The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

November 2, 2021 3:57 PM

Hometowns

Were you shaped by your hometown? Big or small, where we start matters to where we end up. Host Angela Davis talks with two novelists about what it means to be from somewhere and about Ken Burns’ new campaign for a national day to honor hometowns.

by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

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November 2, 2021 1:02 PM

How Gary Shteyngart's pandemic pod inspired a novel about friendship

Our Country Friends is about the trysts and betrayals that occur within a group of friends during the pandemic. It's an exaggerated version of Shteyngart's own COVID-19 experience.

by Dave Davies

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November 2, 2021 11:43 AM

'All in the Family' is 50 years old. A new book looks at how it changed TV

All in the Family creator Norman Lear, along with writer Jim Colucci, talked with NPR about Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton and their roles on the groundbreaking TV show.

by James Doubek, Rachel Martin, Barry Gordemer and Scott Saloway

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November 1, 2021 1:24 PM

'Vax cards,' 'vax sites,' 'fully vaxxed': 'Vax' is Oxford's 2021 word of the year

If last year was marked by the emergence of COVID-19 on a global scale, this one has been all about the new solution to end the pandemic: the vaccines.

by Joe Hernandez

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November 1, 2021 1:16 PM

A new book captures Cokie Roberts and her 'Life Well Lived'

At the 2019 funeral for longtime NPR journalist Cokie Roberts, her husband, Steven, told personal stories about their life together. There were still more to tell, so he dove into writing about them.

by Reena Advani

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November 1, 2021 11:37 AM

'Misfire' is a scathing look at nepotism, fraud and corruption in the NRA

The book by NPR's Tim Mak might be the final blow in terms of exposing the organization's rotten core and showing how a boundless love for money and power has eaten away at the group's foundations.

by Gabino Iglesias

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October 31, 2021 4:00 AM

'Win Me Something' is full of little moments that pack a big emotional punch

Kyle Lucia Wu's debut follows a young Chinese American woman who takes a job as a nanny to a wealthy white family and never feels like she fits in, even though she bonds with her precocious charge.

by Michael Schaub

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October 30, 2021 9:19 AM

You can do it: Elizabeth Warren makes a pinkie promise to girls

Polly is tired of being told "that's not what girls do." Then she meets a woman running for president, who makes a pinkie promise with her to always remember that girls can do anything.

by Samantha Balaban

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October 29, 2021 11:00 AM

How much do you really know about Daniel Boone?

Daniel Boone’s legend is grand and filled with exaggerations. But the true story of his life is just as amazing as the tall tales. Join Kerri Miller for a discussion with author Matthew Pearl

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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October 28, 2021 2:36 PM

Ask a Bookseller: 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' is a feel-good read

Jolie Hughes of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, N.H. has a recommendation for people who want a summer read that leaves them feeling good. She points them toward TJ Klune's novel "The House in the Cerulean Sea."

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