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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.

Maureen Corrigan’s 10 favorite books of 2025 — with plenty for nonfiction lovers

Maureen Corrigan’s 10 favorite books of 2025 — with plenty for nonfiction lovers

Fresh Air’s book critic says her picks tilt a bit to nonfiction, but the novels that made the cut redress the imbalance by their sweep and intensity. Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” was her favorite.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Ask a Bookseller: ‘Mona’s Eyes’ by Thomas Schlesser

Ask a Bookseller: ‘Mona’s Eyes’ by Thomas Schlesser

Kelly Evert of Village Books and Paper Dreams in Washington recommends “Mona’s Eyes” by Thomas Schlesser.
by Emily Bright

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Catherine Newman’s witty, warm and wary Rocky returns in ‘Wreck’

Catherine Newman’s witty, warm and wary Rocky returns in ‘Wreck’

If you devoured Catherine Newman’s 2024 novel “Sandwich,” you’ll love her just released sequel, “Wreck.” Newman joins Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas for a laughter-soaked conversation that covers parenthood, aging, mortality and the peculiarities of a long and enduring marriage.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Fargo chef on her perfect bagel, meshing Nordic-Jewish fare and her new cookbook

Fargo chef on her perfect bagel, meshing Nordic-Jewish fare and her new cookbook

When Andrea Baumgardner opened BernBaum’s in downtown Fargo in 2016, she was inspired by classic lunch counter delis, like B&H Dairy in New York City. A new cookbook memorializes her recipes.
by Clay Masters and Gretchen Brown

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Books out this week come from Nobel winners and independent presses

Books out this week come from Nobel winners and independent presses

Nobel winners Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke bring us a reissue and a new book respectively this week. Also, a story from a fictional African country and a commentary on beauty.
by Colin Dwyer

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Here are 8 novels NPR staff and critics loved in 2025

Here are 8 novels NPR staff and critics loved in 2025

Every year, we ask NPR staff and book critics to share their favorite titles in our annual Books We Love guide. Here are 8 fiction picks that were standout stars.
by Ivy Buck

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Benjamin Percy's new post-apocalyptic novel arrives as a newspaper

Benjamin Percy's new post-apocalyptic novel arrives as a newspaper

Benjamin Percy’s “The End Times” follows the residents of a fictional Minnesota town called North End as they try to rebuild 12 years after a horrific plague nearly wiped out all of humanity.
by Nina Moini and Ngoc Bui

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Ideas for the book lovers on your gift list 

Ideas for the book lovers on your gift list 

Looking for gift ideas for the readers in your life? We've combed through the Ask a Bookseller files from the past year to bring you recommended titles from indie booksellers across the country. Click on each title to read the full recommendation for the book.
by Emily Bright

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