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.

November 6, 2015 2:00 AM

How Minnesota rocked in the 60s: The story behind 'Surfin' Bird'

"Everbody's Heard About the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock N Roll in Minnesota" tells the story of The Trashmen, and the bands that came before and after.

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!

November 6, 2015 12:00 AM

A cancer reading list from the author of 'Camp Chemo'

Camille Scheel shares the titles that helped her understand her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis.

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!

November 5, 2015 11:30 AM

A poet and a police chief on the language of race

Poet Claudia Rankine and former police chief Ronal Serpas discuss the language of race and how it influences justice, policy and communities.

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!

November 5, 2015 9:47 AM

'Made to Kill' is pulp pastiche that hits the target

Adam Christopher's sci-fi noir follows robotic hit man Raymond Electromatic through a vividly evoked 1960s Los Angeles.

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!

November 5, 2015 9:25 AM

Trump's new book doesn't say much, but neither do lots of political books

The billionaire real-estate mogul's 'Crippled America,' like any presidential campaigner's book, might be about publicity more than substance.

by Danielle Kurtzleben

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!

November 5, 2015 8:23 AM

Behind bars, cheap ramen is as good as gold

Instant noodles are a staple for inmates: a basis of recipe hacks, a form of currency. They've even helped defuse a prison riot, as an ex-inmate details in 'Prison Ramen,' a book of stories and recipes.

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!

November 4, 2015 5:07 PM

Inside Winnie-the-Pooh's real Hundred Acre Wood

The tales of "Winnie-the-Pooh" have more truth in them than you may know. Ashdown Forest in southeastern England is the inspiration behind the magical forest in A.A. Milne's classic "Pooh" tales.

by Tracy Mumford