A Claire McCardell biography and an AI sci-fi are among NPR’s top book picks of 2025

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day

Episode: A Claire McCardell biography and an AI sci-fi are among NPR’s top book picks of 2025
Host: Andrew Limbong (A/B) | Guests: Michelle Martin (D), Scott Detrow (F)
Date: November 28, 2025

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Overview

This episode celebrates the release of NPR’s annual “Books We Love” list for 2025, spotlighting standout nonfiction and fiction titles as recommended by the entire NPR staff. Host Andrew Limbong joins Morning Edition’s Michelle Martin and All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow to discuss some of the year's most buzzworthy books, ranging from insightful biographies to genre-bending sci-fi and contemporary family dramas. The conversation dives into why this book list is different, uncovers memorable picks, and offers listeners targeted reading inspiration for every interest.

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Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. The Books We Love List: What Sets it Apart

Timestamps: [01:13], [06:22]

• Andrew explains the process:

  • The Books We Love list isn’t curated just by the books desk or critics, but by asking everyone across NPR – producers, editors, even those on the business side – for their favorites.
  • “It’s a democratic way of doing a best-of-year list… We’re not saying, ‘here’s the 10 best books of the year.’ We’re saying, ‘here’s a couple of options. You’re going to find something you love.’” – Andrew Limbong [06:33]

• Size and usability:

  • Approximately 380 books across genres, moods, and tags (“not just fiction and nonfiction, but also book club ideas, love and romance, for sports lovers… You can mix and stack the tags”). [01:51]
  • Makes for “an eclectic and diverse mix” where anyone can find the perfect gift or personal read. [07:25]

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2. Notable Nonfiction Picks

Timestamps: [02:31] – [04:48]

Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free by Elizabeth Evitz Dickinson

• Why it’s notable:
  • Claire McCardell, a fashion designer of the 1930s and 40s, is credited with making American women's wear more practical (and giving them pockets).
  • The biography also explores America’s search for its own aesthetic identity.
  • “Like a lot of good biographies, it’s not just about McCardell as a designer, but it’s also about America’s search for its own aesthetic identity.” – Andrew Limbong [03:03]

Medicine: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools by Mary Annette Pember

• Overview:
  • Deep reporting on brutal federally funded schools that tried to assimilate Native American children, spanning the 1800s to 1970s.
  • Pember has a personal family connection to the topic, enriching the narrative.
  • “It’s a deeply reported story that Pember has direct ties to through her family.” – Andrew Limbong [03:45]

Toni at Random by Dana A. Williams

• Focus:
  • A dive into Toni Morrison’s transformative impact as an editor, particularly her support of writers like Muhammad Ali and Angela Davis.
  • “She wasn’t just, you know, line editing their copy, but really championing her writers in the publishing offices.” – Andrew Limbong [03:57]

James Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs

• Highlight:
  • An expansive new biography exploring Baldwin’s life and legacy.
  • “If you know a lot about Baldwin, you learn things. If you don’t… it really will whet your app[...] I just had no idea what a footprint he had. I just can't say enough about it.” – Michelle Martin [04:30]
  • Clocking in at about 600 pages—“It’ll more than whet your appetite. It’s huge, right? It’s like a good 600 pages.” – Andrew Limbong [04:43]

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3. Fiction Picks: Genres, Drama, and Hidden Gems

Timestamps: [07:31] – [09:45]

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

• Description:
  • Romance about two longtime friends who become each other’s plus ones at a wedding; rich in genre awareness and playful with romance tropes.
  • “Like all good romance novels, I think this book is super aware of the tropes… and the genre conventions it is playing with.” – Andrew Limbong [07:36]

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

• Premise:
  • A meta sci-fi novel, split between the story of an author who becomes famous for her book about sentient AI and aliens, and excerpts from the in-universe book itself.
  • “Half of the book is the author grappling with becoming super duper famous, and the other half is the sci-fi book that she actually wrote. And these two narratives play off of each other in interesting ways.” – Andrew Limbong [08:19]

Canon by Lee Lai

• Why Andrew picked it:
  • A melancholy graphic novel about a woman emotionally stretched thin by caregiving and relationships, portrayed through sparse yet striking artwork.
  • “She’s the support system for all of these people, but she has no support system for herself… The artwork is really beautiful. It’s really subdued and it’s sparse. There’s a lot of blank space… a super dramatic way of portraying her life crumbling.” – Andrew Limbong [08:26]

Among Friends by Hal Ebbitt

• Setting:
  • Two old friends (and their families) rent a holiday house together, resulting in a dramatic unraveling of relationships after a mysterious incident.
  • “The family drama at play is half of the fun. The other is like just some really stunning writing.” – Andrew Limbong [09:27]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the list’s breadth:

  • “It is so big that people in my life have not caught on that I get them a gift based on this website just about every single year.” – Scott Detrow [07:19]

• Gift-giving hack:

  • “Oh man, I’m visiting my father-in-law. I forgot. Let me find something real quick.” – Andrew Limbong [07:25]

• Playful podcast banter:

