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. 

'Hidden Figures': How black women did the math that put men on the moon
Back in the days of the Space Race, "computers" were people -- often women -- who performed vital calculations. "Hidden Figures" tells the stories of the women who got some of the first men to space.
19 books to read this fall
This fall's reading list is packed with new perspectives on U.S. history, a fresh reinvention of Sherlock Holmes and book that asks: Why is Tetris so addictive?
Ask a bookseller: Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City
Jean Ann Robison has been selling books for more than 20 years, and this month she's excited about a biography of Winston Churchill's early years, which reads like something out of "Indiana Jones," she said.
'Darktown' imagines what it was like for Atlanta's first black policemen
In 1948, eight African-American men joined Atlanta's police force. Those pioneer officers -- who couldn't drive squad cars or even step foot in headquarters -- inspired Thomas Mullen's new novel.
'The Wonder' is a hard-to-believe talk of belief
Emma Donoghue's latest follows a nurse in 19th century Ireland who agrees to monitor a famed fasting girl. But both the unsympathetic nurse and the credulous villagers are hard to like or understand.
'Born to Run' is a 500-page Springsteen show
Can't see The Boss in concert? Pick up his new memoir, which begins with 7-year-old Springsteen watching Elvis on TV. From $3-a-night shows to swooning stadiums, it's a wild and well-written ride.