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.

August 3, 2019 6:00 AM

Disaster is on the horizon in blood-soaked 'Dark Age'

The latest installment in Pierce Brown's epic Roman-in-space saga Red Rising finds our hero overthrown and banished from the Republic he founded, and teetering dangerously close to villainy.

by Jason Sheehan

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.

August 2, 2019 4:04 PM

An 'excruciatingly beautiful' novel from a celebrated poet

Aaron Cance says Ocean Vuong’s novel is simply astounding: “Everything else I read for the rest of this year is going to be measured against this novel.”

by Tracy Mumford

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.

August 2, 2019 10:50 AM

'Strange Harvests' turns nature's fairy tales inside out

Edward Posnett's book is more than an impressive add to the modern travelogue: it refuses to accept the landscape at face value as it paints remote terrain in visceral and breathtaking prose.

by Carson Vaughan

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.

July 31, 2019 6:52 PM

Our language is evolving, 'Because Internet'

Whether you're extremely online or still confused by how a simple period can be interpreted as passive-aggressive, linguist Gretchen McCulloch has a guide to how our on-screen speech is morphing.

by Audie Cornish

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.

July 31, 2019 10:00 AM

Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

It’s not always possible to find the exact origin of our favorite words. History and language can get messy. But discussing their roots and forming hypotheses can be fascinating, and lots of fun! We sat down with etymologist Anatoly Liberman to help shed some light on a few of our favorite words.

by Sara Porter and Jiwon Choi

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.

July 31, 2019 9:00 AM

Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Molly Mendoza's loopy new graphic novel isn't quite a young adult book, or a book for grownups, either. But it is a trippy visual experience, and Mendoza's art is gorgeous even when the story is thin.

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.

July 31, 2019 6:00 AM

Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Patrick Coleman's novel follows a former pastor, now working as a security guard, who gets caught up in a noirish adventure after one of his coworkers is murdered, but it's much more than a whodunit.

by Ilana Masad

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.

July 30, 2019 1:30 PM

Randy Ribay on the inspiration behind ‘Patron Saints of Nothing’

The young adult author describes the importance of crafting nuanced stories for young readers.

by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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.

July 30, 2019 12:29 PM

'It Came from Something Awful' links 4Chan and today's political discourse

If author Dale Beran is to be believed, all the world's an Internet forum. His new book offers an overview of Internet culture and explores the mindset and techniques of early Internet trolls.

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.

July 30, 2019 4:01 AM

'Idiot Wind' tells a personal tale of journeying from addiction to recovery

Even if we weren't in need of another road-trippy-addiction memoir, Peter Kaldheim's book recounts his very human efforts to swim to shore with compassion and gratitude.

by Martha Anne Toll

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.