The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

Talking Volumes with poet Tracy K. Smith
Smith was the final speaker of the 20th season of Talking Volumes. The 2017 U.S. poet laureate talked about her experience sharing poetry with communities across the nation.
J.R.R. Tolkien's son was instrumental in cultivating his father's legacy, shepherding unpublished works to readers and helping extend the world of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
Counter Stories: Sisters in Loss
The Counter Stories team look at the effect of implicit bias and institutional racism on women’s reproductive health.
'Kingdomtide' and 'Dear Edward': 2 new novels take on a singular situation
If the chances of dying in a plane crash are slim, being the sole survivor is even less likely — but that's the premise for two new novels, Ann Napolitano's Dear Edward and Rye Curtis's Kingdomtide.
For January, 3 enemies-to-lovers romances
This month, we're celebrating an old favorite trope: Enemies who fall for each other. Sparks and witty banter fly in these three novels, starring rival TV hosts, youth pastors and fashion executives.
Love by the letters in 'How To Speak Boy'
Fans of “You've Got Mail” will find a lot to love in Tiana Smith's tale of a high-achieving high-schooler who gets distracted by a correspondence with another student whose identity is a mystery.
To stand still is to die: A new novel follows migrants to 'American Dirt'
Jeanine Cummins' new novel opens in Mexico, where a drug cartel has massacred 16 members of a family. A tense on-the-road ordeal follows, as a desperate mother struggles to save herself and her son.
'Tightrope' implores America to make changes to save itself
A new book by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is an agonizing account of how apathy and cruelty have turned America into a nightmare for many less fortunate citizens. But it is not without hope.