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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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. 

Author Frank Bures on canoeing, forgotten races and a brush with death on the Mississippi
Minnesota author Frank Bures discusses his new book “Pushing the River,” a blend of personal adventures, historical research and rediscovered stories about the state’s forgotten canoe racing culture, including a near-fatal experience on the Mississippi.
Poet Andrea Gibson, candid explorer of life, death and identity, dies at 49
Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist, has died at age 49. Their wife, Megan Falley, announced the news on Monday. Gibson, who explored gender identity, politics and their battle with terminal ovarian cancer through poetry, passed away at their home in Boulder, Colorado.
Talking Volumes 26th season announced for Fall 2025
Talking Volumes, a collaboration between MPR News and the Minnesota Star Tribune, returns for a landmark 26th season at the historic Fitzgerald Theater.
A new cross-county memoir: ‘The Last American Road Trip’
Sarah Kendzior wanted to show America to her young children. So she and her husband crisscrossed the country to visit national parks and historical sites, even as political upheaval and the pandemic remade the landscape. Her new memoir chronicles their journeys and asks if this beautiful, complicated country can live up to its ideals.
As ‘Arrowsmith’ turns 100, Sinclair Lewis’ medical tale couldn’t be more timely
Literary and medical experts will gather next week in Lewis’ hometown of Sauk Centre, Minn., to discuss his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The story of an idealistic doctor struggling with ethical questions about medicine and scientific research remains as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1925.
Inspiring young readers: Kids’ authors on books that connect
MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about what makes a great children’s book, the challenges of writing for kids and the joy of telling stories that stick.