Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?

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. 

Best audiobooks for holiday travel

The best audiobooks don't just have great stories -- they have great voices to bring them to 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!
P.D. James believed mysteries were made of clues, not coincidences

P.D. James believed mysteries were made of clues, not coincidences

Best-selling mystery author P.D. James died Thursday. She was 94. In 1987, James told Terry Gross that while the "shock of finding the bodies is important" in her novels, she personally doesn't like "messy lives."

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!
Pope Francis as reformer, evangelizer -- and doctrinal conservative

Pope Francis as reformer, evangelizer -- and doctrinal conservative

Author Austen Ivereigh argues in a new biography, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, that many misjudge the meaning of the pope's comments on abortion, homosexuality and nonbelievers.

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!
Backstage with Janis Joplin: Doubts, drugs and compassion

Backstage with Janis Joplin: Doubts, drugs and compassion

John Byrne Cooke was Janis Joplin's road manager from 1967 until her untimely death in 1970. So he saw a lot of rock history up close -- and describes some of the details in a new memoir.

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!
The banh mi handbook: A guide to a Viet-French sandwich

The banh mi handbook: A guide to a Viet-French sandwich

Andrea Nguyen knew by the time she was 10 she wanted to be a sandwich maker. The sandwich she fell for first and that she still loves the most? Banh mi.
by Karen Grigsby Bates

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!
How chickens came to rule the cultural roost

How chickens came to rule the cultural roost

Andrew Lawler, author of "Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?," tells NPR's Scott Simon about the chicken's malleability, its religious symbolism and the most disturbing thing he learned while researching his book.

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!

Coffee House Press founder Allan Kornblum dies at 65

Minneapolis book publisher Allan Kornblum has died of complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 65.
by Matt Sepic

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!
How a feud between two Russian companies fueled a 'Spam Nation'

How a feud between two Russian companies fueled a 'Spam Nation'

Technology journalist Brian Krebs writes about the rise of unsolicited commercial email in "Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime."

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!
Soldiers, spies, cyberwarriors: '@War' in Internet age

Soldiers, spies, cyberwarriors: '@War' in Internet age

The new book '@War' covers topics like the NSA, the role of cyber warfare in the Iraq troop surge of 2007 and China's "rampant" espionage on American corporations.
by NPR 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!