AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It is year-end list season. And for your reading and gift-giving pleasure, NPR has rounded up more than 350 of our favorite books this year. If that sounds like a lot, do not worry because Andrew Limbong is back with us to help highlight a few key recommendations. He's host of NPR's Book Of The Day podcast and joins us now. Hey, Andrew.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa. What's up?
CHANG: What's up? OK, so, I mean, let's be honest. Is it time to call this list All Books Considered? - because...
LIMBONG: Yeah. OK, OK (laughter).
CHANG: ...Three hundred fifty titles - that's, like, really overwhelming. Did we even choose our favorites, or did we just name all the books in the world?
LIMBONG: Yeah, yeah. OK, OK. Listen.
CHANG: Why is this the approach?
LIMBONG: Listen. All right, so it's 350 titles, yes. And it's all sourced from staff and critics. We take this approach because, you know, everyone and their mother has their list of, like, here's the 10 best books. Here's the 15 best books, right?
CHANG: Yes.
LIMBONG: And we're like, that can't possibly be true, right? And so what we have here is a pile, a mound, a mountain of books. And I think it's - the guarantee is that there's something in here for you. And I know that, you know...
CHANG: I mean, there better be.
LIMBONG: There better be. And there are some, like, little filter tabs that help you find your way through it and, you know, help you pick, like, the right one.
CHANG: OK. Well, speaking of those filter tabs, I hear that today we are focusing on biographies and memoirs. Where do you want to start with that?
LIMBONG: Well, all right. To be really - even if you narrow it down to just biographies and memoirs, we've got more than, like, 60 titles...
CHANG: Oh, come on.
LIMBONG: ...On the list, right. But...
CHANG: (Laughter).
LIMBONG: Let's start with something buzzy. There's this book called "Sociopath" by Patric Gagne. It's about an author who claims to be a sociopath and to have known it at a young age, right?
CHANG: Wow.
LIMBONG: So she had, like, no sense of shame, embarrassment, empathy, etc. The phrase that she's been using to describe sociopathy is that it's a, quote, "emotional learning disability."
CHANG: I think I dated some of those, so...
LIMBONG: Yeah, right? And, you know, the book has been praised for being, like, a firsthand account of what that's like, right? And we don't really hear from that point of view all that often. But what I find interesting about it as, like, a text, as a book, is that, like, she's out here saying, like, hey. I'm a liar. Here's a book full of all the times that I've lied. And it's a memoir, and we're just supposed to assume and believe that it's all true. So it really forces you to think hard about authorial intent.
CHANG: Oh, that's so fascinating. OK, so what about something that might be good for a gift?
LIMBONG: All right.
CHANG: I don't know if I want to give people something about sociopaths. You know what I'm saying? It might...
LIMBONG: Yeah. No, I hear - I hear you.
CHANG: ...Feel like a hint...
LIMBONG: I hear you (laughter).
CHANG: ...To them.
LIMBONG: So, personally, like, my TikTok feed is like 40% food content creators - right? - just, like, a lot of food stuff. And it got me thinking about this idea of, like, a food TV star - right? - is changing in a lot of ways. But in some ways, it's not. And so a lot of people might be interested in this book called "Chop Fry Watch Learn" by Michelle T. King. It's a biography of Fu Pei-mei. She was a TV cooking star in Taiwan in the '60s.
CHANG: Oh.
LIMBONG: She came out with a super-influential cookbook in '69. And it's a book that traces her influence, especially as people from Taiwan emigrated here to the U.S., you know, meaning she had, like, global reach. And she became an ambassador for Chinese cooking.
CHANG: Yeah.
LIMBONG: But like I said, it's interesting to see how, like, fame and food worked back then and compare it to how these worlds kind of intersect now.
CHANG: That's so cool. Well, you know, speaking of fame, celebrity memoirs can be kind of hit or miss, right?
LIMBONG: Yeah.
CHANG: Like, sometimes I'm - when I'm reading one, I'm like, do we really need to hear more about you from you? Are there any great hits on NPR's Books We Love?
LIMBONG: All right, so one of the books I'm super-stoked to check out is "What Have We Here?" by Billy Dee Williams. He is, of course, the guy who played Lando Calrissian in "Star Wars," right?
CHANG: Ah, yes.
LIMBONG: We all know them, right? But he's so much more than that, right? Apparently, he's also an extremely talented painter.
CHANG: Oh.
LIMBONG: And he's just one of those dudes who seems like he's got just, like, a ton of stories in him. Similarly, there's another book by Kathleen Hanna. She came out with a memoir this year called "Rebel Girl." She's the lead singer of Bikini Kill. So, you know...
CHANG: Cool.
LIMBONG: ...If you are at all interested in punk and feminism, in the life of a touring musician or, you know, just like to listen to those Bikini Kill records, that book's for you.
CHANG: That is awesome. NPR's Andrew Limbong talking about NPR's Books We Love. Thank you so much, Andrew.
LIMBONG: Thanks, Ailsa.
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