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. 

Actor Michael Caine on his long career: 'The alternative was a factory'
From the title heartthrob in 'Alfie' to the fatherly butler of a 'Batman' franchise, the actor has been filling movie screens for a half-century. His new memoir is 'Blowing The Bloody Doors Off.'
'The Proposal' knocks it out of the park
Jasmine Guillory's new romance kicks off with her heroine rejecting an over-the-top public proposal at a ball game -- luckily, there's a hot, sensitive doctor on hand to help her with the backlash.
'Let the People See': It took courage to keep Emmett Till's memory alive
Historian Elliott J. Gorn's new book revisits the 1955 death and public funeral of the African-American teen. Critic Maureen Corrigan says it's a timely story about the fragility of collective memory.