The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

October 31, 2020 6:07 AM

Inks and colors rescue 'Blue In Green' from plodding plotting

Writer Ram V takes on a classic music-biz myth in his new graphic novel: The devilish crossroads deal. But it's illustrator Anand RK's loose, jazzy, clever art that really makes this book sing.

by Etelka Lehoczky

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.

October 30, 2020 1:00 PM

Ask a bookseller, Halloween edition: An apocalyptic read keeps you asking 'what else could happen?'

This Halloween, Gretchen West of Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, Minn., recommends the novel “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam, which came out earlier this month.

by Emily Bright

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.

October 30, 2020 5:00 AM

Talking Volumes: A conversation with Isabel Wilkerson

Kerri Miller hosts a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson about her new book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”

by Kerri Miller

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.

October 28, 2020 4:08 PM

Former DHS official says he wrote 'Anonymous' Trump critique

A former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name “Anonymous” revealed himself Wednesday as a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security.

by 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.

October 28, 2020 9:14 AM

'The Dead Are Arising' sheds light on Malcolm X — and those that influenced him

This isn't only a biography of Malcolm X; Les and Tamara Payne contextualize race in America prior to Malcolm's birth, and take a nuanced, unflinching look at his life, his death — and its aftermath.

by Gabino Iglesias

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.

October 27, 2020 4:36 PM

Echoes of today's unrest run through 'The Cold Millions'

Jess Walter's new novel an adventure tale based on actual events in the early days of the last century's labor movement — which was much wilder and bloodier than most people remember.

by Ari Shapiro

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.

October 27, 2020 3:00 PM

Biography traces political mistakes and personal scars that shaped Joe Biden

The New Yorker's Evan Osnos writes about the candidate's enduring quest to become president. He says Joe Biden has a different mindset today than he once had: "He's a man who is at peace."

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.

October 27, 2020 11:04 AM

Diane di Prima, beat poet and activist, dead at 86

Di Prima wrote over 40 books of poetry and memoir, including her collection the radical and political “Revolutionary Letters.”

by Andrew Limbong

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.

October 27, 2020 9:12 AM

'Kindred' dismantles simplistic views of Neanderthals

Rebecca Wragg Sykes describes evidence showing that as innovative tool- and fire-makers, Neanderthals adapted to changing climates, adopted symbolic cultural practices and expressed profound emotions.

by Barbara J. King

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.

October 27, 2020 8:15 AM

Washington Post critic says 'Trump has unwittingly enabled' discussions of race

Carlos Lozada tells NPR: "It's ironic that a president with such a negative force for race relations" and women's rights has presided over a period where both groups feel more empowered to speak out.

by Steve Inskeep

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.