Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?

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.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

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.

Talking Volumes

A rebroadcast of Katherine Lanpher's conversation with Kien Nguyen, author of The Tapestries, a novel based on Nguyen's grandfather's life as an embroiderer in the court of the last king of Vietnam.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Good poems with Garrison Keillor

This fall Garrison Keillor gathered poets and the public together for a night of poetry at the Fitzgerald Theater. The event heralded the publication of his anthology Good Poems, culled from the thousands of poems he has read on the show Writer's Almanac.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Edmund White

Critic Edmund White comments on culture, gay literature, walking through Paris, and other topics he's written about during his long career. Often hailed as the country's pre-eminent gay writer, he wrote the classic coming-out novel, A Boy's Own Story.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Jack Miles

Jack Miles is a literary scholar who is considered by some to be a maverick among biblical interpreters. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his first book, God: A Biography. His newest book, Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God, reframes Jesus's life and mission on earth.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Talking Volumes author Kien Nguyen

Talking Volumes author Kien Nguyen talks about his new novel The Tapestries, a tale based on the life of his grandfather, an embroider in the court of the last king of Vietnam.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Sarah Vowell

Author and "This American Life" contributor Sarah Vowell tells us how to be a good American without coming off like an overbearing zealot. Her new book The Partly Cloudy Patriot is a collection of essays ranging from why she loves Abraham Lincoln to her thoughts about rampant flag-waving after September 11th.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Columnist Thomas Friedman

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman talks to Gary Eichten about the situation in the middle east, terrorism, and other global issues. He is the author of a new book, Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Talking Volumes: Pat Conroy and Salman Rushdie (part 2)

Conversation continues with Pat Conroy on his book, My Losing Season. Later in the hour, we hear excerpts from an October Talking Volumes program with Salman Rushdie, author of Step Across This Line. In Rushdie's latest collection of non-fiction, he crosses over the frontier and sees and tells things as they are, inviting readers to "step across this line" with him.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Talking Volumes: Pat Conroy (part 1)

A Talking Volumes rebroadcast of Pat Conroy and Katherine Lanpher at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul discussing Conroy's new book, My Losing Season. Conroy writes of his senior year at military school and his tortured relationship with his father.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Minnesota-born author Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien is a Minnesota-born author known for his writing about the Vietnam war and its legacy. Now he has a new novel out, based on a class reunion at a school remarkably similar to his alma mater Macalester College.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!