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The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

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.

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. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

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. 

Re-revising 'The History of Jazz'

Ted Gioia first published his “History of Jazz” in 1997, updating it for the first time in 2011. This year he did so again, after a very important decade for the genre.
by Natalie Weiner

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New anthology gives everyone a seat at the Round Table

New anthology gives everyone a seat at the Round Table

“Sword Stone Table” brings together a group of authors from marginalized groups to re-imagine the legends of King Arthur for new eras, places and players, inviting all to sit at the Round Table.
by Liza Graham

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'A Passage North' is a quiet elegy for lives lost to Civil War

'A Passage North' is a quiet elegy for lives lost to Civil War

In his second novel, Anuk Arudpragasam returns to the subject of Sri Lanka's civil war — this time to examine the ways people live amidst the aftermath of war, and to memorialize the lives lost.
by Jenny Bhatt

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Reporters reveal 'Ugly Truth' of how Facebook enables hate groups and disinformation

Reporters reveal 'Ugly Truth' of how Facebook enables hate groups and disinformation

In a new book, Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel say Facebook failed in its effort to combat disinformation. "Facebook knew the potential for explosive violence was very real [on Jan 6]," Kang says.
by Terry Gross

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Loneliness is a communal experience in 'Seek You'

Loneliness is a communal experience in 'Seek You'

Kristen Radtke's “Seek You” looks at isolation as a problem — and investigates where it comes from, how it shapes us, and why we should battle against it.
by Gabino Iglesias

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'Startup Wife' satirizes tech culture and boardroom sexism — from experience

'Startup Wife' satirizes tech culture and boardroom sexism — from experience

Tahmima Anam's new novel is about a married couple who found a tech startup. The platform's success turns the husband into a messiah figure — even though it was his wife who designed it.
by Terry Gross

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'Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light' is a baker's dozen of sharply funny essays

'Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light' is a baker's dozen of sharply funny essays

Helen Ellis, author of “American Housewife” and “Southern Lady Code,” is back with her third book in five years — in which the connection with her longtime, close-knit female friends features prominently.
by Heller McAlpin

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Ask a Bookseller: 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' is a feel-good read

Ask a Bookseller: 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' is a feel-good read

Jolie Hughes of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, N.H. has a recommendation for people who want a summer read that leaves them feeling good. She points them toward TJ Klune's novel "The House in the Cerulean Sea."
by Emily Bright

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Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

Ashley C. Ford’s debut memoir, “Somebody’s Daughter,” takes readers on an emotional journey of her life growing up as a young Black girl in Indiana with a single mother, an absent father and a heavy family secret.
by Kerri Miller and Ariana Rosas

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