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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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.

Political memoirs, fact or fiction?
Political observers are anticipating the release of the memoir of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Will the memoir reveal new details about the personal life and struggles of the late senator, or merely recount his storied political career?
How our fast culture hurts reading
Reading is losing the competition with other media for our attention says the book editor of the Los Angeles Times. He found it difficult to find space in his mind to allow him to concentrate on books.
The importance of Anne Frank
Sixty-five years ago this August, Anne Frank and her family were discovered hiding in an annex in Amsterdam and sent to concentration camps. Though she perished, her diary became one of the most compelling and poignant stories to come out of the holocaust. Midmorning examines the lingering power of Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl."
A reporter's long journey home
In her new memoir, journalist Helene Cooper describes her privileged childhood in Liberia during a violent civil war, the trauma that prompted the family's flight to America, and memories of the adopted sister she left behind in Africa.
Minneapolis writer chronicles her eating disorder
Nicole Johns was diagnosed as having EDNOS, or an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. She has now written a book about her experience in the hope she can help others.
A story of hope amid despair
A new novel by Mayo Clinic doctor and obesity researcher James Levine tells the story of a young Indian girl forced into a life of prostitution. Dr. Levine says the novel sprang from a visit to the slums of Mumbai and encounter there that haunts him to this day.
Best-selling author and former Twin Cities TV producer Julie Kramer got the inspiration for her latest novel from a classified ad. It said: "Wedding Dress, never worn."
David Rhodes's long road back
Novelist David Rhodes released three highly acclaimed novels when he was in his 20s, and then was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. He joins Midmorning to discuss his first novel in more than 30 years, and the long road back to writing.
A spy novelist's romantic world
Romance. Espionage. Parisian cafes and back alleys in Berlin. These are the elements that make the novels of Alan Furst among the best in the spy genre. He joins Midmorning to discuss his latest novel, and his fascination with World War II-era Europe.