The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

Prolific author John Grisham came to Talking Volumes for the first time earlier this month and charmed the packed Fitzgerald Theater with stories about his time as a lawyer, how writing transformed his views on justice and why he doesn’t put sex scenes in his book.
‘Patchwork’ pieces together Jane Austen’s personal life
While some might be bothered by a biography that regularly, and proudly, takes liberties with facts and chronology, such artistry is the heart and strength of Kate Evans’ delightful and illuminating work.
The new $50M Literary Arts Fund will support independent publishers and nonprofits
A coalition of seven charitable foundations has established a Literary Arts Fund to support independent publishers and nonprofit organizations. The fund will distribute at least $50 million in grants over the next five years.
Books about race and gender to be returned to school libraries on some military bases
The order is to be implemented at school libraries on military bases in Kentucky, Virginia, Italy and Japan. Students and their families claimed their First Amendment rights had been violated when officials removed the books to comply with President Trump’s executive orders.
New books this week dance between genres — and deserve your attention
New releases this week include a feminist history of modern Russia, and a candid portrait of Gish Jen’s relationship with her mother. Plus, new novels from Philip Pullman and Claire Louise-Bennett.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘Coming Up Short’ by Robert B. Reich
Daniel Wells of Gramercy Books in Bexley, Ohio, recommends the memoir “Coming Up Short” by Robert B. Reich.
This week brings a bumper harvest of brand new books
This week’s new titles include memoir, comics journalism and speculative fiction, horror and humor. Susan Orlean tells her own story in “Joyride,” and Pulitzer-winner Adam Johnson has a new novel.