The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

Ask a Bookseller

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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. 

Need a read for kids? 15 suggestions from booksellers — and kids
MPR recently tapped independent bookstore owners and young readers for recommendations on good books for young people to read right now. Here’s some of the best of what they told us.
Ask a Bookseller: Epic fates and myth in this novel set in ancient Greece
To wrap up September’s theme of books for kids, teens and in-between, Rosalind Casey of Books of Wonder in Manhattan recommended “Amber and Clay” by Newberry Medal-winning author Laura Amy Schlitz.
Communication is the challenge in this novel of loss and discovery
Jon McGregor's new novel follows an expedition guide who suffers a stroke in the middle of an Antarctic ice storm and loses the ability to speak — and the people around him at a loss for what to say.
Percival Everett's latest combines racial allegory in history, horror and blood
In “The Trees,” Everett revisits the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, imagining a series of similar killings in the same small Mississippi town. Mixing horror, humor and insight, it's impossible to put down.
Make this 'Fortnight in September' your pandemic escape
R.C. Sherriff's recently reissued 1931 novel, which follows a British family on their two-week holiday, is a reflection on how time changes shape in periods like a vacation — or even a pandemic.
Despite the title, we bet you'll like this YA novel — a lot
Michelle Quach's immensely lovable YA debut “Not Here to Be Liked” centers on Eliza, who's just been done out of her dream job as editor of the high school paper by an unqualified but very charming boy.
Ask a Bookseller: A climate-change driven YA sci-fi
Lauren Abesames of Wind City Books in Casper, Wyo., loves young adult fiction, and first on her list of recent books to recommend was “The Ones We’re Meant to Find” by Joan He.
'Murmuration'  — a book that travels from Somalia to Minnesota
“Murmuration” is a new novel by Sid Balman, Jr. It’s a thriller that travels the globe from West Texas to Somalia and Minnesota. He had help from local businessman and politician Samakab Hussein. Angela Davis talks to the pair about their collaboration.
Jason Reynolds: How can we connect with kids through the written word?
Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.