The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

Old ways cradle a new life in 'I Sang You Down from the Stars'
Caldecott Medal-winning artist Michaela Goade's Tlingit heritage her illustrations for “I Sang You Down From the Stars,” about a woman following Indigenous customs as she prepares for motherhood.
Hunter Biden's memoir 'Beautiful Things' seeks to tell just where he's been
The account by the president's younger son is at times a harrowing journey; in the end, if not for forgiveness or sympathy, it may be about making a stand and taking whatever place he can occupy.
'A Most Remarkable Creature' introduces the little-known, charismatic caracara
Through Jonathan Meiburg's inquiring lens, readers will find themselves with a new favorite animal — a bird of prey aptly described as "one of the strangest and most wonderful animals on Earth."
Camping is an adventure for all Americans in 'Fatima's Great Outdoors'
Ambreen Tariq's new children's book explores the immigrant experience of America's great outdoors — it's based on her own childhood experiences of family camping trips.
How Rodney Scott learned to cook – and went for it, whole hog
Pitmaster Rodney Scott describes his lifelong journey as a chef and his hope for the future. "I want to take over the world with barbecue," the James Beard Award winner tells NPR.