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.

Cameras, chaos and cognac: How Bob Gruen photographed the spirit of rock 'n' roll
Gruen has photographed countless rock stars, including the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner and John Lennon. "For me, rock 'n' roll is all about freedom," he says.
Fauci's plea 'Wear a mask' tops list of 2020 notable quotes
Also on the list is "I can't breathe," the plea George Floyd made repeatedly to police officers holding him down on a Minneapolis street corner. Several quotes from the presidential campaign appear including Joe Biden telling a student: "You're a lying dog-faced pony soldier."
In Michel Faber's latest, the disappearance (isappearance?) of the letter 'D'
Faber has created a world in which the letter d is starting to fade, imperiling things like dogs, doctors, dentists — and a girl named Dhikilo, who travels to a different world to solve the mystery.
Ask a Bookseller: 'Mercy Falls'
Jerry Lenaz of The Cloak and Dagger Mystery Bookshop in Princeton, New Jersey recommends Minnesota writer William Kent Krueger’s mystery novel "Mercy Falls."