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. 

American Christianity must reckon with legacy of white supremacy, author says
“White Too Long” author Robert P. Jones says churches should be more in vocal on issues of social justice: "White Christians have been largely silent ... and have hardly begun these conversations."
A new book traces the history of boy bands, the pop phenomenon 'Larger Than Life'
Author and music critic Maria Sherman talks about her new book, “Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS” and forgoing rock elitism to give into the joy of boy band pop songs.
The impact of white evangelicals on U.S. politics
In her latest book, history and gender studies professor Kristin Kobes Du Mez looks at how white American evangelicalism has changed over time and what it — and Christian manhood — has meant for U.S. politics. She spoke with MPR News host Kerri Miller about the book.
Norm Eisen says he drafted 10 articles of impeachment a month before inquiry
In a new book, “A Case for the American People,” the Judiciary Committee special counsel during impeachment traces the process. Of Trump, he tells NPR: "He understands what he's doing. It is a pattern."