Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

'Look Alive Out There' elevates its anecdotes with humor and feeling

'Look Alive Out There' elevates its anecdotes with humor and feeling

Sloane Crosley returns to form with her first essay collection in eight years, covering everything from an escalating battle with her neighbor's hip but noisy children to mountain climbing in Ecuador.
by Heller McAlpin

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Meg Wolitzer asks the big questions in 'The Female Persuasion'

Meg Wolitzer asks the big questions in 'The Female Persuasion'

At the start of Meg Wolitzer's new novel, a young woman is groped at a fraternity party -- and her question, "Why is it like this, and what are we supposed to do about it?" echoes through the book.
by Annalisa Quinn

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Ousted commander aims to 'Fight Like a Girl' against gender bias in Marines

Ousted commander aims to 'Fight Like a Girl' against gender bias in Marines

Kate Germano worked to hold female recruits to a higher bar. Then she was fired. In a new book, the retired officer talks about her efforts to improve training for women throughout the Marine Corps.
by Sydney Harper

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Would you want to know the exact date of your death?

Would you want to know the exact date of your death?

Chloe Benjamin's novel "The Immortalists" follows four young siblings who meet with a traveling psychic. The psychic predicts the date of their deaths -- and that knowledge shapes every decision they make.
by Tracy Mumford

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
In 'Hey Mom,' Louie Anderson has a laugh with his leading lady

In 'Hey Mom,' Louie Anderson has a laugh with his leading lady

The actor and stand-up comedian has channeled his late mother in his work for years. "Hey Mom" is Louie's way of catching her up on everything that's been going on in his life.
by Danny Hajek and David Greene

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Stumbling (and texting) toward love in 'Emergency Contact'

Stumbling (and texting) toward love in 'Emergency Contact'

Mary H.K. Choi's new novel follows Penny and Sam, both so loaded down with emotional baggage that at first, all they can do is swap numbers and agree to be each other's emergency contacts.
by Caitlyn Paxson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'Tangerine' charts an obsessive friendship turned sour

'Tangerine' charts an obsessive friendship turned sour

Christine Mangan's new novel, set in Morocco in the 1950s, centers on the sinister tension between two ex-friends -- but the dusty, detailed Moroccan scenery sometimes gets in the way of the story.
by Bethanne Patrick

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'I Was Anastasia': How a famous fraud brought a kind of hope

'I Was Anastasia': How a famous fraud brought a kind of hope

Ariel Lawhon's new novel recounts the lives of both Russia's Grand Duchess Anastasia and Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia after the royal family was executed during the Revolution.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
A look at the 'Father of Christian Rock'

A look at the 'Father of Christian Rock'

Gregory Alan Thornbury's new book "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" chronicles the life of Larry Norman and his battles with Evangelicalism.
by Sarah McCammon and Elizabeth Baker

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!