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. 

Somali refugee Abdi Nor Iftin: 'I am here to make America great'
Back in Somalia, Abdi Nor Iftin was nicknamed "Abdi the American," and his love of this country put him in danger -- but then he got a visa to come here. Iftin has a new memoir out: "Call Me American."
How a black detective infiltrated the KKK
In "Black Klansman," Ron Stallworth writes about an undercover investigation in which he -- an African-American police detective -- convinced the Ku Klux Klan that he was one of them.
Native American author Tommy Orange feels a 'burden to set the record straight'
In his debut novel, "There There," Tommy Orange explores what it means to be an urban Indian. He says, "Native people look like a lot of different things. ... And we just need a new story to build from."
'Mariam Sharma' nails the fun road-trip vibe
Summer is the season for road-trips, and "Mariam Sharma Hits the Road" makes for a saucy, yet emotional ride, following three Pakistani-American teens on a journey through the Deep South.