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.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

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. 

'Empire of Wild' tells a small story — but not a slight one
Cherie Dimaline's new novel seems small in scope — it's about a woman who loses her husband and is determined to bring him back, nothing more than that — but it's rich, tightly written and powerful.
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."
A daughter unearths and remembers trauma in 'Memorial Drive'
Pulitzer Prize winning poet Natasha Trethewey explores the relationship between trauma, agency, and voice as she excavates the lingering effects of her mother's murder upon her life.
The Thread: ‘Sea Wife’ a dark and thrilling read
Who doesn’t love a sinister, summer-time thriller? Kerri Miller continues her look at books that keep us on the edge of our seats with Amity Gaige’s “Sea Wife.”
Picture book deals head-on with the loss of a child
There are few harder blows to a family than the loss of a child. Not only can it leave parents and siblings with unbearable grief, but those around them can experience helplessness and feel unable to respond. A new picture book by a St. Paul writer and an illustrator takes on these huge emotions in a way they hope will help everyone.
'Crooked Hallelujah' sings of beauty and trouble between mothers and daughters
Kelli Jo Ford's novel follows three generations of Cherokee women trying to forge a future in the harsh environment of the 1980s oil boom in Texas — and learning just how difficult that can be.
Cartoonist Adrian Tomine's self-deprecating, self-aware humor shines in memoir
In framing Tomine's life trajectory via professional and personal setbacks and moments of mortification, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist” becomes mesmerizing, funny, and deeply honest.