Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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. 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.

'Our Women on the Ground' unites stories from female journalist in the Arab world

'Our Women on the Ground' unites stories from female journalist in the Arab world

There's a deep fascination in the West with how women function in ultra-conservative societies where repression can be violent and even deadly. This anthology pulls back the curtain on those places.
by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Burned out by dating apps? 'The Right Swipe' will relight your fire

Burned out by dating apps? 'The Right Swipe' will relight your fire

Alisha Rai's new romance is a testament to the difficulty of modern dating, as the CEO of a successful dating app realizes she's been ghosted by the celebrity spokesman of her biggest business rival.
by Amanda M. Diehl

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Smart and snarky, 'The Westing Game' provides lasting laughs

Smart and snarky, 'The Westing Game' provides lasting laughs

As part of our summer-long celebration of funny books, we've asked our writers to talk about things that made them laugh, like Ellen Raskin's witty and chaotic inheritance adventure The Westing Game.
by Alethea Kontis

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Disaster is on the horizon in blood-soaked 'Dark Age'

Disaster is on the horizon in blood-soaked 'Dark Age'

The latest installment in Pierce Brown's epic Roman-in-space saga Red Rising finds our hero overthrown and banished from the Republic he founded, and teetering dangerously close to villainy.
by Jason Sheehan

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
An 'excruciatingly beautiful' novel from a celebrated poet

An 'excruciatingly beautiful' novel from a celebrated poet

Aaron Cance says Ocean Vuong’s novel is simply astounding: “Everything else I read for the rest of this year is going to be measured against this novel.”
by Tracy Mumford

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'Strange Harvests' turns nature's fairy tales inside out

'Strange Harvests' turns nature's fairy tales inside out

Edward Posnett's book is more than an impressive add to the modern travelogue: it refuses to accept the landscape at face value as it paints remote terrain in visceral and breathtaking prose.
by Carson Vaughan

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Our language is evolving, 'Because Internet'

Our language is evolving, 'Because Internet'

Whether you're extremely online or still confused by how a simple period can be interpreted as passive-aggressive, linguist Gretchen McCulloch has a guide to how our on-screen speech is morphing.
by Audie Cornish

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

It’s not always possible to find the exact origin of our favorite words. History and language can get messy. But discussing their roots and forming hypotheses can be fascinating, and lots of fun! We sat down with etymologist Anatoly Liberman to help shed some light on a few of our favorite words.
by Sara Porter and Jiwon Choi

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Molly Mendoza's loopy new graphic novel isn't quite a young adult book, or a book for grownups, either. But it is a trippy visual experience, and Mendoza's art is gorgeous even when the story is thin.
by Etelka Lehoczky

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Patrick Coleman's novel follows a former pastor, now working as a security guard, who gets caught up in a noirish adventure after one of his coworkers is murdered, but it's much more than a whodunit.
by Ilana Masad

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!