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. 

Winona teen publishes 1st book -- in German
Cadence Klemp, 17, has always enjoyed writing and recently self-published a 14-page children's book called "Schweinlein Geht Einkaufen" ("Piglet Goes Shopping").
At 89, volunteer librarian loves doing her part
At age 89, Ruth Boldan is still a volunteer librarian at the underheated, overstuffed 1890s schoolhouse that is now home to the Hazel Dell Library in Leader, Minn.
Expand your mind through a more diverse reading list
Americans of all political stripes should expand their reading to include viewpoints they may not agree with, argues Ross Douthat in the New York Times.
Book pick: 'The Marseille Caper' by Peter Mayle
Kerri's book pick this week is The Marseille Caper, the second mystery novel by bestselling author Peter Mayle featuring ex-pat American sleuth Sam Levitt.
Korean-American novelist uses Macalester as backdrop for 'The Collective'
The Korean-American novelist Don Lee's latest book "The Collective" uses Macalester College in St. Paul as a launching point for a tale about the Asian-American experience. Lee said of his four books so far, "The Collective" is his most personal.