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 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.

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. 

Why Neil Gaiman loves libraries

Why Neil Gaiman loves libraries

Award-winning author Neil Gaiman says libraries are more vital than ever. To press his point he's serving as honorary chair for National Library Week.
by Euan Kerr

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Pushed to positivity in book reviews

Pushed to positivity in book reviews

Book reviewers at major newspapers receive hundreds of books to read and analyze a year, and give positive reviews to more and more of them according to some reviewers. The praise inflation doesn't do the critics any good, but it can be hard to avoid. One critic looks back at his modest, and mischievous, proposal to positively write about only those books that he would recommend to friends or family.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Colum McCann the art of living in different worlds

Colum McCann the art of living in different worlds

Broadcast of Kerri Miller's conversation with author Colum McCann. His critically acclaimed book, "Let the Great World Spin," a vivid series of New Yorkers' perspectives, set against a French high wire artist's astonishing walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
The lure of Scandinavian crime writing

The lure of Scandinavian crime writing

One word which gets many thriller readers' pulses racing nowadays is "Scandinavia." The area of the world best known for fjords and Vikings is awash in blood, if you are to believe the popular novels being written by Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish crime writers. Now the phenomenon is spreading to U.S. soil.
by Euan Kerr

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

The enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes

Journalist David Grann contemplates the strange death of the world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes and a dozen other real-life mysteries in his new book. Grann says the appeal of Holmes is that he restores order to a bewildering universe

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
New memoir explores science of the brain

New memoir explores science of the brain

Author Siri Hustvedt investigates the causes of her migraine headaches and episodes of uncontrollable shaking that began shortly after the death of her father.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
A war story through a Korean-American lens

A war story through a Korean-American lens

Chang-rae Lee's latest novel, "The Surrendered," deals with the trauma of the Korean War on a series of complex characters, including a war orphan and a missionary. Lee himself struggled at times to write his novel, putting it aside to work on other books.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
England's greatest literary forgery

England's greatest literary forgery

When a teenager claims to be the world's greatest bard, scholars of 18th century London were quick to embrace him, though it turned out to be a hoax. Midmorning discusses the ongoing quest for authorship and authenticity in Shakespeare's work.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Erin Hart's "False Mermaid" and unsolved murder in St. Paul

Erin Hart's "False Mermaid" and unsolved murder in St. Paul

In Erin Hart's new mystery novel "False Mermaid," the lead character comes back to Minnesota to try to get some questions answered about a murder in St. Paul that has gone unsolved for five years.
by Tom Crann

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!