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.

Erica Berry on what wolves teach us about fear
April is Animal Month on Big Books and Bold Ideas, a series of conversations about our relationship with animals and our shared space in this world. We begin with an animal whose history and presence is entwined with the human psyche — wolves.
Inside a Twin Cities couple’s ‘Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story’
Two local artists — author Lynette Reini-Grandell and musician Venus de Mars — share their story of transitioning, resilience, and advocacy, now captured in a new memoir, “Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story,” out now from Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Diana Abu-Jaber on family myths and inheritance
For immigrants who have to start life over in a new land, home carries a powerful lure. Diana Abu-Jaber says questions of identity and displacement haunted her Jordanian father, which inspired her latest novel, “Fencing with the King.”
From the archives: Diana Abu-Jaber on 'Birds of Paradise'
This Friday on Big Books and Bold Ideas, author Diana Abu-Jaber returns to talk about her latest novel, “Fencing with the King,” which was just released in paperback. To get you in the mood, enjoy one of host Kerri Miller’s last conversations with Abu-Jaber — this one from 2011, about her book, "Birds of Paradise."