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. 

'Death and Other Holidays' is a perfect literary break
Marci Vogel's new novella spans a year in the life of April, a young woman blindsided by loss. It's the perfect length for a story, and the perfect balance of humor, anger, sorrow and beauty.
A history of Minnesota's homegrown department stores
In her new book, "Thank You For Shopping,: Kristal Leebrick explores the golden era of Minnesota's department stores and the retail titans who helped shape some of the state's biggest cultural institutions.
'Toxic' is Oxford Dictionaries' word of 2018
The publisher's research found "the sheer scope of its application" made "toxic" stand out this year.
Nunez and Acevedo won for fiction and young people's literature, respectively. The prestigious literary prize also honored Jeffrey C. Stewart, Justin Phillip Reed, Yoko Tawada and Margaret Mitsutani.
In 'Solo,' chef Anita Lo celebrates the art of cooking for one
Meals for one should not be a sad or boring affair, says Michelin-starred chef Anita Lo. In her new cookbook, Lo goes beyond bitter greens, blue cheese and monkfish to serve up fun meals for one.
Counting the bugs and bacteria, you're 'Never Home Alone' (and that's OK)
Ecologist Rob Dunn's new book describes the tiny life forms, helpful and risky, that live in different parts of the home, including on floors and in water faucets, basements and heating systems.
A Marvel of a man: Stan Lee dead at 95
Lee gave us over six decades' worth of superheroes we could identify with, characters like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk, who reacted to super-powered crises in believably flawed, human ways.