NPR's Book of the Day

Author Marisha Pessl has always loved puzzles and board games. She's intrigued by the feeling of forced companionship that comes from solving a puzzle together. Her new novel, Darkly, follows a teen named Arcadia and six others as they embark on an internship with the renowned game design company Darkly. Working on the mysterious island that houses the Darkly headquarters, they come across mysteries of the company and its owner. In today's episode, Pessl speaks with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about the idea of contained chaos and how the mysteries of the past can unlock the mysteries of the present.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

Comedian, writer and podcast host Youngmi Mayer was raised in Korea and Saipan with a Korean mom and a white American father. Their relationship was strained at times as Mayer navigated her family's generational trauma and often took on a parental role. She pushed through these struggles, and others, through humor–and that strategy frames her new memoir, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying. Mayer speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about her family story in today's episode. They also discuss Mayer's original pitch for the book's title, relatability in Asian American storytelling and how she became a standup comedian.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

Today's books take readers into the secret lives of farm animals. The first, Pig Years, is a memoir by the writer Ellen Gaydos, who began working as a farmhand at 18 years old. In Pig Years, she writes lyrically about working with, raising and admiring pigs–all while knowing they'll one day be slaughtered. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Gaydos and NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about the intimacy of working with people and animals on the farm. Next, author Sy Montgomery has written more than 34 books about creatures, including turtles and octopi. Her latest project is a book about chickens. What the Chicken Knows is an homage that relishes all we don't know about the birds. In today's episode, Montgomery speaks with Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about chickens' surprising signs of intelligence and what to do when a rooster attacks.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

Cooking with young kids can be a mess, but embracing this idea is the point of Mark Bittman's new cookbook. In How to Cook Everything Kids, the journalist and author makes the case that inviting young chefs into the kitchen is the best way to get them curious about food. The book is filled with child-friendly recipes for dishes like baked ziti, pizza and blueberry muffins that make use of playful ingredients, including Corn Flakes. In today's episode, Bittman joins NPR's Ayesha Rascoe at home to cook a meal with her three kids, putting his recipes to the test. Together, they prepare two chicken dishes while Bittman shares the inspiration behind the project.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