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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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. 

Latest tell-all, by former national security adviser McMaster, is not all about Trump
This book may be the master in-depth briefing H.R. McMaster always wanted to give the president. For better or worse, it seems listening to lengthy historical explanations has not been Trump's style.
Poirot's the star, but his sidekick shines in 'Kingfisher Hill'
The latest installment in the Hercule Poirot franchise — now being written by Sophie Hannah — is a masterful, multilayered puzzle in which Poirot's assistant Inspector Catchpool plays a key role.
A book that gives you 'Some Kind of Happiness' on lonely, blue days
We're continuing our September focus on great books for kids and teens. This week, Britt Margit of Second Star to the Right Books in Denver, Colo., recommended "Some Kind of Happiness" by Claire Legrand.
Collect data, influence votes: 'If Then' traces the genesis of data-driven politics
In “If Then,” historian Jill Lepore tells the story of Simulmatics. Founded in 1959, the company's "people machine" used a computer program to predict the impact of various political messages.
In his new book “No Rules Rules,” Reed Hastings argues that in order for a creative workplace to succeed, it needs as few policies and rules as possible. Others say the culture is demoralizing.
Grand Jury issued criminal subpoenas in connection with John Bolton book
The move signals the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation surrounding the publication of “The Room Where It Happened” after an unsuccessful effort to block it from being published.
A widow discovers that her marriage wasn't 'Monogamy'
As the central character struggles with grief and shock at her late husband's infidelity, author Sue Miller keeps deftly shifting what readers might anticipate to be the ending of this novel.