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.

Intelligence Squared: Should you love your enemies?

Intelligence Squared: Should you love your enemies?

Think about your most deeply held political belief. Could you love someone who adamantly and passionately disagreed with it? In this special episode, host John Donvan sits down with Arthur Brooks, one of America's leading political thinkers, to discuss a bold premise: loving your enemies.
by MPR News Staff

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!
Former 'Teen Vogue' editor shares her memoir -- and her manifesto

Former 'Teen Vogue' editor shares her memoir -- and her manifesto

Elaine Welteroth became the first black beauty director at a Conde Nast magazine. Then she oversaw its political transformation.
by Noel King

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!
Can a chicken recipe change your life?

Can a chicken recipe change your life?

Ella Risbridger was suicidally depressed when she roasted a chicken and ended up writing an uplifting, genre-bending cookbook that reads like a magical mix of memoir, novel and self-help book.
by Jean Fain

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!
In 'Ayesha at Last,' a take on Austen that's sparky and sensitive

In 'Ayesha at Last,' a take on Austen that's sparky and sensitive

There have been an awful lot of South Asian adaptations of 'Pride and Prejudice' recently, but Uzma Jalaluddin's tale of two Toronto Muslims -- one conservative, one liberal -- stands out beautifully.
by Kamrun Nesa

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!
In Scotland's Outer Hebrides, mobile libraries are a lifeline

In Scotland's Outer Hebrides, mobile libraries are a lifeline

Library vans ply lonely roads and deliver books, including works in Gaelic, to hundreds of isolated residents. Seeing the mobile librarian is sometimes the only human contact they will have for days.
by Celeste Noche

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!
'Magic for Liars' asks: What if you're actually not magic?

'Magic for Liars' asks: What if you're actually not magic?

Sarah Gailey's new novel centers on estranged sisters, one magically talented and one just a talented private investigator -- who gets called in to solve a crime at her sister's school for magic.
by Liza Graham

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!
Macabre and irreverent, 'Mostly Dead Things' is a satisfying journey

Macabre and irreverent, 'Mostly Dead Things' is a satisfying journey

Kristin Arnett's new novel follows a woman dealing with the suicide of her father, while running the taxidermy business she inherited from him, getting over an ex, and learning to live for herself.
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!
'The Sentence is Death' is a bracing addition to any beach bag

'The Sentence is Death' is a bracing addition to any beach bag

Anthony Horowitz's new Inspector Hawthorne mystery is a sometimes too-complex but ultimately fun tale set in and around London's literary scene, with plenty of axes to grind and nibs to sharpen.
by Bethanne Patrick

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!