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. 

From Seussian to snollygoster, Merriam-Webster adds over 1,000 new words
Among the words and phrases added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary are "side-eye," "face-palm" and "Seussian" -- as well as the decidedly Seussian "snollygoster," which has been enjoying a revival.
What's the next big dystopian novel? Margaret Atwood has some ideas
Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" landed on top of Amazon's best-seller lists this week, following other classics like "1984" and "It Can't Happen Here." She has some thoughts on our next great dystopia.
Happy 150th birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder
On Feb. 7, 1867, Laura Ingalls was born in a cabin outside Pepin, Wis. Her family's journey across the Midwest became the basis for the "Little House on the Prairie" books, which have sold more than 41 million copies.
'Pachinko' is a family saga of exile, discrimination ... and Japanese pinball
Min Jin Lee's sprawling family epic spans decades and two clashing cultures -- Korea and Japan. It's honest, unadorned writing that acknowledges horror but ultimately carries a message of hope.
Sean Jensen wasn't thrilled with the "naughty" characters that turned up in his young son's books, so he decided to tap his sports reporting experience to write books featuring real-life role models.