The Thread

The Thread from MPR News

A new twist on book talk

Ask a Bookseller: Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen here.

The Thread newsletter: 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. Sent every Friday.

Big Books and Bold Ideas: Conversations on books and ideas with Kerri Miller, Fridays at 11 a.m. Listen here.

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1918 flu inspired Donoghue's 'Pull Of The Stars' — a disquieting pandemic novel
Set in a Dublin maternity ward in 1918, the novel captures a city devastated by a pandemic. By diving into the terrors of the past, Emma Donoghue presciently anticipates the miseries of our present.
Take a dangerous ride through 'Blacktop Wasteland'
S.A. Cosby's latest is being marketed as a crime novel — but that crime is the least important element in this wrenching story about race, family, and the temptation to take that one last job.
For July: 3 romance novels grounded in reality
Romance novel characters often face outlandish obstacles — pirates, spies, paranormal forces, plots. But this month, we're featuring three down-to-earth stories about balancing love and career.
Author Brit Bennett explores colorism in ‘The Vanishing Half’
Brit Bennett’s latest novel, “The Vanishing Half,” is a rich exploration of family relationships, colorism and how the past influences the present and who we decide to be. We spoke with her about her latest work.
'Sex and Lies' author Leila Slimani: 'Women's lives matter'
Franco-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani's new book examines the restricted sex lives of women in a country where, she says, the unofficial motto is "Do what you wish, but never talk about it."
'Magic School Bus' author Joanna Cole dies at age 75
Author Joanna Cole, whose “Magic School Bus” books transported millions of young people on extraordinary and educational adventures, has died at age 75.
If you got a 'Do-Over,' would you like your new life?
“Pretty in Pink” meets “Sliding Doors” in this what-if story. High-schooler Emelia gets the chance to go back and change one decision in her past — but then she has to learn to live with the changes.
Colin Jost of 'SNL' knows you're laughing at his 'Very Punchable Face'
SNL "Weekend Update" co-anchor Colin Jost acknowledges that his clean-cut image sometimes rubs people the wrong way. "When I get hurt or hit on camera," he says, "the audience really loves it."
'Inheritors' maps a complicated family tree through the centuries
Asako Serizawa's new novel is a tangle of interlocking stories about several generations of a Japanese family, beginning in 1868 and going all the way through to an imagined future in the 2030s.