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. 

Duluth teachers, district grapple with how to move on from 'Mockingbird'
Since Duluth schools pulled "To Kill a Mockingbird,"the debate over selecting an alternative has highlighted just how difficult it can be to teach the iconic book, and how hard it can be to replace it.
Nothing is taboo in 'Twenty-Ninth Year'
Hala Alyan reflects on three decades of life in an intimate, unsparing new poetry collection that offers a unique look at life as a Palestinian in exile, a woman, and a young person looking for love.
'Here And Now And Then' is a perilous mix of parenthood and time travel
In Mike Chen's debut novel, a time-traveling secret agent is stranded in the past and has to live out a normal life -- including a family -- that becomes a problem when he returns to his own time.
In honor of his last day, interviews with authors by executive editor Mike Edgerly
MPR News executive editor Mike Edgerly had a 27-year career here, and Thursday is his last day. Listen in to two interviews he conducted with authors Mark Bowden and James Welch.
In 'Maid,' a single mother finds 'no way' to make it on minimum wage
While raising her young daughter, Stephanie Land cleaned houses to scrape by. It was back-aching work and the pay -- $8.55 an hour to start, $9.25 an hour two years in -- just wasn't enough.
'Merci Suarez' wins Newbery Medal, and 'Hello Lighthouse' draws Caldecott
The world of children's books gave out its most prestigious prizes Monday at the American Library Association's conference in Seattle. Works by Meg Medina and Sophie Blackall won the headline honors.