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. 

How the man created the brand in 'Trump Revealed'
Authors Marc Fisher and Michael Kranish discuss their book "Trump Revealed," which explores Donald Trump's rise as a businessman, political candidate and above all, a brand.
Amy Schumer bares her soul in 'The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo'
Schumer's new essay collection is revealing, packed with personal diary entries going back to her preteen years -- and funny. But she doesn't shy away from difficult topics like her sexual assault.
Riveting 'Obelisk Gate' shatters the stillness
N.K. Jemisin continues the story of the Stillness -- a world constantly rocked by quakes, and the rare, gifted people who can control them -- in a second volume even more engrossing than the first.
How the Burger Court shaped today's conversations on race and crime
St. Paul native Warren Burger served as Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 until 1986. Many think of this as a time in which "nothing happened" on the Supreme Court, but a new book explores the Burger Court's lasting influence.