The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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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.

Local poet Phebe Hanson has a new collection of poetry. The poems are based on her journals and they often recall her childhood.
The latest installment of Talking Volumes with best-selling author Augusten Burroughs. Dry recounts the author's difficult, darkly humorous trip to sobriety.
The world's vanishing languages still have things to teach us about cultures and differences in perspective. A writer journeys to lands where increasingly rare tongues are spoken.
Central Minnesota author Douglas Wood's first book, Old Turtle, was a huge success. First published in 1992, the story of a wise old turtle who shares her wisdom on spirituality, peace and ecology won several national awards, and sold more than 800,000 copies. Now 11 years later, there's a new Old Turtle story.
In 1838, a controversial captain lead his ship on a historic but little-known voyage. The U.S. Exploring Expedition discovered the continent of Antartica and new shipping routes, but the turmoil surrounding the officers and crew eclipsed the triumph.
For some, chocolate fuels a food obsession. A renowned dessert maker and author talks about her own fascination with the quintessential sweet.
The mysteries of cooking explained by the founder and editor of "Cooks Illustrated" magazine.
A girl's adolescence runs headlong into the turmoil of her family and the society around her in contemporary Nigeria. Author Chimamanda Adichie talks about her novel, Purple Hibiscus with Katherine Lanpher in a taped Talking Volumes broadcast.
We are what we endure and enjoy in our unpredictable weather. A Minnesota-based writer shares how the weather has defined her life and outlook.
A new translation of the best-loved Hans Christian Andersen stories also places the fairy tale author in a new literary context.