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.

Raised in a prison, 'The Warden's Daughter' decides it's time to find a mom
Cammie O'Reilly lost her mother when she was a baby -- so she seeks out maternal support from female inmates. Author Jerry Spinelli says the book was inspired by a real-life story from his hometown.
5 overlooked books of 2016
The "best of" lists are bursting with brilliant reads, but here's a handful of titles that deserve a little more time in the spotlight.
Roxane Gay on good men, bad men and 'Difficult Women'
Gay's new short story collection explores women's lives and issues of race, class and sex. But she says the book could easily have been called "Difficult Men."