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.

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. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

From the page to the stage

From the page to the stage

The Guthrie Theater brings Louise Erdrich's novel "The Master Butchers Singing Club" to the stage this month. The show describes the intersecting lives of a German immigrant and butcher and a sideshow performer as they settle into the small town of Argus, North Dakota.

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!
In search of Utopia

In search of Utopia

A long-standing fascination with utopian thought led writer J.C. Hallman on a journey to six modern utopian projects. In the process, he found in these communities a desire to make things better that he believes is missing in much of modern-day America.

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 language of apes

The language of apes

When writer Sara Gruen went to see the work being done at Great Ape Trust, an Iowa research center where scientists are studying how apes acquire and understand language, she came away transformed. Her time there inspired the new novel "The Ape House."

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!
Author lets readers choose what to do with lottery millions

Author lets readers choose what to do with lottery millions

Most of us have played the "what would I do if I won the lottery" game. Of course, the laws of probability mean few of us will get to play the game for real. But a new book from Minneapolis writer Heather McElhatton can give us a little closer whiff of those millions.
by Euan Kerr

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!
A mid-life crisis solved by small-town America, Odysseus

A mid-life crisis solved by small-town America, Odysseus

Author Brad Herzog solved his mid-life crisis by traveling the backroads of the U.S. looking for links to the Odyssey.
by Euan Kerr

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!
Next stop: The red planet

Next stop: The red planet

Science writer Mary Roach researched what it would take to prepare a settlement on Mars. What she found was that humans would need to rethink nearly everything we take for granted on earth in order to live on the red planet.

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!
Terry Tempest Williams on the search for beauty

Terry Tempest Williams on the search for beauty

In her new book, Terry Tempest Williams writes of the old mosaics in Ravenna, Italy.

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!

Half-pint gets her own Laurapalooza

Laura Ingalls Wilder fans converge at a conference this week just an hour and a half from Walnut Grove, the setting of her famous "Little House" series. We'll hear from two biographers who reveal how much of her life she incorporated into her classic pioneer stories.

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!
Best-selling author Sebastian Junger on his new book, 'War'

Best-selling author Sebastian Junger on his new book, 'War'

Journalist and best-selling author Sebastian Junger speaks at the UBS Forum about his new book titled 'War'. The book follows a platoon of soldiers in Eastern Afghanistan and explores the psychological and social effects of combat in one of the most dangerous regions of the country.

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!
Sebastian Junger explores the reality of combat

Sebastian Junger explores the reality of combat

Journalist Sebastian Junger is fascinated by people living and working in extreme situations. His new book chronicles his experience embedding with the men of a U.S. Army platoon in one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan.

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!