The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

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. 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. 

Let's talk kids' books! Guest host Marianne Combs talked with two passionate experts in children's literature about the best books of 2018.
The best books to give and get: Fiction picks of 2018
From twisty thrillers to sweeping family dramas, here are some of The Thread's favorite reads of the year.
For December, 3 romantic holiday escapes
Get away from holiday stress and crummy weather with our romance picks for December. We've got great contemporary stories and a charming inversion of that classic Regency trope, the forced engagement.
The revolution will be driverless: Autonomous cars usher in big changes
Driverless vehicles could be the 'most disruptive technology to hit society worldwide since the advent of the motor car,' says former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz.
'Mary, Queen of Scots' is a case study of how political, human narratives get crafted
Stefan Zweig's famous book is as much about its own context as an execution 300 years ago; its archness signals a time capsule, except that the rhetoric around women in power has changed so little.
In 'Trish Trash,' it's roller derby on Mars
Jessica Abel's comic 'Trish Trash, Rollergirl of Mars' isn't just a sports story and a coming-of-age tale, it's a masterful critique of capitalism that stays engaging despite a few wobbles.
Surrealism meets sci-fi in 'Parallel Lives'
Olivier Schrauwen's new graphic novel is cold and rejecting, giddy and uncontrolled, all at the same time. It's semi-autobiographical and loosely sci-fi, set in an unsettlingly minimalist future.
Michelle Obama's take on 'lean in'? 'That &#%! doesn't work'
Obama told a Brooklyn audience that the notion of "having it all" is "a lie." Many were delighted by the former first lady's spontaneous candor.