  • “We’re just bigger and better than the other guys, you know what I mean?” – Andrew Limbong [06:33]
  • “That is Andrew Limbong trash talking other book lists and hosting NPR’s Book of the Day podcast.” – Scott Detrow [09:54]

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Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 01:13 | Introduction to Books We Love process | | 02:31 | Nonfiction recommendations with Michelle Martin | | 03:03 | Claire McCardell biography discussed | | 03:17 | Medicine by Mary Annette Pember highlighted | | 03:57 | Toni at Random/Toni Morrison’s editorial legacy | | 04:30 | Discussion of James Baldwin biography | | 07:31 | Pivot to fiction picks with Scott Detrow | | 07:36 | Friends to Lovers & Death of the Author introduced | | 08:26 | Lee Lai's Canon graphic novel recommendation | | 09:12 | Among Friends, holiday family drama pick | | 09:54 | Humorous outro & endorsement of the list’s breadth |

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Tone & Experience

• The episode is brisk, friendly, and accessible, designed to demystify reading choices and celebrate NPR’s democratic, broad-ranging approach to book recommendations.
• Hosts are engaging and playful, dropping in personal anecdotes and encouraging listeners to explore beyond their usual picks.
• Ideal for both serious readers and those looking for gift ideas or an entry point into new genres.

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Conclusion

Whether you're hunting for moving history, sharp biography, contemporary family drama, or clever genre-benders, NPR’s “Books We Love” list and this episode offer a launchpad for your next great read. Explore the full interactive guide at npr.org/bestbooks for many more discoveries.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Happy Friday after Thanksgiving, arguably a more enjoyable, less stressful day than yesterday.

[B]

So we've just got a quick one for you today.

[A]

NPR just dropped its annual Books We Love list. You'll hear me explain the spiel as to how it's different from other year end lists in a bit, but just know that it's about 380 books recommended by the books team, critics, writers and the entire staff of NPR. You can find the [e-mail] bestbooks but if you want a sneak peek, I was on the big daily NPR shows recommending a few of our picks.

[B]

In a bit, we'll do fiction.

[A]

But first, here's me on MORNING edition talking to NPR's Michelle Martin about some of our non fiction books.

[C]

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[D]

Ask everybody who works at NPR, and I mean everybody, what their favorite books of the year were. We pull this together and present it to you as an interactive guide called Books We Love. Here to tell us about some nonfiction books that made the cut this year is Andrew limbong. He hosts NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Good morning, Andrew.

[B]

Hey, Michelle.

[D]

So for the unfamiliar, tell us a bit more about Books We Love.

[B]

Yeah, it's something we've been doing since about 2013. Like you said, we ask everyone what they love. So, yeah, we've got our books team, including writers and critics. But across npr, we're asking people. So we've got producers, editors, folks on the business side, you know, all sharing what they enjoyed reading. This year we've got about 380 entries, you know, in the neighborhood of that. I know that's big. But it's all organized by tag. So it's not just fiction and nonfiction, but also book club ideas, love and romance for sports lovers. And you can mix and stack the tags. So you can really key in on what you or the reader in your life is really into.

[D]

All right, with that being said, we're gonna talk about nonfiction books today. What have you got for us?

[B]

All right, let's start with a good biography. Michelle, have you ever noticed how there's more pockets in menswear than there are in women's wear?

[D]

So annoying. So annoying. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, right. This pocket gender disparity was something fashion designer Claire McArdle wanted to solve. She was working mainly in the 1930s and 40s and redefining what American women's wear could be. Right. So she turned it into something more sporty and practical, but still beautiful. And she's the subject of a biography by Elizabeth Evitz Dickinson Titled Claire McCardell, the designer who Set Women Free.

[A]

And, you know, like a lot of.

[B]

Good biographies, it's not just about McCardell as a designer, but it's also about America's search for its own aesthetic identity.

[D]

You know, we have a lot of history fans out there. So any kind of deep history books on the list?

[B]

Yeah. Mary Annette Pember is a correspondent at ICT News. Michelle, I think you might remember that as Indian Country Today, she's got a book out titled Medicine A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools. It's about these brutal schools funded by the federal government that works to forcefully assimilate Native American kids. Right. Giving them English names and forcing them into Christianity. And these schools were around from the 1800s through the 1970s. And it's a deeply reported story that Pember has direct ties to through her family.

[D]

So, Andrew, though, even though we're talking about nonfiction, there are a few books on here that are about some of the biggest names in fiction. Right?

[B]

Yeah. Real quick. There's Toni At Random by Dana A. Williams, which is about the famous writer Toni Morrison, but it focuses on her time as an editor. Right. And I think you can argue that she had just as big of an impact on literature from that purge as she did as a writer. Right. She was working with Muhammad Ali and Angela Davis, and she wasn't just, you know, like, line editing their copy, but really championing her writers in the publishing offices. And then there's the new biography of James Baldwin by Nicholas Boggs called A Love Story. Michelle, you talked to Boggs, right? What'd you think of the book?

