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. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth doesn't pull punches in memoir 'Every Day Is a Gift'
Duckworth was raised by a Thai-Chinese mom and American soldier dad before becoming a decorated veteran who lost both legs in combat; she was also the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office.
How Black players propelled Cleveland's baseball team to win the 1948 World Series
In 1948, Cleveland's baseball team won the World Series. It wouldn't have made it without the team's first two Black players, and the team owner's willingness to hire them, says author Luke Epplin.
Children's author Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona Quimby, dies at 104
Beverly Cleary, the celebrated children’s author whose memories of her Oregon childhood were shared with millions through the likes of Ramona and Beezus Quimby and Henry Huggins, has died at age 104.
Talking Volumes: A conversation with author Chang-rae Lee
Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Chang-rae Lee’s past works have incorporated issues of race, class and immigration in the United States. MPR News guest host Brandt Williams interviewed Lee as part of Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune’s Talking Volumes: Talking Race series.
'There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job' takes gentle aim at Japan's work culture
Kikuko Tsumura's new novel follows an unnamed protagonist who embarks on a series of odd temp jobs — and discovers that as the jobs get duller, the demands of her male supervisors get more intense.