The Thread by MPR News

01/11/2024

This year, Big Books and Bold Ideas is introducing an occasional series that will feature books on democracy. That series begins as we mark the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

To gain context, we invited three historians and authors from different regions of the country to reflect on this American moment.

As we observe the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, we’ve asked three historians and authors to assess this moment in American history.

01/07/2024

The first few months of the year are stacked with exciting and interesting reads. Get ready for big swings from old pros and exciting new debuts.

01/06/2024

Florence Chard Dacey shares poems and inspiration from her fifth collection, The Mercy of Stone, which spans 50 years.

01/03/2024

Pastor Amy Butler was the first woman pastor to lead New York’s historic Riverside Church. But despite that — and partly because of it — her faith had to learn to survive the brutal realities of this world. Her new book, “Beautiful and Terrible Things,” is her journey of learning to live without fear in the messy middle.

Pastor Amy Butler was the first woman pastor to lead New York’s historic Riverside Church. But despite that — and partly because of it — her faith had to learn to survive the brutal realities of this world. Her new book, “Beautiful and Terrible Things,” is her journey of learning to live w...

12/31/2023

Not all libraries track checkouts, and there isn't one definitive national list. But this year lots of people checked out “Lessons in Chemistry,” Prince Harry's memoir “Spare,” and Colleen Hoover's books.

12/29/2023

From Minnesota authors to BookTok recommendations, our staff has a ranging taste for their favorite read of the year. Here are the best books that members of the MPR News newsroom read in 2023.

12/06/2023

A Minneapolis-based nonprofit is releasing a book of stories collected by 16 authors from their older relatives who fled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

12/02/2023

In her new, haunting memoir, poet Safiya Sinclair recounts her childhood in Jamaica, where her father's strict Rastafari religion kept her controlled and quiet. She is quiet no more.

In her new, haunting memoir, poet Safiya Sinclair recounts her childhood in Jamaica, where her father’s strict Rastafari religion kept her controlled and quiet. She is quiet no more.

11/19/2023

Journalist Zahra Hankir draws a line connecting the cosmetic across civilizations, continents and eras straight into today — as not only a beauty product but as a means of self expression and more.

11/17/2023

The nonfiction prize was awarded on Wednesday night to Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America.” Justin Torres’ “Blackouts” has won the National Book Award for fiction. Young people’s literature was won by Dan Santat’s “A First Time for Everything.”

11/16/2023

In his new book, Philip Cary Plait — aka the Bad Astronomer — takes space fans on a vivid tour of the cosmos, with stops on planets, moons, stars and even black holes. (Spoiler: That last one doesn’t end well.) Listen Friday at 11 a.m.

In his new book, Philip Plait — aka the Bad Astronomer — takes space fans on a vivid tour of the cosmos, with stops on planets, moons, stars and even black holes. (Spoiler: That last one doesn’t end well.)

11/12/2023

When a professor takes a sabbatical, they typically don’t end up waiting tables at a local brewery. For Matthew Batt, a University of St. Thomas associate professor of English, that became his reality. He detailed the journey in his book the “Last Supper Club: A Waiters Requiem.”

11/11/2023

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Mary Lou Falcone about her new memoir, illustrated by her husband, the late artist Nicky Zann. He died of Lewy body dementia in 2020.

11/10/2023

New York Times columnist and nature writer Margaret Renkl closed out the 2023 Talking Volumes season with meditations on the joy of a backyard oasis, the inevitable losses of a warming climate and how to live while holding both of those truths in tandom.

New York Times columnist and nature writer Margaret Renkl closed out the 2023 Talking Volumes season with meditations on the joy of a backyard oasis, the inevitable losses of a warming climate and how to live while holding both of those truths in tandom.