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.

Brand new books: Stephen King’s latest, plus tales of a tired mom and a scary stalker
Holly Gibney is back in King’s thriller, “Never Flinch.” “The Stalker” follows a manipulative man. Happily ever after is evasive in “Consider Yourself Kissed.” Plus, new work from Tash Aw and Etgar Keret.
‘Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine’ talks about bars, the blues and belonging
Callie Collins’ new novel is a blues song in literary form, set in a saloon in 1970s Austin, Texas. What happens when the need to belong collides with a world that just keeps moving on?
‘Washita Love Child’ remembers Indigenous guitarist Jesse Ed Davis’ prolific music career
Indigenous guitarist Jesse Ed Davis played alongside iconic musicians in the 1970s and 1980s. His life, career and ancestors are remembered in a recent book by author Douglas Miller.
Social media is influencing how authors promote their books. Here‘s how
Social media is changing the way writers are promoting their books. Author Rebecca Makkai talks about her decision to take a break from writing the blurbs commonly seen on the backs of book jackets.
5 new books this week spotlight Joe Biden, the WNBA, rivers, migrants and autofiction
New books out this week look at everything from pressing political concerns — “Original Sin” — to perspective-altering riddles about life itself, like in “Is A River Alive?” and “The Book of Records.”
Minnesota journalists document importance of North American prairie in new book
“Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie” looks at the biological diversity of prairie and the threats to its disappearance.