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. 

The man behind the spy: Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold is famous for betraying the American army during the Revolutionary War and defecting to the British. But the story is more complicated than what is in the textbooks, according to Nathaniel Philbrick's new book.
From medical maggots to stench soup, 'Grunt' explores the science of warfare
When it comes to curiosity, science writer Mary Roach describes herself as someone who is "very out there." Her new book, "Grunt," looks at some scientific developments that help keep soldiers safe.
'Sweetbitter' is a savory saga of restaurant life and love
Oysters, cocaine, fine wine, love triangles: Stephanie Danler's debut novel "Sweetbitter" follows a year in the life of a young woman working at a top-tier Manhattan restaurant.
UMD prof's novel lays bare America's solutions to 'Indian problem'
Linda LeGarde Grover's debut novel, "The Road Back to Sweetgrass" follows the lives of three Ojibwe women from Minnesota as they contend with federal policies that do more harm than good. She'll read from it Thursday night in Minneapolis.