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.

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.

May 20, 2010 12:00 AM

Rin Tin Tin, chickens and Susan Orlean

Animals interest writer Susan Orlean. Chickens and mules show up in her writing for the New Yorker lately. That fascination extends to Orlean's latest writing on the life of Rin Tin Tin.

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!

May 18, 2010 12:00 AM

Lee Child on the craft of crime fiction

Author Lee Child has written many books where his character, retired military policeman Jack Reacher finds himself in countless dangerous situations. In the most recent installment of Reacher's adventures, he's stuck in a South Dakota blizzard with a killer closing in.

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!

May 3, 2010 4:05 PM

All aboard Jim Lehrer's new novel, "Super"

They called it the train of the stars. The Super Chief was a streamlined flagship of the Santa Fe railroad. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, and pampered its often famous passengers in luxury and discretion.

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!

April 29, 2010 6:00 PM

Anchee Min's personal view on 'The Good Earth' author

Writer Anchee Min's latest novel, "Pearl of China," details the life of Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck. In the early 1930s Buck wrote "The Good Earth," and other books about life in China. Min says while much has been written about Buck's life, it's never been from a Chinese perspective.

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!

April 23, 2010 12:00 AM

New reasons for boys to read

A recent study from the Center on Education Policy shows that boys' reading performance lags behind their female peers. It's not the boys' fault, some authors say, but the fault of books that rarely reflect boys' 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!

April 18, 2010 12:32 AM

Minn. Book Awards honor local writers, advocates

Carolyn Holbrook, a longtime advocate of arts in education, received special recognition Saturday night at the Minnesota Book Awards, for her contributions to Minnesota's literary community.

by Marianne Combs

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!

April 15, 2010 12:00 AM

A mother's quest to save her son

Randi Davenport struggled to find treatment and a new diagnosis for her autistic son after he developed psychotic behavior during his teens. The mental health system she encountered was willing to accommodate his developmental disability or his psychiatric diagnosis, but not both.

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!

April 14, 2010 12:00 AM

Richard Powers' science-inspired literature

Novelist Richard Powers was among the early few to have his genetic makeup mapped. His latest work of fiction asks if there were a gene for happiness, should we rid ourselves of discontent?

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!

April 13, 2010 10:18 AM

Minnesota native talks about winning the Pulitzer Prize

T.J. Stiles, a native of Minnesota and a Carleton College graduate, won a Pulitzer Prize in the biography category for his book "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt." He spoke with MPR's Cathy Wurzer.

by Cathy Wurzer and Elizabeth Dunbar

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!

April 13, 2010 12:00 AM

Newsmaker: One hundred years after Twain's death

A century later critics still consider Mark Twain as one of the greatest American humorist of his age. His classic novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was lauded for its stunning narrative and social criticism, yet is still banned from a number of libraries for its crude use of vernacular.

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!