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.

Nami Mun revisits being homeless
Writer Nami Mun's new novel "Miles from Nowhere," tells the heart rending tale of Joon, a Korean girl who runs away from her family to live on the streets of New York.
Rob Nelson and the B List
One of the side effects of the video and DVD revolution is people are able to easily watch films of yesteryear. The National Society of Film Critics is trying to help you find the good ones with a series of books of new reviews of older films.
A skirmish over words
Minneapolis writer Dobby Gibson just released a new collection of poetry called "Skirmish." He says it's a reference to the many small battles contained between the covers, including an ongoing battle between himself and his writing.
Garrison Keillor spins sonnets at Minneapolis Library
Author and humorist Garrison Keillor talked about poetry, writing and his own relationship with the library at the "Talk of the Stacks" series in November at the Hennepin County Library in downtown Minneapolis.
Authors seek new ways to sell their work
Many authors are finding nowadays that even after they have written their book, had it edited and published, their work is not done. Today's authors are often left with the task of publicizing their work too.
Jonathan Winters' "A Christmas Carol"
Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of "A Christmas Carol," using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations.
Christmas stories on Midday
Midday features three stories of the Christmas season. Garrison Keillor has a special Christmas Day edition of "the News from Lake Wobegon," MPR's Dan Olson reads the famous 1897 New York Sun letter, "Is there a Santa Claus?," and Truman Capote reads "A Christmas Memory."
Todd Boss rides his 'Yellowrocket'
Todd Boss is riding a poetic wave. Not only has a major publishing house just released his first book of poems, "Yellow Rocket," he says the nation has just elected a poet as president. Boss is the self-appointed poet laureate of Nina's Coffee Cafe in St Paul.
Young adult novelist details his craft
Imagine the earnestness of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. Add some wry wit, elaborate imagination and a healthy dose of satire and you have the work of M.T Anderson. He's in Minnesota this week for events at the Hennepin County Library and talked to Tom Crann about what drives young adult novelists like him.