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.

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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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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. 

Psychiatrist explores possible benefits of treating PTSD with ecstasy or cannabis
Dr. Julie Holland thinks psychedelic drugs can be used in psychiatry to make treatment more efficient and effective. "This is sort of a new paradigm," she says, "a revolutionary way to treat trauma."
For this 'Party Of Two', distance isn't the only bump on the road
Jasmine Guillory's latest starts with a meet-cute; L.A. lawyer Olivia Monroe runs into U.S. Senator Max Powell in a hotel bar. But they're divided by more than distance: Olivia is black, Max is white.
'Democracy In One Book Or Less' proposes solutions to U.S. government ills
David Litt, former speechwriter to President Obama and author of “Thanks, Obama,” refreshingly debunks myths about our founders, pointing up false narratives and warped historical perceptions.
New novel relates Ojibwe history from the mouth of a wolf
Minnesota writer Thomas Peacock’s new novel "The Wolf's Trail" is hard to categorize. It's a fictional tale based on the foundational stories of the Ojibwe people. But Peacock tells it from from the perspective of an elderly wolf. The story is a profound mixture of history, spirituality, with a healthy dash of wolf wisdom and humor. 
2 Garrison Keillor books set for release this fall
"The Lake Wobegon Virus," out Sept. 8, continues his "Lake Wobegon" series and ties it to the current pandemic. Memoir "That Time of Year" will be released two months later. In his memoir, Keillor will address the sexual harassment allegations that led to his being dropped by Minnesota Public Radio and The Washington Post.
Bolton: Trump moves in office guided by reelection concerns
President Donald Trump "pleaded" with China's Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing new book by former Trump adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.