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?
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.

Ask a Bookseller: ‘I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness’

Ask a Bookseller: ‘I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness’

Stef Schmidt of Water Street Books in Exeter, N.H, recommends a novel whose title is sure to draw some curious attention on the shelves. It's called “I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness,” by Claire Vaye Watkins.
by Emily Bright

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

Raising a gender expansive child

Raising a gender expansive child

Host Angela Davis talks about how to support gender expansive children with teacher Tom Rademacher, who wrote a new book about what he’s learned raising his nonbinary art-nerd kid, a pediatrician who leads a gender health program and a nonbinary young adult who works with nonbinary teens.
by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

Their lands are oceans apart but are linked by rising, warming seas of climate change

Their lands are oceans apart but are linked by rising, warming seas of climate change

Photographer Vlad Sokhin's latest work, “Warm Waters,” is an exploration of climate change traveling across 18 countries and off-the-map territories seen by seldom few.
by Charles Maynes and Grace Widyatmadja

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

A former Marine says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane

A former Marine says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane

Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the absolute worst — as well as the absolute best — that human beings are capable of.
by Terry Gross

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Authors JR and Vanessa Ford's experience with their own child coming out inspired the story of the young transgender protagonist in their new children's book.
by Audie Cornish, Jonaki Mehta and Sarah Handel

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

As a child, Smith watched helplessly as his father beat his mother. The experience shaped him: "The mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today."
by Tonya Mosley

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

The movie adaptation of Nella Larsen's “Passing” is out now, and if you're less familiar with the book, critic Carole Bell describes it as a "decades-early precursor to a Patricia Highsmith novel."
by Carole V. Bell

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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

As companies look to bring remote workers back to the office, a writer asks: Why?

As companies look to bring remote workers back to the office, a writer asks: Why?

Anne Helen Petersen is the co-author of a new book on the future of remote work. She says companies need to clearly know what goal they are pursuing when asking remote workers to come back in person.
by Rachel Martin, Lisa Weiner, Catherine Whelan and James Doubek

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

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