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 disappearing 'Katherine Carlyle'
Novelist Rupert Thomson has been compared to everyone from Franz Kafka to Oliver Sacks. His newest book centers around a 19-year-old girl who decides to leave her life behind for points unknown.
Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe
The Red Lake Nation is unique among reservations in Minnesota -- and a new book by Ojibwe historian and author Anton Treuer tells the story.
'Becoming Nicole' recounts one family's acceptance of their transgender child
When Kelly and Wayne Maines adopted identical twin boys in 1997, they didn't anticipate raising one of their sons as a daughter. They tell their story, with author Amy Ellis Nutt, in 'Becoming Nicole.'
The deep, dark secret of R.L. Stine: 'I never planned to be scary'
After more than 20 years of frights, Stine's 'Goosebumps' series is finally getting a big-screen adaptation, starring Jack Black. For Stine and Black, the key to the nightmare is in keeping things fun.