The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

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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. 

How the Method transformed film — and made acting more human
Method acting is more than mining personal experiences to play a character — or physically transforming for a role. Author Isaac Butler traces the history of the technique in “The Method.”
Abraham Galloway is the Black figure from the Civil War you should know about
Galloway escaped enslavement, became a Union spy and helped recruit thousands of Black soldiers to fight with the North, but his name has been largely left out of the Civil War narrative.
Ask a Bookseller: 'See Me in the Wonder' is an affirmation of life after loss
Kathy Gray is the primary bookbuyer for Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minn., and she recommends "See Me in the Wonder," a picture book by a Wisconsin author and illustrator Laurel Fraher.
Coming of age with three contemporary YA novels
In each of these stories — “Full Flight,” “Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman,” “Ophelia After All” — a girl stands at a junction in her life, on the brink of deciding who she wants to be.
Why power entices the wrong kind of people
Why do so many leaders become authoritarian, violent or just plain dishonest? A new book explores the relationship of power to corruption. Join Kerri Miller for more Big Books and Bold Ideas with author Brian Klaas. 
'The Family Chao' is a riveting story of identity and belonging
There are notable parallels to “The Brothers Karamazov” in Lan Samantha Chang's new novel about three brothers and the contentious relationship between them and their domineering father.
Heartbroken? There's a scientific reason why breaking up feels so rotten
Science writer Florence Williams experienced what felt like a brain injury when her husband left her after more than 25 years. Her new book is “Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.”