Book Excerpt

Here & Now's bookshelf, which includes excerpts of books that we cover on our show.

The cover of "Rabbit Moon" beside author Jennifer Haigh. (Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company)

Set in Shanghai, novel "Rabbit Moon" tells the story of an accident and the fracturing of a family

Jennifer Haigh's new novel begins in Shanghai, where an American woman living there is hit by a car and is severely injured. The story looks at the events leading up...

09:32Apr 7, 2025

The cover of "First Love" beside author Lisa A. Phillips. (Courtesy of Lisa A. Phillips)

New book helps parents help teens navigate 'First Love'

Journalist and professor Lisa A. Phillips talks about some of the challenges today's teens face in relationships and how parents can help their children meet those challenges.

09:36Mar 26, 2025

The cover of "Baby Leads the Way" beside author Julie Laux. (Courtesy of the American Academy of Pediatrics)

From curry to salmon: How introducing solid foods early benefits babies

Parents in the U.S. are shifting their mindset from making separate foods for little ones to figuring out how to safely include babies as young as six months old in...

05:48Mar 26, 2025

The cover of "The Mechanics of Memory" beside author Audrey Lee. (Courtesy of Audrey Lee and Derek Ono)

Audrey Lee releases debut novel 'The Mechanics of Memory'

It's a mystery about a woman in a treatment facility who can't remember the last year of her life.

09:57Mar 25, 2025

The cover of "Poems of Parenting" beside author Loryn Brantz. (Courtesy of William Morrow and Brittany Bartley)

How ‘Poems of Parenting’ helps us laugh through the journey of raising children

Artist Loryn Brantz aims to help parents feel seen through the moments of frustration, laughter and love that come with raising kids in her new book "Poems of Parenting."

09:36Mar 25, 2025

The cover of "Abundance" and author Derek Thompson. (Courtesy of Simon & Schuster and Shaughn and John, Inc)

'Abundance' book argues more is more in securing America's future

Authors Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein argue that in order to ensure a better future, America needs to build and invent more to combat problems such as affordable housing, climate...

09:41Mar 20, 2025

The cover of "Money, Lies and God" and author Katherine Stewart. (Courtesy of Bloomsbury)

'Money, Lies and God' details how far-right extremists work to erode democracy

Katherine Stewart has done 15 years of reporting and into anti-democracy extremism and the threats that come with it.

11:02Mar 19, 2025

The cover of "Boutwell" and author Jeffrey Boutwell. (Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company and Sarah Boutwell)

George Boutwell, the radical abolitionist Republican you've likely never heard of

Jeffrey Boutwell, a distant relative, tells his story in the new book “Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy."

06:53Mar 14, 2025

The cover of "Anjali Can!" and author Sheetal Sheth. (Courtesy of Penguin Random House)

Children's book 'Anjali Can!' empowers kids to take a stand for what they believe in

Heroine Anjali is trying to make social change and save her community center.

10:53Mar 12, 2025

The cover of "Waiting on the Moon" and author Peter Wolf. (Courtesy of Hachette Book Group)

Peter Wolf recounts long music career in 'Waiting on the Moon'

Peter Wolf spent some of his music career as frontman for the J. Geils Band.

10:58Mar 11, 2025

The cover of "A Sky That Sings" beside author Anita Sanchez. (Courtesy of Lee & Low Books)

‘A Sky That Sings’: New book invites children to enjoy bird-listening

Just in time for spring, a new children’s book celebrates a blind girl’s joy in identifying birds on a nature walk with her aunt.

05:47Mar 7, 2025

The cover of "Glimmers Journal" and author Deb Dana. (Courtesy of W.W. Norton and Nicole Thomas)

How noticing ‘glimmers’ helps you train your brain to not turn away from suffering

When you’re feeling anxious, reach for 'glimmers' — the tiny things in your day that bring you joy.

06:59Mar 4, 2025

The cover of "Love, Queenie" beside author Mayukh Sen. (Courtesy of Jmar Teran)

'Love, Queenie' tells a story of passing for white in 1930s Hollywood

The book tells how Merle Oberon, who was born in India and whose mother was half-Sinhalese, had to hide that identity to find success as an actress.

09:44Mar 4, 2025

The cover of "The Power of Enough: Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money" beside author Elizabeth Husserl. (Courtesy of Publisher New World Library
Author and In Her Image Photography)

New book 'The Power of Enough' says wealth isn't only about money

The book encourages readers to think of money not as an end in itself but as one tool in achieving a meaningful life.

09:30Mar 3, 2025

The cover of "The Home We Make" and author Maham Khwaja. (Courtesy of Lee & Low Books and Sadaf Hasan)

A Pakistani American children’s book author asks: What do you feel when you think of home?

“The Home We Make" takes kids along the hopeful journey of a refugee girl and her family as they search for a new home.

06:54Mar 3, 2025

The cover of "Black in Blues" and author Imani Perry. (Courtesy of Ecco and Kevin Peragine)

'Black in Blues' explores the rich history of the color blue in Black culture

Imani Perry's new collection of essays, "Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People," explores how the color blue has been intertwined with Black history over...

13:52Feb 26, 2025

The cover of "From These Roots" beside author Tamara Lanier. (Courtesy of Sabrina Olenik Portraits)

'From These Roots' tells the story of a fight to reclaim family history

In the book, author Tamara Lanier recounts her efforts to prove her connection to daguerreotypes currently in possession of Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnicity.

09:29Feb 25, 2025

The cover of "Back After This" and author Linda Holmes. (Courtesy of Ballantine Books and Cassidy DuHon)

Can you find love on a podcast? 'Back After This' explores that idea

The book centers around a podcast producer and editor whose chance at a romance might be foiled when she agrees to host a podcast focused on improving her dating life.

09:37Feb 20, 2025

Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Cecil)

Geraldine Brooks' memoir details how she grieved husband Tony Horwitz's sudden death

It took 3 years for Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks to grieve the death of her husband, acclaimed author and journalist Tony Horwitz.

10:42Feb 17, 2025

The cover of "Intrabled" with authors Shane and Hannah Burcaw. (Courtesy of Studio Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Twelve:52)

In 'Interabled,' YouTube stars Squirmy and Grubs tell stories of love and disability

Shane Burcaw has a genetic disease and uses a wheelchair, his wife Hannah Burcaw does not. On their YouTube channel, they share stories of their lives. Now, the pair has...

10:52Feb 17, 2025