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. 

How the advance weather forecast got good
Under the radar (so to speak), predictions have improved dramatically of late. In 'The Weather Machine,' Andrew Blum writes that it's due to an international (and imperiled) alliance of supercomputers.
Podcasts are providing a new way into poetry
A poem on the page has its appeal -- but poetry spoken aloud is a more intimate experience. And a new crop of podcasts are expanding poetry, giving context to poems and drawing in new audiences.
'When We Were Arabs' is a nostalgic celebration of a rich, diverse heritage
Author Massoud Hayoun has Moroccan, Egyptian and Tunisian heritage -- and is also Jewish. He weaves in his family history with the politics that shaped their lives, including European oppression.
'Ask Again, Yes' is a profound yet unpretentious family drama
Mary Beth Keane's novel opens in 1973 New York and follows two rookie cops and their families over four decades. Her closely-observed domestic tale transforms into something deep and universal.