The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Lilac People’ by Milo Todd
Sophia Terry of Bank Street Books in Mystic, CT, recommends “The Lilac People" by Milo Todd.
Lush nature and fathomless loss coexist in 'Under Water'
The underwater world that Tara Menon creates in her new novel is wonderous and immersive. She joins Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about nature and friendship and loss, and how to write without cliches or sentimentality.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘Flourish’ by Daniel Coyle 
Brie Taralson of Lykke Books in New Ulm recommends “Flourish” by Daniel Coyle.
In 'Good People,' the story depends on who's telling it
Looking for the next novel to stir things up at your book club and get everyone talking? Kerri Miller says “Good People” has it all — competing stories, competing cultures and a crime at the center of it all.
Minnesota bestseller Abby Jimenez on the sweet and spicy genre of romance
Prolific romance writer Abby Jimenez joins Kerri Miller on Big Book and Bold Ideas for the very first time to talk about how romance is evolving, why it’s a vital part of reading culture and which one cupcake the Nadia Cakes creator would serve to a table of famous writers.
Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea releases her first memoir
“It Wasn’t Meant to Be Perfect,” traces Lea’s upbringing in Duluth, her rise to fame after winning NPR Music’s Tiny Desk contest in 2016, and how she’s navigated her disability throughout her life.
Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?
Dozens of Tuskegee Airmen went missing in action during World War II. Most of them have not been found. Who were these men and what happened to them? In her book, “Forgotten Souls,” NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson tells their stories.
Move over, Mr. Ripley. ‘I Am Agatha’ is a delightfully duplicitous debut
Nancy Foley’s deviously-plotted novel centers on an aging artist in New Mexico. Brutally dismissive of anyone who disagrees with her, Agatha is a perfectly engaging (if unreliable) narrator.
New book with Minneapolis roots tells ‘How Black Music Took Over the World’
Musician Melvin Gibbs has built a career over decades nimbly crossing genres. He spoke with MPR News host Clay Masters about his new book, “How Black Music Took Over the World,” described as part memoir, part history and part science.