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 an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

New England noir chills and thrills in 'The House on Buzzards Bay'
Dwyer Murphy’s new novel, “The House on Buzzards Bay,” is New England noir at its finest. College friends reunite at a beach house one member inherited — but everyone and everything is out of sorts, and when a group member disappears and a mysterious stranger arrives, long-simmering tensions are revealed.
New books this week explore why shade is so important, the first bird detective, and more
New books published this week include a nostalgic graphic history of video games, a queer, complicated and hopeful novel set in Nigeria, and a biography of a forensic ornithologist.
Cartoons, culture and care: Latino artist creates bilingual mental health universe
Rocky Casillas Aguirre’s bilingual art show, “U are the Universe,” uses playful cartoon characters to explore mental health in a way that’s accessible to Latino youth and families.
Where to start? This week’s new releases are an all-you-can-read buffet
This week, new horror from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a funny college do-over from Jeneva Rose, and autofiction from Hannah Pittard. Plus, stories about the American South, and a deep dive into the Earth.
Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her mother's death
In her book, “Washing my Mother’s Body,” Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to return to what she deems an essential ritual of love and dignity to honor her mother’s passing.
Author Frank Bures on canoeing, forgotten races and a brush with death on the Mississippi
Minnesota author Frank Bures discusses his new book “Pushing the River,” a blend of personal adventures, historical research and rediscovered stories about the state’s forgotten canoe racing culture, including a near-fatal experience on the Mississippi.