[D]

Oh, man. Highest recommendation. I mean, if you. If you know a lot about Baldwin, you learn things. If you don't know a lot about Baldwin, I mean, it really will whet your app I just had no idea what a footprint he had. I just can't say enough about it.

[B]

Yeah, it'll more than whet your appetite. It's huge, right? It's like a good 600 pages. Yeah, that's right.

[D]

That is NPR's Andrew Limbong. For more book recommendations, head to npr.org bestbooks Andrew, thank you.

[B]

Thanks, Michelle.

[A]

And now for fiction, here's me recommending a few titles to All Things Considered host Scott Detrow.

[E]

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[F]

Heard a heavy thunk this morning. That was NPR dropping its massive year end list of book recommendations. We do this every November. It's called Books We Love. And here to tell us more is NPR's Andrew Limbong. Hey Andrew.

[B]

Hey, Scott.

[F]

So this is one of my favorite days of the year at npr. Remind us how Books we Love is a little bit different from these 6 trillion other year ender lists that are out there right now.

[B]

Yeah, like you said, it's mad. We're just bigger and better than the other guys, you know what I mean? This year it's about 380 books. And it's sourced not just from NPR book staff and critics, but literally everybody at NPR is open to contribute. Right? So that's every department. We're talking producers, editors, we got people on the business side of npr. And so we have an eclectic and diverse mix of books and it's a lot more democratic way of doing a best of year ended list. We're not saying like here's the 10 best books of the year. We're saying here's a couple of options. You're gonna find something you love. And I know that 380 number sounds a little intimidating. There are these little filter tags on the side to help you narrow down the selection and pick what's just right for you.

[F]

Can I say the best thing about how big this list is?

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

It is so big that people in my life have not caught on that I get them a gift based on this website just about every single year.

[B]

I know. It's a great. Oh man, I'm visiting my father in law. I forgot. Let me find something real quick.

[F]

All right, so you are on Morning Edition talking nonfiction this morning, which means we get to talk fiction.

[B]

Yeah, let's do it. I think let's start with some genre e books. Sally Blakely's Friends to Lovers is a romance book about two old friends who are each other's plus ones to her wedding. And some stuff happens, there's some drama. But like all good romance novels, I think this book is super aware of the tropes of romance and the genre conventions it is playing with. On a similar note, Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor is a sci fi book, but sort of it's about an author. He gets super famous for writing a sci fi book about sentient AI and aliens. And half of the book is the author grappling with becoming super duper famous and the other half the book is the sci fi book that she actually wrote.

[F]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

And these two narratives play off of each other in interesting ways.

[F]

Are there any books that you yourself, Andrew Limbong, put on the list?

[B]

Yeah, one entry I had was Lee Lai's Canon. This is a graphic novel following a woman who's sort of at her wit's end. She's a cook at a mediocre restaurant. She's taking care of a sick grandfather. She's got a mother she can't get ahold of. And her best friend isn't very good at being a best friend, you know what I mean? And so she's the support system for all of these people, but she has no support system for herself and everything starts crumbling down on her life. The artwork is really beautiful. It's really subdued and it's sparse. There's a lot of blank space until there. And it's a super dramatic way of portraying her life crumbling.

[F]

So one other question. It's Thanksgiving week. We are entering a period of time where there might be some family drama in some listeners lives who can say, are there any books that kind of fit that mood?

[A]

Ooh, okay.

[B]

Yeah, there's a decent amount of family family drama books on this list. Let's go with Among Friends by Hal Ebbitt. This is a debut novel about two old friends. They and their families rent a house together for a holiday. You know, the vibe where the kids.

[A]

Play together, the adults sort of like.

[B]

Hang out and drink cocktails. Something kind of bad happens about a quarterway through the book and the and the friendship and the relationships unravel, everybody gets super insecure and, you know, the family drama at play is half of the fun. The other is like just some really stunning writing.

[F]

We just talked about four books, which means we just talked about about 1% of this list. There's a lot more out there.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Like I said, we're bigger and better than the other team.

[F]

You know, that is Andrew Limbock trash talking other book lists and hosting NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Thank you so much.

[B]

Thanks, Scott.

[A]

That's it for this week on NPR's Book of the Day. Let us know what you think you can write to [e-mail] I'm Andrew Limbong. The podcast is produced by Chloe Weiner and edited by Megan Sullivan with help from Lena Edwards and Ivy Buck. Our founding editor is Petra Maher. The show elements for this week were produced and edited by Christopher Intagliotta, Kira Joaquim, Sarah Handel, Ahmad Daman, Janaki Meh, Matt Ozug, Megan Lim, Ava Berger, Milton Guevara and Phil Harrell. Yolanda Sanguini is our executive producer. Thanks for listening. Kira Joaquim, Sarah Handel, Ahmad Daman, Janaki Mehta, Matt Ozug, Megan Lim, Eva Berger, Milton Guevara and Phil Harrell. Yolanda Sanguini is producer. Thanks for listening.

[E]

This message comes from NPR sponsor Rosetta Stone, an expert in language learning for 30 years. Right now, NPR listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership to 25 different languages for 50% off. Learn more at RosettaStone.com NPR this message.

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