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. 

How a graphic novel resurrected a forgotten chapter in American history
In “Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga,” Native artists retell the events of a brutal massacre in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania and bring a painful history to life on the page.
'Hood Feminism' is a call for solidarity in a less-than-inclusive movement
Mikki Kendall reveals how feminism has failed to consider populations too often excluded from the movement's banner — and forgotten to weigh the breadth of issues affecting the daily lives of many.
Who should decide what books are allowed in prison?
"It's so important for people who are in prison to be able to have access to materials that give them hope and a reason to want to be part of society again, to want to engage, to see the future," says Rebecca Ginsburg of the Education Justice Project.
In 'Foul Is Fair,' Lady Macbeth goes to prep school
Hannah Capin's new young adult novel is a modern-day retelling of “Macbeth” — centered on Lady Macbeth, now a high-schooler taking bloody revenge on the prep school boys who assaulted her at a party.
Survival of the friendliest: How our close friendships help us thrive
On average, people have only four very close relationships, author Lydia Denworth finds, and very few people can sustain more than six. But the effect of these few core relationships extends beyond our social lives.
Author Dina Nayeri on breaking down stereotypes of the refugee experience
Dina Nayeri fled the Iran revolution with her family when she was 8. In her new book, "The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You," she examines what it means to be a refugee.
Carleton College researcher uncovers the Boston Massacre’s human element
An infamous moment in American revolutionary history takes on new meaning after research by professor Serena Zabin reveals new details about the lives of the women and children living in Boston 250 years ago.