Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

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Our road trip series concludes with 'The Last American Road Trip'

July 31, 2026

When Sarah Kendzior packed up her family for a road trip across America, she made sure her kids kept their eyes wide open. She wanted them to see this country’s wonders and its flaws.Her new memoir, “The Last American Road Trip,” recounts the dozens of drives she and her family have taken since 2016. They leave their home in Missouri and crisscross the country, even as earth-shaking events remake it. Want to add this book to your library? Purchase it here and support MPR...

Lauren Hough road trips across America and finds a 'Monster of a Land'

July 24, 2026

Lauren Hough has worn many hats. She’s been an Air Force airman, a bartender, a bouncer, a construction laborer, a driver, a barista and a cable guy. But through it all, she’s written. In 2021, a collection of essays that together formed a memoir — “Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing” — shot up the New York Times bestseller list. Her new book, “Monster of a Land,” is a worthy follow-up. Reminiscent of John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley,” Hough hits the road in a battered Dodge Ram to see Ame...

Why Americans are reading less — and how to pull out of the reading slump

July 21, 2026

When was the last time you read a book or magazine, or listened to an audiobook? Overall, Americans are reading less. A study last year from the University of Florida and University College London found the portion of people who read daily for pleasure in the U.S. fell from 28 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2023.And, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, fewer than half of all adults said they read a book of any kind in 2022 — even fewer said they read a novel. MPR News guest h...