The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR News

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

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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.

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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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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. 

'Reviving Ophelia,' cultural touchstone on teen girls updates after 25 years
The new edition is in some ways like the retelling of a familiar tale for a new generation; but parts of the discussion that the book first inspired have moved beyond what an update can encompass.
A clearer map for aging: 'Elderhood' shows how geriatricians can help
Physician Louise Aronson treats patients who are in their 60s — as well as those who are older than 100. She writes about changing approaches to elder health care in the book, "Elderhood.
'Patron Saints of Nothing' is a book for 'the hyphenated'
Young adult author Randy Ribay says it's tough having "a dual identity" in a world "where people want you to be one thing." His new novel explores the Philippine government's deadly war on drugs.
A Muslim in rural Minnesota talks about how to 'Love Thy Neighbor'
After Donald Trump's election, Dr. Ayaz Virji started giving talks to mostly white, Christian audiences in rural Minnesota to try to dispel misconceptions about Muslims. He faced a lot of backlash.
'Angola Janga' tells the story of Brazil's runaway slave communities
Marcelo D'Salete's powerful graphic novel chronicles the mocambos, communities of runaway slaves that flourished in the jungles of 17th century Brazil, and all the lives they touched, slave and free.
'Norco '80' is a gripping account of one of America's most notorious bank heists
Peter Houlahan's account of the violent robbery and its aftermath is based on interviews with civilians, officers and robbers involved; his prose reads like a crime novel in the best way possible.