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.

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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.

April 10, 2020 6:00 AM

In 'How Much Of These Hills Is Gold,' this land is not your land

C Pam Zhang's debut novel follows a brother and sister, children of Chinese laborers, as the search the dusty hills of Gold Rush-era California for a place to bury their father's body.

by Annalisa Quinn

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April 9, 2020 7:27 PM

Elizabeth's more serious sister Mary takes the spotlight in 'The Other Bennet Sister'

Jane Austen's “Pride and Prejudice” follows Elizabeth Bennet's effort to marry. Now, Janice Hadlow has made the least of the sisters in that story, Mary, the star of her own novel of self-discovery.

by Mary Louise Kelly

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April 9, 2020 9:23 AM

'I Don't Want To Die Poor' maintains sense of humor amid stories of struggle

Making Michael Arceneaux's book required reading in high schools would help a lot of young people think twice about the promise that going to college is the only path to upward social mobility.

by Gabino Iglesias

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April 8, 2020 12:46 PM

Stephen King is sorry you feel like you're stuck in a Stephen King novel

The horror writer says he understands why fans have said the COVID-19 pandemic feels like living inside one of his novels. King says he doesn't feel panic or terror, but rather, a "gnawing anxiety."

by Terry Gross

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April 8, 2020 3:59 AM

In an age of screens, looking for 'Attention' in all the wrong places

Casey Schwartz writes of her reliance on Adderall and her realization that the focus it brought was not genuine. But she leaves readers wanting to hear more on the relationship of attention and love.

by Annalisa Quinn

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April 7, 2020 9:58 AM

Grim Reaper comedy 'Melancholia' is surprisingly uplifting

Nicholas Gurewitch scratched images into clay with a stylus for this tale of Death's visit to an analyst — who helps him come to terms with Death Jr.'s lack of interest in the family business.

by Etelka Lehoczky

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April 6, 2020 7:33 PM

'Godshot' author explains how fiction helps us face real-world adversity

"Art can help me ask the difficult questions of myself," says Chelsea Bieker. In her debut novel, a devastating drought in a California town has led residents to put their faith in a cult leader.

by Ari Shapiro

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April 6, 2020 5:15 PM

The Thread: Lawrence Wright’s 'The End of October'

As we continue our look at books to comfort and entertain during this period of social distancing, MPR News host Kerri Miller previews one of her most anticipated reads for spring and summer 2020: a soon-to-be-published novel about a pandemic.

by Kerri Miller

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April 5, 2020 9:00 AM

In 'Hidden Valley Road,' a family's journey helps shift the science of mental illness

Over the years, six of the Galvins' 12 children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Robert Kolker, who has a new book on the family, says "there is a lot of hope and inspiration in this story."

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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April 3, 2020 3:30 PM

Journalist Gloria Steinem on activism, patriarchy and political power

Feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem recently joined MPR News host Kerri Miller for a frank and wide-ranging conversation about patriarchy in the past and present; the status of the Equal Rights Amendment today; and what it would take for a woman to hold the office of president.

by Kerri Miller and Breann Schossow

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