Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

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.

7 things you didn't know about Jane Austen

7 things you didn't know about Jane Austen

Dec. 16 marks the 240th birthday of the famous author, who left behind six finished novels and many mysteries.
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!
Inside the presidency of George H.W. Bush

Inside the presidency of George H.W. Bush

Jon Meacham's new biography of the 41st president draws on diaries that Bush recorded during his time in office.
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!
A historian traces our evolving relationship with the dead

A historian traces our evolving relationship with the dead

Thomas Laqueur, author of "The Work of the Dead," discusses the ways people have dealt with human remains over the course of history. Modern cemeteries, he says, are byproducts of the French Revolution.

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!
Neil Gaiman on returning to 'Sandman' and the power of comics

Neil Gaiman on returning to 'Sandman' and the power of comics

Twenty-five years after he initially created Sandman, Gaiman returns to one of his most enduring characters. Gaiman says writing "The Sandman: Overture" was "the most intense period of my life."

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!
A history of shiny objects: From trading beads to the first wristwatch

A history of shiny objects: From trading beads to the first wristwatch

Author Aja Raden says jewelry is the perfect lens through which to view human history. In "Stoned," she tells the story of the glass beads used to purchase Manhattan and the rise of the wristwatch.

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!
From Russia, with mayonnaise: Cookbook revisits Soviet classics

From Russia, with mayonnaise: Cookbook revisits Soviet classics

The dishes that marked the Soviet era still have a strong pull on Russian sentiment (if not stomachs). A new book revisits these recipes, born, in part, of food shortages and ingenuity.
by Deena Prichep

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!
What can a city do to fight cancer and heart disease?

What can a city do to fight cancer and heart disease?

Health departments once battled epidemics like cholera and yellow fever. When the modern threats are diabetes and cancer, how should a city's health department respond?
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!
No warp drives, no transporters: Science fiction authors get real

No warp drives, no transporters: Science fiction authors get real

Some of the biggest names in science fiction right now -- like "The Martian" author Andy Weir -- are writing what's called hard sci-fi, based on real-world science and a vision of hope for the future.
by Steve Paulson

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!
A motley crew on a wild pilgrimage in 'Sophia'

A motley crew on a wild pilgrimage in 'Sophia'

Michael Bible's slim new novel follows a jaded, drunken priest and his chess-master sidekick on a cross country journey, along with a crowd of misfits and outliers who help give the book its charm.
by Juan Vidal

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!