The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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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.

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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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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. 

In Bill Clinton's new thriller, a (fictional) president faces impeachment
"The President Is Missing" follows a commander in chief trying to thwart a cyberattack -- and not lose his job. Bill Clinton co-wrote the book with best-selling author James Patterson.
Obama staffer looks back on his White House years: 'It can take a real toll'
Former Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes was 24 when he saw the collapse of the first tower on 9/11. He says that moment was a "fork in the road" that eventually led to the White House.
Southern gothic 'Florida' spins tales of hurricanes, humidity and humanity
Lauren Groff sets her new story collection in what she calls the "sunniest and strangest of states." Critic Maureen Corrigan says the tales are "brooding, inventive -- and often moving."
Recipes for a good story
Rick Bragg's new book is filled with family recipes -- but the stories behind those recipes are the main event.
What does Shakespeare have to do with 'energy?' (Trust us, there's a link)
In his new book, Richard Rhodes lays out an accessible and surprisingly optimistic history of energy by exploring the lives of scientists and inventors -- and a few unlikely people, like the Bard of Avon.
Americans say government is broken. Can it be fixed?
Journalist Steven Brill wanted to find out why so many Americans have lost faith in their government. What he discovered fills "Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall — and Those Fighting to Reverse It."