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.

The best of Minnesota writers on stage for Talking Volumes
MPR’s fall member drive is underway. This week, for a special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller featured highlights of three Minnesota authors who appeared with her on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater for Talking Volumes.
Celeste Ng makes the case for art as a weapon against oppression in her new novel
Our Missing Hearts is the story of 12-year-old Bird, a quest to find his mother and the power of small acts of rebellion. Saddled by grief, this quasi-dystopian novel is ultimately propelled by hope.
Kate Beaton's new graphic memoir is about the dark type of job you take for money
Kate Beaton, known for her popular webcomic “Hark a Vagrant,” is out now with her new graphic memoir “Ducks” — which dives into the day-to-day life of working in the Canadian oil sands.
White House correspondent April Ryan on her new book 'Black Women Will Save The World'
April Ryan is the longest-serving Black female White House correspondent, with a 25-year tenure. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Ryan about her new book, "Black Women Will Save The World: An Anthem."
Boyah J. Farah on how America made him a Black man
Boyah J. Farah fell in love with America as a refugee escaping war in Somalia. But it’s become a sometimes painful and deeply complicated relationship. Farah new memoir, “America Made Me a Black Man,” is a poetic, thoughtful and honest accounting of his journey.
'Solito' is a personal story of immigration that sheds light on the universal
Javier Zamora's book, as touching as it is sad, and as full of hope and kindness as it is harrowing, is the kind of narrative that manages to bring a huge debate down to a very personal space.
In 'Intimacies, Received,' moments of intimacy come tangled with moments of violence
Taneum Bambrick's second collection of poems portrays how moments of intimacy can represent moments of violence – and how difficult it can be to untangle the two from each other.
From the archives: Emily Bernard and the complexity of being a black woman in America
This week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas conversation is with Boyah J. Farah. His new book, “America Made me a Black Man,” traces his path from Somalia to the United States. Emily Bernard also knows what it is like to wrestle with being Black in this country. Enjoy her 2019 interview as you anticipate the show with Farah on Friday.