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.

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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 back for its 25th season. Join us at the Fitzgerald Theater for four special events with renowned authors, celebrating our anniversary with a special $25 ticket price for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. Buy tickets here.

Parting Thoughts: Educator turned entrepreneur ‘wore his success quietly’
Richard Fontaine went from small-town kid to big-city educator and stocking shelves at a bookstore for extra money before he helped build a large videogame retailer. But one thing never changed: his love of books.
Bemidji novelist Dennis E. Staples aims to make the North Woods scary with new book
Red Lake Band member Dennis E. Staples won national acclaim for his first book “This Town Sleeps.” Now he’s back with a second novel “Passing Through A Prairie Country.” It’s a tale that mixes horror and dark fantasy with Ojibwe culture.
Karen Russell’s ‘The Antidote’ is an American epic — and well worth the wait
Russell has published excellent short story collections since her 2011 debut novel “Swamplandia!,” but this is her first novel in nearly 15 years. It follows a “Prairie Witch” in Dust Bowl-era Nebraska.
Why Amanda Knox returns to Italy — and how she talks with her daughter about injustice
Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in an Italian prison for a murder she didn’t commit. After her exoneration, she reached out to the man who prosecuted her case. Knox’s new memoir is “Free.”