The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR News

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

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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.

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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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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.

Amanda Gorman — and poetry — will be part of Super Bowl LV
Fresh from her burst into the literary stratosphere after her appearance at President Joe Biden's inauguration, poet Amanda Gorman will recite a new poem during the Super Bowl LV pre-show next Sunday.
'My Year Abroad' is a fun excursion — just a little light on substance
Chang-rae Lee's new novel follows an aimless college student on his year overseas, taking readers from the New Jersey suburbs into some of the more luxurious reaches of Asian megacities.
Surveillance and local police: How technology is evolving faster than regulation
Journalist Jon Fasman says local police are frequently able to access very powerful surveillance tools with little oversight. He writes about the threat to privacy in “We See It All.”
Joan Didion's 'Let Me Tell You What I Mean' offers plenty of 'journalistic gold'
What's particularly salient in this book of previously uncollected essays is Didion's trademark farsightedness — especially striking decades later. But it does leave one wishing to hear from her now.
A writer lost his singing voice, then discovered the 'gymnastics' of speech
New Yorker writer John Colapinto developed a vocal polyp when he began "wailing" with a rock group without proper warmup. His new book explores the human voice's physicality, frailty and feats .
Goade becomes first Native American to win Caldecott Medal
Illustrator Michaela Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture story, cited for "We Are Water Protectors," a celebration of nature and condemnation of the "black snake" Dakota Access Pipeline.
International crime thrillers to crack open
Sure — we’re three weeks into 2021, but if you’re still catching up on books you missed in 2020, you’re in good company. MPR News host Kerri Miller shares three crime novels published outside of the U.S. that you should not miss.