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The Thread® - Books and Literary 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. 

New book gathers stories of young Minnesota immigrants

New book gathers stories of young Minnesota immigrants

"Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Minneapolis High School" is made up of essays from 30 students of Minneapolis' Wellstone International High School.
by Doualy Xaykaothao

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Traveling the Oregon Trail by covered wagon, 170 years later

Traveling the Oregon Trail by covered wagon, 170 years later

Author Rinker Buck and his brother packed up a covered wagon, wrangled a team of mules, and retraced the 2,000-mile journey across the American west.
by MPR News Staff

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'The Big Sheep' plays hardboiled sci-fi to the hilt

'The Big Sheep' plays hardboiled sci-fi to the hilt

It's not hard to parse the two main influences on Robert Kroese's new novel, 'The Big Sheep': Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler. But Kroese's knack for humor helps elevate their gonzo grimness.
by Jason Heller

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Grief is a 'hamster wheel': How a memoir about death can still be funny

Grief is a 'hamster wheel': How a memoir about death can still be funny

In the span of seven weeks, Nora McInerny Purmort miscarried, and then watched both her father and her husband die of cancer. Her memoir tackles grief with unflinching humor and honesty.
by MPR News Staff

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Waziyatawin: Take down Fort Snelling

Waziyatawin: Take down Fort Snelling

Waziyatawin's book, 'What Does Justice Looks Like?', explores ways the state of Minnesota could make amends for its treatment of Native people.
by MPR News Staff

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Novelist Richard Wagamese steps beyond barriers

Novelist Richard Wagamese steps beyond barriers

Richard Wagamese is a well-known novelist in his native Canada, and with the re-release of two of his novels through Minneapolis publisher Milkweed Editions, he's making his mark further south.
by MPR News Staff

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Human or machine: Can you tell who wrote these poems?

Human or machine: Can you tell who wrote these poems?

Can a computer write a sonnet that's indistinguishable from what a person can produce? A contest at Dartmouth attempted to find out. With our online quiz, you too can give it a try.
by NPR Staff

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The books that have shaped American life

The books that have shaped American life

The Library of Congress just opened a new exhibit highlighting 65 books that it says have shaped the country.
by Tracy Mumford

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How an 1886 crime novel became a global publishing phenomenon

How an 1886 crime novel became a global publishing phenomenon

Lucy Sussex's new book is a history of 1886's runaway bestseller: "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab." Why was it such a hit? Who was involved with it? And why was author Fergus Hume left without a dime?
by Genevieve Valentine

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'The Mandibles' is financial dystopia with a bite

'The Mandibles' is financial dystopia with a bite

Lionel Shriver's newest novel is a work of speculative fiction: A national debt crisis leads to a systematic civil breakdown, bringing a once-prosperous family

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