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.

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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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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. 

‘The Minneapolis Reckoning:’ New book traces the city’s journey to the brink of police reform
Four years ago this week, a movement to defund and abolish the Minneapolis Police Department ignited across the city and the world. In those four years since George Floyd’s murder, everything — and nothing — has changed.
New book is ‘love letter to Prince and Purple Rain’ ahead of 40th anniversary
Prince’s story is told by Minneapolis-based music journalist Andrea Swensson, host of the Official Prince Podcast and a Minnesota Book Award winner. She calls her new book, “Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years,” a “love letter” to his legacy.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘Aednan: An Epic’ by Linnea Axelsson
Darcie Shultz of Books and Burrow in Pittsburgh, Kan., highly recommends Linnea Axelsson’s novel in verse “Aednan: An Epic.”
 Minnesota lawmakers OK school policy changes on cell phones, book bans, literacy
The bill approved Wednesday also requires students be offered mental health instruction. It heads to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for signing. Some Republicans criticized the measure as unnecessarily burdensome on schools.
‘Brotherless Night,’ an ambitious novel by a University of Minnesota professor, wins $150K prize
The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is a relatively new literary award given to women and nonbinary authors. This year’s winner is University of Minnesota professor V.V. Ganeshananthan for her book “Brotherless Night.”
‘The best season yet’: Timberwolves fan and author on finding hope in the recent losses
The last two Timberwolves games brought back an all too familiar feeling for Minnesota sports fans. Author and fan Hanif Abdurraqib talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about why he thinks the Timberwolves may still have a shot.