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.

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. 

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. 

Before 'Fences,' August Wilson was a poet -- and a St. Paulite
"Fences" is making its silver screen debut this week. But before it was adapted by Hollywood, "Fences" began on the stage, penned by two-time Pulitzer prizewinner -- and one-time St. Paulite -- August Wilson.
'Hidden Figures,' 'The Glass Universe,' and why science needs history
Women's contributions to scientific progress are often ignored -- but two new books, Dava Sobel's "The Glass Universe" and Margot Lee Shetterly's "Hidden Figures," are out to remedy that oversight.
A bookish gift guide
Books can be delightful, mind-blowing, memory-making, world-changing gifts. Plus, they're easy to wrap.
Overdue by more than 120 years, library book finally finds its way home
The copy of "The Microscope and Its Revelations" was kept by a student who graduated in 1894. Now, over a century later, his 77-year-old granddaughter has sent it back. Don't worry about the late fees.