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.

November 23, 2016 3:03 PM

Sinclair Lewis' 'It Can't Happen Here' becomes a bestseller after Trump's win

Published in 1935, 'It Can't Happen Here' is a darkly satirical novel that imagines a fascist candidate tromping Franklin D. Roosevelt at the polls and becoming president.

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!

November 22, 2016 5:55 PM

Butter's rich history: 5 things you might not know

"Butter and people go back a really, really long way," says Elaine Khosrova, the author of a new book all about the dairy staple.

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!

November 22, 2016 2:00 PM

'Not Just Jane': The women authors history overlooked

Jane Austen was a fierce talent, but she wasn't alone in her era. "You couldn't swing a petticoat without knocking over authoresses young and old," Shelley DeWees writes in a new book.

by MPR News Staff

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!

November 22, 2016 1:10 PM

8 books bound for the small screen

Childhood favorites and new bestsellers are getting the small-screen treatment with a fleet of new adaptations for TV or Netflix.

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!

November 22, 2016 8:22 AM

A clear message from Colombian police: Don't mess with '100 Years of Solitude'

In 2015, a first edition copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's classic was stolen from a Bogota book fair. Many cases in that city go unsolved, but local law enforcement went all out to find the book.

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!

November 21, 2016 11:13 AM

Read up: 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' hits Netflix in January

The Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf will land on the streaming service early next year, when Netflix unveils its adaptation of the beloved 13-book children's series.

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!

November 21, 2016 9:14 AM

'Moonglow' shines a light on hidden family history

Michael Chabon's new novel is based on deathbed conversations with his own grandfather, as strong painkillers unlocked the stories of a long full life -- stories Chabon says he'd never heard before.

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!

November 19, 2016 6:00 AM

Ask a bookseller: Atomic Books in Baltimore

Benn Ray, one of the owners of Atomic Books, recommends a book about the Satanism paranoia that swept the country in the 1980s.

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!

November 18, 2016 3:09 PM

'Fantastic Beasts': Potter fans grew up, so the movie did, too

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" swoops into theaters this weekend. It has all the magic of the original "Potter" stories, but we're in the world of adults now.

by Tracy Mumford