The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

January 25, 2016 3:29 PM

How to bake a cake like it's 1820

Hundreds of rare recipes, from as far back as the 1500s, can be found at the Wangensteen Historical Library at the University of Minnesota.

by MPR News Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 25, 2016 12:45 PM

Adult coloring books? Put down the colored pencils

Coloring books for grown-ups are one of the most successful trends in publishing.

by Kerri Miller

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 25, 2016 11:41 AM

Prosecutor in 'Making a Murderer' case says he'll write book

Ken Kratz has defended the prosecution and says evidence was left out of the popular Netflix series.

by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 25, 2016 9:48 AM

In first novel, former hostage Ingrid Betancourt tells a story of captivity

"The Blue Line" follows a woman who is detained during Argentina's Dirty War. Betancourt says writing the novel helped her process the years she spent as a captive of Colombian revolutionaries.

by NPR Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 24, 2016 12:00 AM

Move over, Comic Book Guy: Philly comics store prizes diversity in its heroes

Ariell Johnson says diversity isn't just an afterthought at her comics shop. She tells NPR's Michel Martin that new faces keep the heroics interesting.

by MPR News Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 24, 2016 12:00 AM

Finnish authors heat up the speculative fiction world

Finland hosts the World Science Fiction Convention in 2017 — but if you can't make it to Helsinki, hit the library: more and more Finnish speculative fiction authors are getting English translations.

by Jason Heller

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 21, 2016 1:52 PM

Minnesota publishers make their mark with National Book Critics Circle Award finalists

Predictably, the majority of the award finalists come from New York-based publishers, but Minnesota had the most finalists outside the Empire State.

by Tracy Mumford

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 21, 2016 1:26 PM

An unkillable myth about atheists

The idea that atheists cling to their non-belief despite a sad loss of meaning in their lives is a tired old myth, says anthropologist and atheist Barbara J. King.

by Barbara J. King

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

January 21, 2016 2:39 AM

When 'Your Heart Is A Muscle,' empathy is a revolutionary act

Writer Sunil Yapa says his father taught him to have a global perspective from a very young age. Yapa's new novel was inspired by explosive global trade protests that took place in Seattle in 1999.