NPR's Book of the Day

Novels by Ben Reeves and Matt Haig look at life through the eyes of death (literally)

July 31, 2026·19 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.Two new novels use death to shed new light on life, but these aren’t depressing reads. In Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, the Grim Reaper gets a little too attached to the people he meets along the way. In today’s episode, author Ben Reeves speaks with All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow about publishing his debut novel after 20 years of writing. Then, Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library, talks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan about his new book, The Midnight Train, about a man who boards a magical train that gives him a chance to review his past.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/bookofthedaySee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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