Shirley Jackson’s biographer on the writer’s ability to find evil in the ordinary

Westerns are seemingly back in the culture. With the popularity of the television series Yellowstone and musical artists like Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter winning Album of the Year, it feels like we need to dust off our spurs and dig into this week’s book selection, Charles Portis’ True Grit. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker speak with NPR’s Morning Edition host, Michel Martin about how young Mattie Ross goes on the adventure of a lifetime with her father’s gun and hunger for vengeance – and how Portis’ young female lead illustrates real-world consequences. This week's recommendations:Andrew: Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthyParker: Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud MontgomeryMichel: Harriet the Spy, Louise FitzhughTo 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

In today’s episode, "King of Horror" Stephen King reflects on his sobriety, the sequel to The Shining and a novel he co-wrote with his son. First, The Shining came out in 1980, but King didn’t publish the sequel – Doctor Sleep – until more than 30 years later. In a 2013 interview, the author spoke with NPR’s David Greene about revisiting his iconic characters. Then, King and his son Owen co-wrote Sleeping Beauties after Owen approached his father with an idea for the book’s premise. In today’s episode, we revisit a 2017 conversation between the father-son duo and NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.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

After Mexico’s war for independence, a new bride finds herself alone in a haunted house surrounded by people who don't believe her. Isabel Cañas' debut novel The Hacienda blends romance, terror, and the supernatural to tell a story infused with Mexican culture. In a 2022 interview with Weekend Edition Sunday, Cañas told Ayesha Rascoe about the novel’s themes – colonialism, social status, the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous practices – and her own fear of the dark.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

With stories like “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson was one of the great horror authors of the 20th century. In 2012, Ruth Franklin wrote a biography of the writer called Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. In today’s episode, we revisit a conversation between Franklin and NPR’s Linda Wertheimer. They talk about Jackson’s childhood, domestic life, and her unique ability to see "extraordinary evil” under the surface of ordinary life.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

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in 1818, permeated our cultural imagination in a way few stories have. With a new film adaptation directed by Guillermo del Toro out now, we’re revisiting a 2012 conversation about the Gothic classic. In today’s episode, NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with Princeton English professor Susan Wolfson, who co-edited an annotated version of the book. They discuss Frankenstein’s representation in pop culture, film, and television – and Wolfson’s favorite depiction of the monster.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

Novelist Anne Rice was known for her supernatural tales about vampires, witches, and ghosts. In 1976, she gained notoriety for Interview with the Vampire, the first book in The Vampire Chronicles series. In today’s episode, we revisit a 2003 conversation between Rice and NPR’s Liane Hansen about Rice's novel 'Blood Canticle' — and the spirits that haunted the author’s own home.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

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re watching or reading… a lot about vampires? With the 20th anniversary of the Twilight book series upon us, plus the fact that one of the year’s biggest films, Sinners, happens to be a vampire movie, we feel like we can’t escape them - but maybe we don’t want to! On this week’s episode of Books We’ve Loved, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker are joined by longtime NPR editor Barrie Hardymon to talk all things Interview with the Vampire – including how author Anne Rice established the pensive prototype of the vampire as we know it today. 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 episode features new memoirs by journalists who aren’t afraid to connect deeply with their subjects. First, in Paper Girl, Beth Macy travels back to her hometown, Urbana, Ohio. In today’s episode, she tells NPR’s Ailsa Chang about the socioeconomic and cultural changes she found there. Then, Susan Orlean is known for going deep on niche subjects, like orchid enthusiasts or umbrella inventors. In today’s episode, she talks with NPR’s Scott Simon about her memoir Joyride and how she came across her best-known stories.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

As Israeli forces invaded Gaza in 2023, Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad kept a diary. Her writing is a record of the 45 days she spent reporting on the ground during the invasion until she evacuated. Now, she’s published her diary as a book called The Eyes of Gaza. In today’s episode, Alaqad joins NPR’s Lelia Fadel for a conversation about the journalist’s memories of home both before and after the conflict.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

The scholar Nicholas Boggs has a new perspective on James Baldwin. The new biography Baldwin: A Love Story considers how the writer and Civil Rights leader’s lovers might’ve shaped him. In today’s conversation with NPR’s Michel Martin, Boggs argues Baldwin provided a dynamic model for how we relate to other people – both in platonic and romantic relationships.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