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. 

Love shifts the self in 'The Lesser Bohemians'
Eimear McBride's latest follows a young drama student who comes to London and falls for an older man. Her live, wriggling language makes a beautiful account of the ways the self is built and rebuilt.
'Into the Sun': Tracing the ripples of the war in Afghanistan
Deni Ellis Bechard's new novel drops readers into Kabul, where a car bomb kills three expats working in the city. The friend they leave behind attempts to unravel the forces that caused their death.
Talking Volumes: Elizabeth Alexander on 'The Light of the World'
As part of the 2016 Talking Volumes series, Kerri Miller talks with Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Alexander, author of "The Light of the World." The event was held September 15, 2016 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
How to start a bookstore from scratch
Milkweed Books will open its doors in Minneapolis Tuesday, but the staff has been building their inventory for months. How does a bookstore pick which books will fill the shelves?