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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Authors JR and Vanessa Ford's experience with their own child coming out inspired the story of the young transgender protagonist in their new children's book.
by Audie Cornish, Jonaki Mehta and Sarah Handel

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Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

As a child, Smith watched helplessly as his father beat his mother. The experience shaped him: "The mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today."
by Tonya Mosley

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'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

The movie adaptation of Nella Larsen's “Passing” is out now, and if you're less familiar with the book, critic Carole Bell describes it as a "decades-early precursor to a Patricia Highsmith novel."
by Carole V. Bell

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As companies look to bring remote workers back to the office, a writer asks: Why?

As companies look to bring remote workers back to the office, a writer asks: Why?

Anne Helen Petersen is the co-author of a new book on the future of remote work. She says companies need to clearly know what goal they are pursuing when asking remote workers to come back in person.
by Rachel Martin, Lisa Weiner, Catherine Whelan and James Doubek

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Louise Erdrich's disquieting new novel will keep you on your toes

Louise Erdrich's disquieting new novel will keep you on your toes

Set in a haunted Minneapolis bookshop over the course of one very momentous year, “The Sentence” is an ambitious novel, featuring a sinister ghost, a country in tumult and Erdrich's own shifting style.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Want a good, therapeutic cry? Pick up 'You've Reached Sam'

Want a good, therapeutic cry? Pick up 'You've Reached Sam'

The heartbreak starts right away in Dustin Thao's debut novel: 17-year-old Julie's boyfriend Sam is killed in a car crash — but then she calls his phone, just to hear his voice again. And he answers.
by Alethea Kontis

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Take a rom-com road trip in 'How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days'

Take a rom-com road trip in 'How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days'

K.M. Jackson's laugh-out-loud new romance follows a Keanu Reeves superfan who's heard her celeb crush is getting *gasp* married — and she has to stop him! But will she find real love along the way?
by Denny S. Bryce

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'Woke Racism': John McWhorter argues against what he calls a religion of anti-racism

'Woke Racism': John McWhorter argues against what he calls a religion of anti-racism

Linguistics professor John McWhorter's new book is “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.” He says some in the U.S. cultural left have taken "anti-racism" efforts to extremes.
by James Doubek, Steve Inskeep, Barry Gordemer and Reena Advani

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'The Waiting' is an unflinching portrayal of the separations caused by war

'The Waiting' is an unflinching portrayal of the separations caused by war

Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's harrowing new graphic novel was inspired by her own family history — Gendry-Kim was an adult when she discovered that she had a long-lost aunt possibly trapped in North Korea.
by Thúy Đinh

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