NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

In 2021, Andy Corren published an obituary for his late mother in The Fayetteville Observer. "A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday," he wrote. His colorful, candid remembrance went viral on Twitter, and now Corren has expanded the tribute into a memoir. Dirtbag Queen recounts the author's experience of growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a single, Southern, unconventional mother of six children. In today's episode, Corren speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the bowling alley that anchored the author's childhood, nights spent in the city's red-light district, and being raised in his mother's image.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/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Betty Shamieh was the first Palestinian American playwright to have a play produced off-Broadway. She describes her debut novel, Too Soon, as a "Palestinian American Sex and the City." The novel follows three Palestinian American women across generations as they navigate love and identity. In today's episode, Shamieh speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about using comedy as a way to humanize characters who may be dehumanized in the real world, the 10 year writing process for the book, and how she didn't necessarily want to write it, but she knew she had to.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/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grady Hendrix is one of the biggest names in horror fiction today. He's published 11 horror novels and won a Bram Stoker Award for his non-fiction book on the history of horror fiction. In this episode, we revisit a 2021 conversation between Hendrix and former NPR host Audie Cornish about his book Final Girl Support Group with a discussion on society's obsession with violence and its perpetrators, rather than the victims. Then, we hear Hendrix speak with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about his latest novel, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, and some of the real life horrors faced by women in history.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/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy