis of the role flames have played in human and natural ecosystems. They cover topics such as the culture of fire suppression in the US, the importance of prescribed burns, and the impact of wildfires on communities and environmental justice.