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?
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 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.

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. 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.

How Black players propelled Cleveland's baseball team to win the 1948 World Series

How Black players propelled Cleveland's baseball team to win the 1948 World Series

In 1948, Cleveland's baseball team won the World Series. It wouldn't have made it without the team's first two Black players, and the team owner's willingness to hire them, says author Luke Epplin.
by Scott Simon

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.

Children's author Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona Quimby, dies at 104

Children's author Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona Quimby, dies at 104

Beverly Cleary, the celebrated children’s author whose memories of her Oregon childhood were shared with millions through the likes of Ramona and Beezus Quimby and Henry Huggins, has died at age 104.
by Zoe Chace and The Associated Press

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.

Talking Volumes: A conversation with author Chang-rae Lee

Talking Volumes: A conversation with author Chang-rae Lee

Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Chang-rae Lee’s past works have incorporated issues of race, class and immigration in the United States. MPR News guest host Brandt Williams interviewed Lee as part of Minnesota Public Radio and the Star Tribune’s Talking Volumes: Talking Race series.
by Brandt Williams

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.

'There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job' takes gentle aim at Japan's work culture

'There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job' takes gentle aim at Japan's work culture

Kikuko Tsumura's new novel follows an unnamed protagonist who embarks on a series of odd temp jobs — and discovers that as the jobs get duller, the demands of her male supervisors get more intense.
by Thúy Đinh

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.

Out of prison but still trapped: Examining the 'afterlife' of incarceration

There are 45,000 laws, policies and administrative sanctions in the U.S. that target people with criminal records. Reuben Jonathan Miller researches how they affect people's lives in Halfway Home.
by Terry Gross

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.

Farcical 'Life Of The Mind' skewers academic life and adjunct 'hell'

Farcical 'Life Of The Mind' skewers academic life and adjunct 'hell'

A graduate student is teaching four courses while also trying to finish a dissertation. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Christine Smallwood's new novel one of the wittiest she's read in a long time.
by Maureen Corrigan

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.