NPR's Book of the Day Folgen

There is an Icelandic word, sprakkar, that means outstanding women - and those women are at the heart of the book Secrets Of The Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women And How They Are Changing The World. Iceland's first lady and author, Eliza Reid, interviewed women from all walks of life to find out what makes being a woman in Iceland so great. Reid told NPR's Leila Fadel that not everyone knows Iceland has topped the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Equality Index for the past 12 years, so she set out to change that.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Back in 2013 author Anthony Marra wrote a book that is every bit as timely today. A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena takes place in Chechnya, a place very familiar with warring with Russia, in 2004. It's a story about the people - everyday, ordinary people - war and its aftermath impacts. Marra told NPR's Jacki Lyden that he wrote "a novel about people who are trying to transcend the hardships of their circumstances by saving others."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Today we look at the power of the Chinese government. The first book, How I Survived A Chinese Reeducation Camp, is by Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur woman who spent years in a detention camp. It's a stark account of human rights atrocities. Haitiwaji told NPR's Scott Simon she feels lucky because millions of people are still suffering. Next is an interview with Chinese businessman Desmond Shum about his book Red Roulette. It's the story of his wife's disappearance and then reappearance. Shum told NPR's Steve Inskeep that when she resurfaced he felt like he was "negotiating with her kidnapper."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy