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. 

Fierce, spiky 'Friday Black' packs a big punch
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's intellectually hefty debut works through ideas about racism, about classism and capitalism, about the apocalypse, and, most of all, about the corrosive power of belief.
The Beastie Boys on their hip-hop journey and missing Adam Yauch
Adam Horovitz (aka Ad-Rock) and Mike Diamond (Mike D) of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys talk about their new book, which is largely a love letter to their late band mate, Adam 'MCA' Yauch. Plus they reflect on growing up in 1980s New York City and how they gained respect in hip-hop.
In 'She Wants It,' Jill Soloway gets transparent about their life and work
The creator of the hit show about a trans woman and her family says patriarchy and white supremacy have a hold on storytelling in Hollywood -- and other people want a chance to speak.
An urban ink forager explains how to paint with all the colors of the alley
Concerned about keeping toxic art supplies around his kids, Jason Logan began making his own all-natural inks. He shares his process in a new book — and on a gathering expedition in Washington, D.C.